Interview editing log: a template with timecodes
Give the editor not a request to “do dynamically”, but a clear plan: what fragments to take, where to find them and what thought they should keep.
Text helps to gather historyThe exact boundaries and quality of the glue are checked by video
Short response
An interview sheet is a working table for selecting and assembling fragments: file, beginning, end, content, place in history and note to the editor. transcription helps to find the right thoughts, but the boundaries and safety of meaning are checked by recording. Below is a sheet template and an example of how to make a short material from several parts of the conversation.
Contents
- What is the result of the installation sheet
- Prepare the sources and a single countdown of time
- Mounting Sheet Template
- Completed example for interviews
- How to shorten interviews and keep meaning
- What to transfer to the editor together with the table
- How to check the first assembly
- Frequently asked questions
What is the result of the installation sheet
In a long interview, there are successful thoughts, but they are scattered on the record. Without a plan, the editor explains again and again to the editor where to look for the answer and what example to save. The worksheet links the meaning to a specific place in the source.
First, write down the task of the finished material: to whom it is addressed and what question it answers. For example: “Show how the team agreed on the rules of working meetings.” Then the fragment about choosing an office may be interesting, but does not apply to this story.
Specify the desired duration as a reference point and mandatory elements: the question of the presenter, the explanation of the guest, an example, the conclusion. Do not start by removing pauses in a row. First you need to understand what thoughts will be the material.
The preparation of the text for the article solves another editorial task. If you need a text result, a guide will be useful Transcription of interviews for publication. Here the sheet is designed to work with video and sound.
Prepare the sources and a single countdown of time
Each source file give a clear name, such as interview_main_v1.mp4. If the sound is recorded separately, specify what material is used for time marks. The 12:40 mark in the audio file may not match the same moment on the camera.
In the sheet header, fix the coordinate system: “time from the beginning of the specified source file, clock:minutes:seconds”. If the mounting team uses a personnel timecode, agree the format with it separately. Do not rename seconds to personnel values without checking.
Get transcription with timecodes and check selected replicas. For each candidate, listen to the beginning, the end and the neighboring context. The automatic tag helps to find the fragment, but the final cutting point is chosen by sound and image.
Do not change the original names and versions after transferring the sheet without notifying the installer. Otherwise, even a properly recorded time can lead to other material.
Mounting Sheet Template
| The field | What to indicate |
|---|---|
| Order in assembly | The position of the fragment in future history. This is not the source file number. |
| Source | File name and version. |
| Beginning / end | Time in the source; the boundaries are specified by the record or while the draft. |
| Contents | Short meaning and accurate initial/end words to search. |
| Function | Entry, explanation, example, transition, conclusion. |
| Note | It is necessary to ask the moderator, to keep the reservation, to check the noise, to add a suitable interruption. |
| Status | The candidate, selected, requires verification, is excluded. |
Keep the full transcription next, and in the cell leave exactly as much text as necessary to find and understand the fragment. If you use a short retelling, sign it as meaning, not as a verbatim quote.
To transfer to the document you can start with the following line: No → file → beginning → end → sense → function → comment → status. With a separate block from above, specify the task of the video, the audience and the version of the sheet.
Completed example for interviews
An educational example: a fictional conversation with the team leader about working meetings. Timecodes and replicas are created for illustration.
| No and source | The beginning is the end | Meaning | Comment to the editor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · interview_main_v1.mp4 | 00:02:10 — 00:03:05 | The problem: The meetings ended without a clear next step. | Save the question of the presenter, otherwise "it" at the beginning of the answer is unclear. |
| 2 · same file | 00:11:20 — 00:12:30 | Change: at the end began to say the result, responsible and term. | Leave the words “in our team”: the guest describes his experience. |
| 3 · same file | 00:18:00 — 00:18:50 | Example: how the dependence of the term on the initial data was specified. | Check that the subject of the conversation is clear; perhaps you need a short input of the presenter. |
| 4 · same file | 00:24:15 — 00:24:55 | Conclusion: agreements need to be verified, not just write down. | Listen to the end of the thought and leave a natural way out of the line. |
The total length of the selected reference segments is 3 minutes 35 seconds. This is not the duration of the finished video: in the assembly may appear questions, transitions, introduction and additional reductions.
Note: the second fragment is recorded much later than the first, but logically continues it. With such a permutation, check whether circumstances have not changed and whether a false sequence of events is created.
How to shorten interviews and keep meaning
The replica often contains a condition, denial, or boundary of experience. When shortened, it is these words that are easy to lose because they seem less effective than the main thesis.
| In the original response | Dangerous reduction | What to save |
|---|---|---|
| “We are not yet ready to apply this to all projects.” | “We are ready to apply this to all projects.” | Denial and temporary restriction. |
| “It helped when the task was one responsible.” | “It helped” without context. | The condition under which the result was obtained. |
| “We met in this project a week.” | “We are setting up a week.” | The difference between one case and general practice. |
The glue should not force the guest to answer another question. Especially carefully check the short yes, no, the “finite” and pronouns. Without the original question, they can get the opposite meaning.
If a new frame text is required for connectivity, mark it in the sheet as an editorial bundle. Do not make an invented explanation as a verbatim speech of the guest.
What to transfer to the editor together with the table
- Sources with matching names and versions.
- Complete proven transcription or the necessary fragments with context.
- Video task and length of reference.
- List of mandatory replicas and semantic restrictions.
- Materials for permissible inserts and explanation of where they are needed.
- The procedure for checking the first assembly and the list of people making the decision.
Some video editors can work with the installation through text. For example, Adobe describes Text-Based Editing as working with related text and video fragments. But the usual table from this article remains the editorial plan: in itself it does not perform the installation.
Before a lot of work, ask to collect one fragment and check whether you understand the fields the same way. This helps to notice different time systems or unclear comments before assembling the entire interview.
How to check the first assembly
First, watch the video entirely as a viewer: whether the question and the answer are clear, whether there is a sequence, whether one thought is repeated. Then check the disputed places with the source.
- Denials, conditions and boundaries of the allegations are preserved.
- After the reshuffle, the pronouns and references to the previous conversation are clear.
- No glue creates an answer to another question.
- The beginnings and ends of the replica are checked by sound.
- The inserts do not contradict the content of speech.
- Comments on the edits are tied to the version and time of the finished build.
The last point is especially important: the remarks to the finished video already refer to its time scale, not the source. Sign this in the document so that the editor does not look for an edit on the old coordinates.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a full transcription of the interview?
Not always. For a short task, you can write out the necessary fragments. But full text helps to see the context and compare several options of one thought.
How is the mounting sheet different from transcription?
transcription transmits speech in order of recording. The mounting sheet selects the fragments and sets their function in future history, maintaining a connection with the source.
Can I use timecodes without rechecking?
To find candidates, yes. For the exact beginning and end of the mounting fragment, relisten to the recording and see the image.
Transkribator mounts video on this sheet?
In the described process, he prepares a text source. The selection of fragments, installation and verification of the finished video are performed by the editor and the editor.
Official example of the work of the video editor with the text: Adobe — Overview of Text-Based Editing. The installation sheet and examples of replicas are developed by the editorial office.
Start the editing plan with the text of the interview
Transkribator translates audio and video into text with timecodes. According to the transcription, it is convenient to find the necessary thoughts and prepare the editorial sheet, and the exact boundaries to check the original video.
Convert interviews to textCheck the important wording and timecodes for the original record before using the text.