Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120559000200.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Transcription in a jiffy

A. Saye Sekhar

Laura P. Brewer and Teri Darrenougue make sure their brains work in perfect sync with their nimble fingers

Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

In perfect tandem: Teri Darrenougue and Laura P. Brewer are ‘Certified Realtime reporters’. -

HYDERABAD: A giant screen pivoted on a stand became the cynosure of all eyes at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) on Wednesday.

The speeches and observations of speaker after speaker and even the intermittent applauses from the audiences, promptly recorded on the screen, took everyone by surprise. Most participants thought a new speech-recognition software unveiled this wonder, for the available tool can only recognise one particular voice or style of speech.

Laura P. Brewer and Teri Darrenougue, working as ‘Certified Realtime Reporters’ of their own company, demonstrated the apogee of their talent, making sure their brains worked in perfect sync with their nimble fingers at breakneck speed. The moment a word is uttered by a speaker, it appeared on the screen in less than a nanosecond, if it’s not an exaggeration.

Array of issues

While the IGF was deliberating upon an array of issues, the duo provided an opportunity for most to understand that another profession is thriving – fast transcription. What’s more, they were grasping translated versions from eight different languages into English and transcribing the text in no time.

Triumph recalled

Slipping a speaker of her headphone aside, Ms. Laura recalled her triumph of winning a world record in typing – 290 words a minute, conducted by ‘InterSteno’, while the world standard is 260 words a minute. The duo passed the hearing-and-transcribing test conducted by the National Court Reporters Association’s Speed Contest in the US. A blushing Teri, of course, said she didn’t participate in any competition for more speed like her pal.

It is lucrative for specialised assignments, but not so much attractive pay is given for writing subtitles of films.

Sitting in Canada and watching the programme in hall No.5 through webcast was another captionnaire. “Had she been connected through Skype, the transcription would have been in realtime,” said Stefano Polidori of the International Telecommunication Union.