Rapid transcription by dispersing segments of source material to a plurality of transcribing stations

Abstract

A method and system for producing and working with transcripts according to the invention eliminates time inefficiencies. By dispersing a source recording to a transcription team in small segments, so that team members transcribe segments in parallel, a rapid transcription process delivers a fully edited transcript within minutes. Clients can view accurate, grammatically correct, proofread and fact-checked documents that shadow live proceedings by mere minutes. The rapid transcript includes time coding, speaker identification and summary. A viewer application allows a client to view a video recording side-by-side with a transcript. Clicking on a word in the transcript locates the corresponding recorded content; advancing a recording to a particular point locates and displays the corresponding spot in the transcript. The recording is viewed using common video features, and may be downloaded. The client can edit the transcript and insert comments. Any number of colleagues can view and edit simultaneously.

1 . A computer-implemented method for rapidly producing a transcript of source material, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a provider server, a real-time feed of source material from an event at a remote location;   automatically dividing the source material into segments as the source material is received, wherein each of the segments is a predetermined length;   saving each of the segments as a discrete file;   allowing a transcriber to claim one or more discrete files for transcription;   dispersing the one or more discrete files to a transcribing station associated with the transcriber;   receiving, at the provider server, an edited transcript for each of the one or more discrete files;   producing a single composite transcript of the source material from the edited transcripts.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 synchronizing the composite transcript and the source material by:
 assigning incremental time stamps to the source material; 
 time-coding instances within the composite transcript that correspond to the source material; and 
 associating the time codes with the incremental time stamps by means of a table. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the instances are written words in the composite transcript. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 recognizing one or more speakers whose utterances compose the source material; and   associating each word in the composite transcript with a particular speaker.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 preparing a summary of notable moments from the source material, wherein the summary includes a link to an audio or video segment drawn from the source material for each notable moment.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the composite transcript and the summary are simultaneously viewable within a viewer window that is accessible by a client. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 delivering the composite transcript to a client by transmitting the composite transcript via email or making the composite transcript accessible through a secure web page.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 encoding the source material into a compressed media format; and   specifying a filename for each discrete file that includes a unique alphanumeric code that identifies client, the event, date of the event, and time of the event.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transcribing station includes a computing device that is communicatively coupled to the provider server. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the source material is recorded by an audio or video feed and transmitted across a network from a remote location. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method for constructing a synchronized transcript of source material, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a provider server, a plurality of edited transcripts,
 wherein each edited transcript corresponds to a distinct segment of source material from a single event, and 
 wherein transcription is performed by a plurality of transcribers, each of whom transcribes and transmits at least one edited transcript; 
   producing, from the edited transcripts, a single transcript that is synchronized to the source material,
 wherein the synchronized transcript can be used to navigate the source material and the source material can be used to navigate the synchronized transcript; 
   presenting the synchronized transcript and the source material within a client-accessible viewer window, which includes elements by which the client interacts with and modifies the synchronized transcript.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the viewer window allows the client to view the source material side-by-side with the synchronized transcript and simultaneously follow progress of both. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein clicking on a word in the synchronized transcript locates a corresponding portion of the source material, and wherein advancing the source material to a particular location identifies a corresponding portion of the synchronized transcript. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the client is able to edit the synchronized transcript and insert comments directly within the viewer window. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the client and at least one other individual are able to view and edit the synchronized transcript simultaneously. 
     
     
         16 . A computer-implemented method for synchronizing source material and a transcript of the source material, the method comprising:
 automatically assigning incremental time stamps to the source material,
 wherein the time stamps are incremented by a predetermined, fixed interval, and 
 wherein the time stamps represent run time of the source material; 
   allowing a transcriber to manually assign time codes to portions of the transcript that mark events within the source material;   creating a tabular structure that associates words in the transcript with the time codes in a one-to-one relationship; and   storing the tabular structure in a database,
 wherein the transcript can be reconstituted by displaying the words in the tabular structure in the correct order. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the time codes are embedded within the transcript. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein a plurality of words are identified by a time code range. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 allowing a client to select the transcript for viewing, editing, or both; and   reconstituting the transcript by displaying the words in the tabular structure in the correct order according to the time codes.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the tabular structure is created using a spreadsheet application that splits the transcript into cells so that each word is matched to a time code.