Here at Corbin, we pride ourselves on leveraging the latest technologies and systems to create outstanding work, on time and on budget for our clients. Today however, I want to let you in on one of our secret weapons, a classic tool used by the highest court in all the land, by all your favourite journalists and even, by Ryan Seacrest… transcripts!

Okay, we know that transcripts don’t sound sexy, but when it comes to crafting the best interview videos, they are indeed le sexiest tool of all time! Let’s examine:

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Staying on Topic

Interviews can often meander in and out of focus, for a variety of reasons. The subject might get excited about something off topic, and the interviewer indulges their curiosity. Or maybe the subject says something surprising and the interviewer wants to dig a bit deeper on the topic, for their own personal interest. Regardless of what sent the interview off the rails, having a readout of exactly what was said will allow an editor to scan the contents of the entire interview, and quickly identify the most relevant soundbites. Alternatively, there is the option of creating a paper edit for a video editor, which can save the post production process a significant amount of time.

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Creating new Assets

Transcripts allow you to repurpose what was said into auxiliary content, for example, you can quote the speaker as a subject matter expert, in an article being written. Or perhaps you’re looking to create social assets out of the interview, so you can produce something inspirational out of what has been said, by laying it over top of a photo (of the speaker). Creating a transcript will allow you to extract additional value out of your investment in video content— and given the internet’s appetite these days, you will certainly benefit from publishing as much content as possible.

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‍Content Archive

Reality is that video files are large, and creating an easily accessible archive of their contents, is a laborious exercise. Transcripts are a lightweight, easily accessible archival format for all your interview video content, so if you choose to come back to the footage at a later date, you don’t need to scan through the footage, in real time.

These are just a few of the ways transcripts can act as an essential tool in your content strategy, saving you time, money and ultimately extracting maximum value from your original investment.

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