Timestamps

Timestamps are markers in the transcription to indicate when the adjacent text was spoken. For example:

Timestamps are in the format [HH:MM:SS] where HH, MM, and SS are hours, minutes, and seconds from the beginning of the audio or video file.

When Are Timestamps Helpful?

Timestamps are helpful when someone reading the transcript wants to listen to the audio that corresponds to a particular segment of the transcript. They are also useful when referring to a specific part of the transcript. For example: “At [00:21:30], the interviewer asks the driver if he had anything to drink that evening.” This allows the reader to quickly find the section of the transcript where that question was asked.

Timestamps are often ordered with transcripts of interviews, panel discussions, depositions, legal transcripts, and raw footage of documentaries or other video productions before editing. When used with video transcription, timestamps can help to synchronize the text with a specific scene within the video file. Editors find them useful when looking for a particular part of the video that needs to be edited. Market researchers find them useful when writing reports summarizing what they’ve learned from reading interview transcripts or panel discussions.

Timestamps vs. Captions for Videos

If you need transcript text to appear over the top of a video, then Speechpad’s Standard Captions or Premium Captions services might be more appropriate choices. When you order captions from Speechpad, you’ll not only receive a transcript, but also a caption file that can be utilized by most video players to display synchronized text on the video as it is playing. However, if you only need a transcript that can be read alongside a video, then timestamps would be the more economical choice.

Timestamp Options

Speechpad can provide timestamps at various frequencies or locations:

Periodic timestamps
Paragraph timestamps
Sentence timestamps
Speaker timestamps

Periodic Timestamps

Periodic timestamps appear at a consistent frequency, such as every 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. They appear next to the word that is spoken exactly at that time. For example the following transcript has timestamps every 15 seconds:

Periodic Timestamps

[00:00:15] Interviewer: Hello bloggers. Today I’m talking with Sean Platt. Sean’s story is a modern day American success story. Or maybe it should be called an internet success story. His complete story is [00:00:30] available in his book titled “Writer Dad,” which I’ve read and I enjoyed it because I relate to it so much. So I want to kick this off by starting there.Sean, you really have come a long way and I know many new bloggers will find your story fascinating and [00:00:45] inspiring. So let’s start from the beginning. Share with us how you started out working in your dad’s floral shop and how you developed this interest in writing for a living, which came about later than most folks. I think you were in your late 20s when you [00:01:00] decided to pursue writing, is that right?Sean: Actually 30s. Not my late 30s, I’m in my late 30s now. My wife bought me a MacBook for my 30th birthday and said, “I think you should start [00:01:15] writing.” She’d been trying to get me to write for a long, long time, pretty much since our first date. She was a teacher and I was a high school dropout and so I figured, “Of course you think I should write. I don’t know where the [00:01:30] commas go.” She always rejected that notion and said, “You’re articulate and there’s no reason that you can’t get your articulation onto the page. If you can, you would be successful at this. You should try.” But I didn’t. Even after getting the MacBook [00:01:45] I didn’t really do anything with it for a couple of years. And then I started writing.To answer your question about the flower shop, that’s where I got my work ethic from. We had a family business. Flower shop is not easy. It’s like [00:02:00] the restaurant business where holidays are your hardest times, you’re always dealing in perishable product, the hours are grueling. I used to go with my dad to the farm market like 2:00 in the morning, which is crazy, [00:02:15] and just constantly, constantly working. We never took family vacations. So getting into the blogging grind was natural for me because I don’t need sleep.

I left the flower [00:02:30] business in my late 20s and my wife and I opened up a preschool so we could be with our children the first five years. After my daughter went to kindergarten I felt sad. She was my best friend, my little [00:02:45] best friend was now in school full time. And so Cindy, my wife, said, “Well why don’t you try writing now?” So I did. That was in September and by December I had a 600 page rough draft for a novel that [00:03:00] wasn’t good at all but I knew that at least I could keep my butt in the chair for several months and produce. So after that it was a short road to starting a blog [00:03:15] and just getting out there and trying to put my name out. Yeah, so that was 7 years ago now.

Interviewer: Wow. Yeah, I started following you I think it was in 2012 so I think you were already into [00:03:30] your fiction writing career.

Sean: Yeah, I would have been done. I had a couple of phases there. “Writer Dad” was the first and then I started a site called “The Digital Writer” and I blew that up pretty quickly, actually. [00:03:45] That started from nothing and within a few months had 15,000 writers on a list. And then I just got sick of it all and destroyed the list, deleted everything and said, “I’m never blogging again.” [00:04:00] And then I started the podcast. The podcast has been a very natural way for me to communicate. I love it. I’ve never been happier. That is what I do for nonfiction and then I write [00:04:15] fiction almost full time.

Periodic timestamps are a popular choice for raw video footage and also cases where timestamps are not too frequent (e.g. every minute or two).

Paragraph Timestamps

Paragraph timestamps appear at the beginning or end of each paragraph. They are less frequent than other types of timestamps, but also less obtrusive, especially when placed at the end of paragraphs. Despite the lower frequency, they are still useful for helping readers locate the general location of the audio corresponding to a particular part of the transcript. Here is an example of paragraph timestamps:

Paragraph Timestamps

[00:00:17]

Interviewer: Hello bloggers. Today I’m talking with Sean Platt. Sean’s story is a modern day American success story. Or maybe it should be called an internet success story. His complete story is available in his book titled “Writer Dad,” which I’ve read and I enjoyed it because I relate to it so much. So I want to kick this off by starting there.Sean, you really have come a long way and I know many new bloggers will find your story fascinating and inspiring. So let’s start from the beginning. Share with us how you started out working in your dad’s floral shop and how you developed this interest in writing for a living, which came about later than most folks. I think you were in your late 20s when you decided to pursue writing, is that right?

[00:01:02]

[00:01:51]

To answer your question about the flower shop, that’s where I got my work ethic from. We had a family business. Flower shop is not easy. It’s like the restaurant business where holidays are your hardest times, you’re always dealing in perishable product, the hours are grueling. I used to go with my dad to the farm market like 2:00 in the morning, which is crazy, and just constantly, constantly working. We never took family vacations. So getting into the blogging grind was natural for me because I don’t need sleep.

[00:02:27]

I left the flower business in my late 20s and my wife and I opened up a preschool so we could be with our children the first five years. After my daughter went to kindergarten I felt sad. She was my best friend, my little best friend was now in school full time. And so Cindy, my wife, said, “Well why don’t you try writing now?” So I did. That was in September and by December I had a 600 page rough draft for a novel that wasn’t good at all but I knew that at least I could keep my butt in the chair for several months and produce. So after that it was a short road to starting a blog and just getting out there and trying to put my name out. Yeah, so that was 7 years ago now.

[00:03:24]

Interviewer: Wow. Yeah, I started following you I think it was in 2012 so I think you were already into your fiction writing career.

[00:03:31]

Sean: Yeah, I would have been done. I had a couple of phases there. “Writer Dad” was the first and then I started a site called “The Digital Writer” and I blew that up pretty quickly, actually. That started from nothing and within a few months had 15,000 writers on a list. And then I just got sick of it all and destroyed the list, deleted everything and said, “I’m never blogging again.” And then I started the podcast. The podcast has been a very natural way for me to communicate. I love it. I’ve never been happier. That is what I do for nonfiction and then I write fiction almost full time.

Sentence Timestamps

As the name implies, sentence timestamps appear at the beginning of each sentence. Although they can be more distracting to the reader, they do provide a higher resolution for when exact locations of the audio need to be referenced. Here is an example of how sentence timestamps look in a finished transcript:

Sentence Timestamps

Interviewer: [00:00:17] Hello bloggers. [00:00:18] Today I’m talking with Sean Platt. [00:00:21] Sean’s story is a modern day American success story. [00:00:25] Or maybe it should be called an internet success story. [00:00:28] His complete story is available in his book titled “Writer Dad,” which I’ve read and I enjoyed it because I relate to it so much. [00:00:36] So I want to kick this off by starting there. [00:00:39] Sean, you really have come a long way and I know many new bloggers will find your story fascinating and inspiring. [00:00:46] So let’s start from the beginning. [00:00:48] Share with us how you started out working in your dad’s floral shop and how you developed this interest in writing for a living, which came about later than most folks. [00:00:57] I think you were in your late 20s when you decided to pursue writing, is that right?Sean: [00:01:02] Actually 30s. [00:01:04] Not my late 30s, I’m in my late 30s now. [00:01:08] My wife bought me a MacBook for my 30th birthday and said, “I think you should start writing.” [00:01:16] She’d been trying to get me to write for a long, long time, pretty much since our first date. [00:01:21] She was a teacher and I was a high school dropout and so I figured, “Of course you think I should write. [00:01:29] I don’t know where the commas go.” [00:01:31] She always rejected that notion and said, “You’re articulate and there’s no reason that you can’t get your articulation onto the page. [00:01:39] If you can, you would be successful at this. [00:01:41] You should try.” [00:01:43] But I didn’t. [00:01:42] Even after getting the MacBook I didn’t really do anything with it for a couple of years. [00:01:48] And then I started writing.

Speaker Timestamps

Speaker timestamps are placed whenever there is a change in speakers. They are more commonly used for depositions, interviews, panel discussions, and conversational material. They make it easy to reference and find specific questions or responses. Here is an example of speaker timestamps in a finished transcript:

Speaker Timestamps

[00:00:17]

[00:01:02]

Sean: Actually 30s. Not my late 30s, I’m in my late 30s now. My wife bought me a MacBook for my 30th birthday and said, “I think you should start writing.” She’d been trying to get me to write for a long, long time, pretty much since our first date. She was a teacher and I was a high school dropout and so I figured, “Of course you think I should write. I don’t know where the commas go.” She always rejected that notion and said, “You’re articulate and there’s no reason that you can’t get your articulation onto the page. If you can, you would be successful at this. You should try.” But I didn’t. Even after getting the MacBook I didn’t really do anything with it for a couple of years. And then I started writing.To answer your question about the flower shop, that’s where I got my work ethic from. We had a family business. Flower shop is not easy. It’s like the restaurant business where holidays are your hardest times, you’re always dealing in perishable product, the hours are grueling. I used to go with my dad to the farm market like 2:00 in the morning, which is crazy, and just constantly, constantly working. We never took family vacations. So getting into the blogging grind was natural for me because I don’t need sleep.

[00:03:24]

Interviewer: Wow. Yeah, I started following you I think it was in 2012 so I think you were already into your fiction writing career.

[00:03:31]

Sean: Yeah, I would have been done. I had a couple of phases there. “Writer Dad” was the first and then I started a site called “The Digital Writer” and I blew that up pretty quickly, actually. That started from nothing and within a few months had 15,000 writers on a list. And then I just got sick of it all and destroyed the list, deleted everything and said, “I’m never blogging again.” And then I started the podcast. The podcast has been a very natural way for me to communicate. I love it. I’ve never been happier. That is what I do for nonfiction and then I write fiction almost full time.

Pricing

Timestamps incur an additional charge of $0.25/audio minute. At this price we can provide Periodic Timestamps as frequent as every 15 seconds, Paragraph Timestamps, or Sentence Timestamps. We can generally provide Speaker Timestamps at this price as well, but if the conversation is dynamic, with lots of speaker changes, then we may need to charge more. If you need timestamps at a higher frequency than every 15 seconds, or you have other custom requirements, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to provide a quote for you.

How to Order Timestamps

To order timestamps, simply select the “Request Timestamps” link when placing your order. A dialog box will appear allowing you to select the type of timestamp and frequency. Periodic and Paragraph Timestamps are the only choices presented. If you need Sentence or Speaker Timestamps, please select “Paragraph” and then please use the “Add Transcriber Instructions” link to specify the exact type of timestamps you need.

Additional Questions?

If you still have special timestamping requirements, or additional questions we have not answered here, please contact us, and we’ll do our best to help.

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