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ABOUT TRANSCRIPTION   Transcriptions from ST DVD were done by me (like other site content, unless otherwise stated). Transcription Method A = quoting people's interviews/presentations verbatim Transcription Method B = quoting the ST DVD English subtitles Seasons 1-3 and 5-7: Method A.  Season 4: Method B

Transcription Method A = quoting people's interviews/presentations verbatim.
Transcription Method B = quoting the ST DVD English subtitles.

I refer to subtitles if I am unsure of spelling AND the spelling is not given in Poe or Encyclopaedia. Sometimes I say in an article "not given anywhere in Poe" or "not given anywhere in Encyclopaedia" - on those occasions I really do mean that the item does not appear anywhere at all in the publication (edition or version details given in SOURCES) including indexes of cast or production staff. If I searched only parts of Poe and/or Encyclopaedia, what I say in an article would reflect that.
          ST DVD subtitles contain some errors. Within just one 10 minute ST DVD article I noticed these spelling errors: "Colby" for Kolbe (one of [Star Trek Voyager]'s best-known directors!) ref. [Basics], "Shaw" for "Schaal" ref. [Real Life], "Wrenn's" for "Ren's" ref. [#8 Ex Post Facto], "principle photography" for "principal photography". A quick look at the cast list would have avoided the "Shaw" error. I must admit the error only leapt at me because I had long before noted the lady's name as part of my constant gathering of information about cast and guest-stars. But if the stenographer listened to Robert Picardo carefully enough when he mentions Wendy Schaal's name they would have heard the "l" sound at the end of her name. And the error should have been picked up when (or if) the stenographer's work was checked (or properly checked) by a suitable Star Trek staff member. Therefore, due to ST DVD subtitles spelling errors, I am reluctant to place full reliance on ST DVD's spellings.
          However, I stress that for the most part the subtitles are satisfactory. Indeed, I think the subtitles are good, judging from my own (limited) stenographer experience. But I suspect that the final work of ST DVD's stenographer(s) was not checked, at least not all of it and/or not by a fully knowledgeable Star Trek staff member (or "Colby" would have been corrected), as words are often missed out or in the wrong order which can happen in stenography (or indeed in copy- or audio-typing) - one should always check one's typing in case you have any words out (grin).
          In some cases I have referred to ST DVD subtitles specifically to find out how to spell a name or term only to find they have presumably had the same problem as me but have sidestepped having to spell it by omitting it altogether. In several of those cases that sidestepping is blatant because the name or term really needed to have been included, as it is a major item, and if only to maintain the consistency in the level of detail.

Editing policy: For Method B I do no editing, or next to none as I do correct ST DVD misspelling, grammatical errors and factual mistakes. There are one or two factual errors in ST DVD e.g. in a behind-the-scenes 'lollipop' in ST DVD Season 3 showing a clip from [#17 Projections] and visibly labelling it as being from the episode [#18 Elogium]. For Method A I do minimal editing. I edit to help the flow, as audio-visual presentation is more forgiving than written. I aim to convey the speaker's words as completely as possible to retain their personality, mood and speech rhythms. In life, people often speak not in proper sentences and I retain this, within reason, provided the meaning is clear. I reduce the number of times "you know" and similar expressions appear. I curtail the number of sentences that start but do not finish (depending on content). I add notes where necessary. I tend to omit religious oaths. I rationalise Star Trek references e.g. denoting the series using the conventional [TNG] [DS9] etc. (sometimes speakers refer to 'Next Gen').

For Method A and B, as necessary, I rationalise the subject order, either for the sake of the article (as speakers sometimes go back and forth between topics) and/or to suit my own presentation. This means text is not necessarily in the order given and/or may be split across several articles on my site.

If you spot an error please e-mail so I can correct it, but serious errors only please. Thanks! (However, it is not an error on my part if you happen to just dispute aspects of my editorial style.)

My transcriptions were new to the Web when I uploaded them. (If you use them on another site please give a credit-link. Thanks.) I ascribe that exclusivity to the large amount of effort involved which might discourage other webmasters from attempting it, amounting to forty full A4-size pages for Seasons 2 and 3 combined. (I also took screenshots.) The typing took far longer than expected but did not daunt me because years ago part of a job I once had was to transcribe police interview tapes, which is harder audio-typing than doing it for deliberate dictation.

Unlike police interviews, ST DVD has a lot of intrusive noise as presentations usually play over episode clips or background music.

After doing Seasons 1-3 by "full" transcription, I found that reproducing the subtitles, with minor editing, can serve better. It is more understandable in that you get the gist quicker, is faster to do hence increases my overall productivity, it should not worsen my tennis elbow as the forty page transcription did and, last but not least, it offers a choice as some people like "full" transcription while others prefer to get straight to the point. So Season 4's have that kind; the transcription done for Seasons 1-3 and Seasons 5-7 is "full".

One or two articles on certain UK ST DVD sets do not appear on the US version. One is 'Designing USS Voyager'; I wonder if the reason is that an eponymous article appeared in the magazine ST:M a long time ago, or else that this particuar UK ST DVD article might appear on a US ST DVD later.

Title image by me using an image from Art Explosion. Theirs is the image without spotlight and no DVD box; I removed their spotlight effect in order to add my own and to achieve the lighting effect on the box. The ST DVD box is the version released in the UK. The other picture on this page is also theirs.

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