If you already have transcripts for your videos, transcript alignment is the fastest and least expensive way to create captions and use interactive video plugins. This will give you access to all of the products and services that come with our standard transcription and captioning service.
Prerequisites
Alignment is not available to express accounts. This feature is only available to paid account types ( Pro, Enterprise, Studio ).
Before you get started with alignment, you will need the following materials:
- A source media file
- A plain text transcript with no unspoken elements
- Please note that the duration of each file submitted for alignment should not exceed 2 hours
- DO NOT submit songs, music etc. This process is intended for speech not singing or sound effects
- For users new to the transcript alignment process, it is suggested to set up the Alignment Review tool before submitting transcripts for alignment
Steps to Order Alignment Through the Account System
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Click “Order Services”
Click “Order Services” in the upper left portion of the navigation menu at the top of the page.
2. Choose “Alignment” As the Main Service For This Order
- Under “Choose Main Service”, select “Alignment”. Ensure that the language spoken in your file matches the language that is actually spoken in your media file and the language of your Alignment text. Then, click “Next”.
3. Select Additional Services to Order If Necessary
- If you wish to order additional services such as Caption Placement, Audio Description or Translations, you may order them on this step. Click “Next” to continue to the next step.
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If ordering Caption Placement, you can then select the type of Caption Placement to order: Automated Caption Placement or Manual Caption Placement.
See more information regarding vertical caption placement.
- If ordering Audio Description, you can then select the type of Audio Description to order: Standard Audio Description, Extended Audio Description, or Use 3Play’s Recommendation.
- Learn more about the difference between Standard and Extended Audio Description here.
- If unsure as to whether the video will require Standard or Extended Audio Description, you can opt to Use 3Play’s Recommendation. Learn more about using 3Play’s Recommendation here.
- If ordering Translations, select the language that you would like to have your alignment text translated into.
| Note: If you choose to order translations at this stage, you will not have the option to review your alignment for accuracy prior to the file being sent to our translation vendors. If you wish to review your alignment results prior to the file being translated, please do not order Translations at this stage. Instead, you may order translations following the steps linked here after your alignment is complete and you have reviewed the file. |
4. Upload your Media File and Paste your Alignment Text
- Upload your media file from your desktop, a linked account, or using a link that leads directly to a downloadable file. Then, paste your alignment transcript in plain text in the textbox below. Once you are finished, click “Next”. By default, your alignment file will be uploaded to your latest order folder. If you would like to upload this file to a specific folder, you can choose your desired folder to upload to or you can create a new folder in this step prior to uploading your media file.
| Note: Make sure that you are pasting your alignment transcript as plain text. To do this on Windows, you can hold shift and right click, then select “Paste as Plain Text”. On a mac, you can do this by holding OPTION+Shift+Command+V. |
5. Review and Place your Order
- Please review the services and turnaround times requested on the Finalize Order section of the form. Read the cancellation policy that displays on the right-hand side of the Finalize Order page.
- After reviewing the order and cancelation policy, click Submit to complete the ordering process.
Tips and best practices
- Please review our Best Practices for Alignment document, linked here.
- Ensure that you choose the correct language for your alignment file. By default, our system will assume that your file is in English. If your file is in a language other than English, please make sure to select the correct spoken language for your file in step 1.
- Ensure that you are pasting your alignment transcript in plain text, and that this transcript contains, verbatim, only elements that are spoken in the audio of the file. DO NOT include unspoken elements such as URLs, sound effects, or other unspoken information.
- Alignment works best with files that have minimal background music and sound effects. Files that start with sound effects or music may throw off the alignment process and cause an improperly aligned file. Should this occur, you can upgrade to full transcription following the steps linked here.
| Note: A turnaround time cannot be assigned to a transcript alignment request, as this process is 100% automated. Files will usually be completed within a few hours and almost always by the next business day. Factors that impact the turnaround time of an alignment request are the duration of the media file and our capacity at the time of upload. |
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