The new platform Hyperaudio does exactly what its name suggests: it makes audio hyperactive. It takes quotes you select from your interview transcript and matches them up with your video or audio interview content. This allows reporters working with two or more mediums — print and video, for example — to manipulate material across platforms with the ease of copy-and-paste.
The speed and transparency with which Hyperaudio allows reporters to publish transcripts of their interviews may also help the industry as a whole better respond to accusations of bias and cherry-picking quotes from interviews.
"Journalists can greatly benefit from publishing a transcript with their audio/video content. It makes it more discoverable, searchable and generally easier to scan,” Hyperaudio co-founder Mark Boas told IJNet.
Boas, who presented Hyperaudio during a session at the recent Hacks/Hackers Buenos Aires Media Party, says the platform can help journalists identify language pertinent to a particular period in time and then put that in context. Hyperaudio makes it easy to search for repeated words or phrases, allowing frequently used expressions to stand out. Hyperaudio “really allows you to analyze the language being used by people,” he said.
But where Hyperaudio really shines is as a video editor. The program allows you to cut and combine different video files without having to laboriously match cuts to the clip transcript. Instead, the relevant text from the transcript follows the video clip to its new location inside the file.
It also lets journalists add captions in multiple languages, titles, music, and other effects. Content from the user-friendly platform can be embedded on external websites.
Hyperaudio allows you to see how many times users have clicked on a particular word or shared specific phrases, offering reader interactivity that Boas hopes will encourage media outlets to make more transcripts publicly available.
Main image CC licensed on Flickr via Sergiu Bacioiu.