CastingWords Transcription Style Question

Discussion in 'CastingWords' started by ownedbytamater, Aug 18, 2012.

  1. ownedbytamater

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    I have recently started trying to learn the CastingWords style guide. I have submitted two assignments and on the correction for my second one I got a few points taken off for something that I couldn't find listed in the style guide.

    The major thing they took points off for was something along these lines

    This speaker: aoihgaiwehgwoegiah owegihoih..

    Different speaker: right
    or mm-hmm
    or hmm/ yea etc

    First speaker: continue on with what was said.



    The editor said to take out the one word phrases that were just agreeing such as yea, right, etc. but I looked the entire style guide over and can't find that listed anywhere.

    I was just curious what some of you guys that are more experienced with CastingWords knew about this.

    I don't want to do anymore transcriptions until I figure this out :)
     
  2. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    instead of giving you a thread to read and the page numbers - here's a previous question and answer that applies

    so...if the interviewer is interrupting with small words pretty much acknowledging they're hearing what's being said, they don't have to stay. They probably shouldn't stay.
     
  3. ownedbytamater

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    Sorry about the new thread... guess like most newbies to a forum I should have searched first.

    Thank you answering :)
     
  4. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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  5. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    oh no that thread is dreadfully long now. you asked in the right area, i just couldn't come up with the right words tonight so i looked for what i knew was already there =)
     
  6. nobody

    nobody User

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    ownedbytamater,

    I used to do that, too. It took me a while to figure out that CW doesn't want you transcribing all those interjections if one speaker is just showing that they are listening to the other speaker with all their uh-huhs, yeahs, etc. And yes, we needed a new thread!

    Well folks, I got another 8 this week. This time, I know why I got it. I deserved it. I had just finished an edit, so when I did this transcription I was still in 'edit mode'. I timestamped a non-verbal, lol. Then, I put a [?] next to a city name. I did that because the speaker had an accent, and I wasn't sure that was the city he said. The grader (one of the two whose grades stick) left a note that it was easily found on Google, so the city I put was correct. Dammit. Live and learn though, right?

    Anyway, at least he didn't drop my PPT for that, but I will be paying closer attention to those timestamps. I still can't believe I did that.

    Ooh, and I did my first expedited HITs. I did about 5, and I was nervous about how they would turn out. I saw the final edits and there were VERY few changes! Woohoo! It was one of the ones for 95 and above, so I hope they have more of those since I haven't hit 99 yet. I love the pay on those. :)
     
  7. melissa71642

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    Haven't seen expediteds for 95 and above; only 99. It looks like they've changed requirements around on some.
     
  8. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    I've made a couple of obvious mistakes, too. I forgot to put the leading ellipses in one when the first speaker started mid-sentence. A few comma mistakes. Few filler word mistakes (it was my bad, i'd left them in there on purpose because of how a previous edit for the same customer had turned out...but the editor wasn't right...all good now though).

    I'm not touching the math ones. I feel bad that they're going to have to end up doing them without turkers doing them, but I see them up still and I fear that's what's going to end up happening. It's not that I feel I need to understand what's being said (he's very clear), but there's a lot of parenthesis in math and I can't see what he's writing on the board. If I don't put in parenthesis, the math problem reads differently. Read it differently, answers don't match up. I know I'm reading too much into it but...yeah. Staying away from those.
     
  9. Maggiemw

    Maggiemw User

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    No math for me either! If it were a video transcription, I might, just might, chance it, maybe, if I were feeling particularly brave or particularly masochistic!
     
  10. nobody

    nobody User

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    They are rare. I have only seen them a couple of times. You've been with them for a while, do you think it was because it was late at night? I figured it was because a lot of their transcribers work during the day, but I'm just guessing.

    ETA: And I'm not touching the math ones either. I won't even touch those edits. No way, man.
     
    #10 nobody, Aug 19, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 19, 2012
  11. ownedbytamater

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    The math ones are the one's I've been slowly tackling. I was wanting to do one or two and then get my grade and feedback so I could change any major problems I had, but after waiting several hours I started just diving into them. I think I did about 6 of the 2 to 3 minutes ones. (I hope that doesn't come back to bite me)

    I got one graded and sadly it was a seven, which even though it's only my third graded transcript I'm disappointing with it. The only major problems that were changed were paragraph length, the editor went in and made paragraphs all over the place.

    I had the paragraphs fairly small, but definitely not that small :).
     
  12. Maggiemw

    Maggiemw User

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    I think I'll wait until tomorrow when I calm down to protest a really strange grade I've just received... A 7 for "majuscules missing"??? Now, this means that someone thinks capital letters are missing, but in that particular transcript I do not see ANYWHERE where there should be caps and I missed them... All titles, apps, proper names etc., were capitalized.

    Hmmmmm, bizarre, strange and generally incomprehensible.

    Very pissed off here.
     
  13. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    I hope...really hope...that if they weren't what CW was "looking for", that they don't base your ability to do transcription on those HITs. The math ones are odd-ball and (to me) confusing to do. Where do I put the paragraphs? When he interjects with what each number means, should I put that immediately after the numbers (as it's spoken), or try to put the meanings at the end (so the math/numbers read as an equation or problem)? Now, these aren't questions for you -- they're just questions I think about when listening to them. I did one Improve a Transcript job with the math. It freaked me out and I stopped even looking at the others lol
     
  14. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    I would've had to google what that meant =/

    I'm sorry. A 7 is like a kick in the teeth when someone's as experienced as you are.
     
  15. ownedbytamater

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    Well the main reason I was initially drawn to them was because the audio is so clear. My ears haven't been trained yet to make sense of some of the audio and I find that I spend way to long rewinding a short portion over and over again trying to make out some gibberish that was said.

    Also I've always been fairly fond of math and most of the things he is teaching I recall from my College Algebra class, but now that you bring up those points it certainly does scare me a bit to even try anymore of them. The parentheses, interjections, places where he is clearly pointing to the white board and saying here, here, and here. I don't know what I'm technically supposed to do with that.

    Oh please be easy on my grading, I don't want these to drop my ppt from 82 to bellow Hit level.
     
  16. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    The audio is very clear. That's why I asked CW about how to deal with some of it - and the reply I was given is now in the instructions for the HITs (not writing out numbers, dealing with exponents, using * and not x for multiplication).

    I spent a long time just waiting for clear audio, too. I still steer clear of some interviews (phone ones irk me the most) and group discussions. I really do just wait for something I can understand - so I completely understand why you wanted to work on the math ones. Sermons, speeches, and instructional audio are my favorites to come across. Speakers of sermons talk really fast though! lol
     
  17. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    If it drops...you can always write to CW and ask for another chance. Those math ones are tricky and they know it.

    Just be sure you're following the style guide as best you can. You're using speaker tokens, you aren't trying to put in time stamps, you know their rules for OK, mm-hmm, and such, you're formatting correctly (blank lines between paragraphs and speakers, along with things like [laughter], [applause], etc.). Oh and typing out et cetera (however it's typed).
     
    #17 Whimsy, Aug 19, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 19, 2012
  18. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    ^^ Listen to the audio all the way through, then go back. Sometimes your ear then picks up the way they pronounce & enunciate. And sorry for so many posts for replies. I keep of thinking of stuff after while keeping my crazy children in check.
     
  19. ownedbytamater

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    Your first post-

    Yea the instructions were very helpful, and it only comes down to the parentheses mainly. To my knowledge I think I have remembered where most of those goes, I guess I'll really see whenever they finally get graded.

    Second post-

    I'm following the style guide and have learned most of it so that I don't have to constantly check on the rules. I got OK wrong on my second transcription so that has been engraved for me to never make that mistake again :).

    Also I have picked up on the part about not including most of the so's, and's, but's unless they actually contribute to the tone.

    I was just worried about it dropping because after my first transcription it dropped to 79, but I think that's normal so they can check to make sure you do a decent job. I wasn't sure where they stood on me asking for a bump again.


    Your third post-

    I'll have to teach myself to just let some of the things go and then come back later. I drive myself crazy on ones where the recorder shifts and creates feedback in the middle of their sentence.

    Did most of you guys start out getting sevens and eights while first learning the style they wanted? I feel like I keep missing all the little obvious stuff to lower my grade those few points.
     
  20. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    Of my first nine transcriptions, two were 7s, rest were 8s. Then I worked on a different type of HIT (Improve a Transcript) because of an oh so old and persnickety laptop. When working on transcriptions again, I was stuck at receiving 8s for a good number of them. My qual got bumped up and it seems I'm now on auto 9s, except when I put in a certain number of [xx], [?], or other bracketed text. I still get manually edited and messed up big time after being away for over a week.

    The first couple of months are the worst. If you're ever really curious, you can read the other threads here in this subforum and you'll find so many tips, stories, points of interest, rants, raves, frustrations, eureka moments, questions, etc.
     

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