Yesterday afternoon, I put out a call for people to help me with the project to transcribe Wendy Davis' filibuster. I have about 15 hours of filibuster left and have been taking them in roughly 15 minute chunks. That means I have 60 videos left to cut and transcribe.
As of this morning, twelve hours after I asked for help, 73 people have volunteered their services. I officially have MORE volunteers than I have video to GIVE them. I am crying and so happy and cannot stop. I love you all. So, so much. So here are some words.
1. More work! More volunteers!! If ya'll are game, I'm going to expand the project to reflect the support. In addition to the 15 hours Wendy Davis testimony, there is 15 hours of citizen testimony from Monday, and 15 hours of House hearings from Tuesday. If we don't get any more help (and people are VERY welcome to PLEASE keep volunteering!!), that would mean ~3 transcripts per person. If that all gets done, well, I'm sure there will be MORE hearings.
2. Videos Soonish! I'm the bottle-neck here, and I know that. I will start cutting and posting videos either tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. (Several of you have asked how I'm recording and cutting the videos. It's a complex process involving no less than 5 programs, string, and some fairy dust. I'll post something longer later for the aficionados, but it's not a process I would willingly inflict on others.)
3. Way Forward Plan! I plan to divvy out the work this way. I don't want to share everyone's email addresses, so you will all be given Kickass Code Names (TM). The work to be done will be put in a spreadsheet against your code name, and only I will have the corresponding key of who is who. I'll post the "to work" spreadsheet on Google Docs for all to see, and it will look like this:
| Name | Segment Name | YouTube Link | SugarSync Link | Finished? |
| Mother of Dragons | SB5-001-Wendy Davis Opening Remarks | http:// | http:// | yes |
| Mother of Dragons | SB5-002-The History of SB5 | yes | ||
| Mother of Dragons | SB5-003-Testimony of Texas Medical Association | yes | ||
| Apples | SB5-004-Bob Deuell Opens His Mouth | no | ||
| Bananas | ||||
| Canteloupes | ||||
Back on my desktop, unshared with the world, will be another table that says something like:
| Name1 | Name2 | |
| Mother of Dragons | Ana Mardoll | anamardoll@gmail.com |
| Apples | Patrick Stewart | |
| Bananas | Margaret Atwood | |
| Canteloupes | That guy from the 70's show |
You will get an email from me (soonish!) saying "Your code name is [xyz]."
I think that's it! Some of you have asked for an open thread for talking about transcription methods, so please feel free to use this thusly. Note that I'm cross-posting this in my usual manner. And, again: THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. This is the happiest I have ever been, ever.
A quick note: If you have any spoons left to give, please follow Kristen Rawls on twitter today. She's covering the exact same stuff going on in NC. And if you can, send her a tweet and ask how you can help or if there's anyone she recommends you follow for on-the-scene updates in Raleigh. Thank you.
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