Why I read the transcript before I open the footage
Keiko Tan
Podcast editor
The best podcast clip is usually a reaction, and you find those faster on the page.
5 min read
A two-hour episode is a lot of timeline. It’s also about twenty thousand words, which you can skim in fifteen minutes.
Look for the laugh
I search the transcript for the places people interrupt each other, laugh, or say “wait”. Those are the moments people share, because they feel like overhearing something.
Then watch
Only then do I open the footage, at the timestamps I’ve marked. It turns a day of watching into an hour of choosing.