In the era of TikTok, it might be tempting to go with the short-form video content. However, that has not been the case with YouTube over the last several years. That’s because longer videos can give more value to the watcher, retain viewers longer and are viewed to improve how the algorithm runs. With longer videos going out to wider audiences, including those overseas, that opens up the possibility of transcribing video and translating it. As such, in this article we’ll cover why video length matters and how to transcribe video to text, should you need to do so. Video to text transcription can be easier than you think – read on to find out all about it.
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Using Transcription for Digital Video
If you’re looking for an instant way to increase the audience you reach with your videos, you might want to look into transcription. Using a reputable agency to transcribe video to text and provide associated services such as subtitling, can be an excellent way to engage foreign audiences. Tomedes has published detailed guidance on transcribing video for this purpose, including the benefits of doing so. The key advantage is that you can use transcribed text for translating your video into another language or even into a sign language format.
Can Google transcribe a video? Automated transcription is certainly a possibility. Google does offer voice typing from video. However, human translating and transcribing is superior. It can translate messages so cultural sensitivities are taken into account, while humans transcribing video can watch out for grammar issues or odd turns of phrase. Human translators, meanwhile, can keep an eye on figurative language that machines tend to mistranslate.
Video Length and YouTube’s Algorithm
Like all major digital companies, YouTube does not publicly post how its algorithm runs, so that everyone doesn’t try to game the system. The idea is to make quality content that people like and watch. The algorithm merely facilitates getting videos to people based on personal preferences and viewing habits.
That being said, it has been fairly obvious that longer videos have been doing far better. With the introduction of ads in the videos themselves, that gives more time to insert an ad into the video without substantially disrupting it. Past the ten-minute mark, it becomes easier to insert multiple ads into the video.
While the exact details aren’t shared, people have known that watch time has long been a part of YouTube’s algorithm. In 2012, YouTube introduced the use of watch time as a measure of deciding what people actually want to watch. It would give priority to videos that held attention throughout. Even today, the algorithm is designed to keep viewers watching.
Video Good Practice
However, data shows that video engagement starts dropping off right after the two-minute mark, remaining steady before that at 70%. But now creators all over YouTube are making videos that run 20 minutes, 30 minutes and in some cases as full-hour documentaries. In that time, creators can run multiple ads during the video and see an increase in revenue. So even if your engagement is only at around 50% at the 10 through 13-minute mark, half your viewers are still seeing more ads and that can lead to revenue increases for your longer videos.
Good video practice demands that you do not make a long video just for the sake of it, but if you find you have valuable content to share that fills up a 20 or 30-minute video, it’s no longer the digital taboo it once was.
With videos becoming much longer than they were in the past, that makes video to text transcription a longer process. Below we’ll go into what longer video could mean for transcribing your videos.
Multiple Benefits
One of the major benefits of going through a human transcription service is that human video to text transcription can save time, despite the lack of automation. Transcription is a complicated undertaking.
How do I transcribe video recordings to text? To fully transcribe a video, the process involves several stages:
- The first step entails the video to text transcription. This is either completed manually as someone types the audio into script form, or through using software to produce text that the transcriptionist will then work through and edit to bring up to standard.
- The transcriptionist will timestamp the script as they work. This records the association between the audio and visual elements of the video. It is particularly important if the video is going to be translated, as it will guide where subtitles should appear or where dubbing should be overlaid.
- In-video text, which appears on the screen, may also need to be captured and transcribed.
Going through professional services guarantees that the transcription will deliver accurate, high quality results. It is almost guaranteed not to with automated transcription. With longer videos, transcription services can maintain the quality throughout the whole video, which is essential if translation work is to follow the transcription.
To find a good video to text transcription service or translation agency, ask around your professional network to see if anyone has experience with an agency that they would be happy to put you in touch with – or search online.
Make sure the services you look into have experience translating video and can transcribe video to text. They might showcase past work on their website or offer client testimonials. The translators themselves should also have an educational, work or certification background showing they can complete the translation effectively.
