Title: Transcription Tips
Course: Web Accessibility MOOC for Educators > Section: Creating Accessible Audio and Video Content

Speaker Identification

Place speaker's name in parentheses, on its own line:

(Juliet)

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Sound Effects

Description of sound effects should be placed in square brackets and should identify the sound source:

...ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.
[audience applause]

Sound effects should appear after the sound description, on their own line, in lower case:

[machine gun]
rat-a-tat-tat

If possible, use words that imitate the sound being described:

Oink (pig)
Roar (lion)
Woof (dog bark)
Ahem...
Clank

Music Description

If a piece of music is significant to the story, introduce the artist’s name and song title in brackets:

[Barry Manilow singing “I Write The Songs”]

If the music has lyrics which are pertinent to the story, caption them. Lyrics should be denoted with a music symbol (♪) at the beginning and end of the caption (type Alt+13 on the numeric keypad to insert the music symbol):

♪ I write the songs that make the whole world sing ♪

Use two music symbols after the last line of the song to indicate the end of the music:

♪ I am music, and I write the songs ♪♪

Miscellaneous Tips

Use an ellipsis (…) to indicate a pause:

(Jeff)
I wonder...where did Tim go?

Use italics for foreign words and phrases:

The Latin inscription consisted of
only three words: E Pluribus Unum.

Use ALL CAPS, not italics, for emphasis:

(Mother)
Billy...set that down RIGHT NOW!