How to transcribe a video

Video files pile up quietly. There’s the recorded webinar from last quarter, a set of customer interviews exported as MP4s, a screen recording someone made to explain a bug, and phone footage of a talk you attended. Each holds useful information, and each one is opaque until someone sits down and watches it from the start.

This page covers the usual ways to transcribe video files, what tends to get in the way, and how to upload videos to Fabric so each one gets a transcript you can edit, search to the exact moment, and ask the AI about.

How people usually transcribe video files

Editing software is a common starting point. Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, and Descript can all generate a transcript from a timeline, which is convenient if the video is already open in an edit. If it isn’t, importing a file into an editor just to read what was said is a heavy way to get some text.

Dedicated transcription services such as Otter or Rev take an upload and return a transcript, either machine-generated or from a human transcriber at a per-minute price. The quality is often good. The transcript then lives in that service’s account or downloads as a Word or text file, and the video itself stays somewhere else, so a quote in the transcript no longer links back to the moment on screen.

Some people upload the file to YouTube as unlisted to borrow its automatic captions, then copy the text out. Others type it up by hand, which for an hour of interview can take three or four hours. Across all of these, once there are dozens of videos, finding the one where a customer mentioned pricing means remembering which file and which transcript to open.

Step 1: Upload your video files

Fabric transcribes uploaded MP4, MOV, and WebM files. In the web or desktop app, drag the videos in, paste them, or click Upload a file. Uploading handles large numbers of files at once, so a whole folder of interview recordings can go in together.

Video files are large, which is where the Fabric desktop app helps. It mounts Fabric as a virtual drive on Mac, Windows, and Linux, so you can move videos in from Finder or File Explorer. Files on the drive take no space on your computer and stream when you open them. How to access cloud files without using disk space explains the setup in more detail.

Footage on your phone can go in through the share sheet in the Photos or Files app. Videos hosted online work too: Fabric transcribes YouTube and TikTok links, so you can paste the link instead of downloading the file.

Step 2: Get the transcript and correct it

Transcription needs a paid plan; it’s not part of the free plan. Plans are listed on the pricing page. On a paid plan, Fabric transcribes the audio track of each video after upload, and you can open the video to read its transcript.

Transcripts can be edited. Product names, people’s surnames, and acronyms are the usual things to check, especially in interviews you plan to quote from.

Alongside the transcript, Fabric writes a summary of the video and extracts attributes such as content type and the topics discussed. Smart collections you set up can use those attributes to gather related videos automatically, so a collection for onboarding recordings fills itself as new ones arrive.

Step 3: Search what was said across every video

Click Search or press Cmd+F (Mac) / Ctrl+F (Windows). Fabric search covers transcribed audio and video next to your documents and notes, and a result opens at the timestamp where the words were spoken. A query like “complaints about the checkout” can surface three separate customer interviews and drop you at the right minute in each.

Quotes switch to strict, exact matching, which suits a product code or a phrase you know was used. Filters for kind of item, tags, and location in your files keep results to video when your library holds a lot of other material.

Step 4: Ask the AI about one video or a folder of them

Open the folder with your videos and open the AI assistant. It’s limited to that folder and analyzes everything in it. Ask “what were the main objections across these interviews?” or “at what point does the presenter explain the pricing change?” and the answer cites its sources with timestamps you can click to watch that moment.

Answers can be saved as notes. For a research project, that might be a findings note sitting in the same folder as the interviews it was drawn from, with every claim linked to a timestamp.

Step 5: Gather feedback on the video itself

If the video is a draft rather than a recording, share it with a colleague or client as a commenter. Roles and permissions cover viewer, commenter, editor, and admin, and external people can use a shared link without signing up. Commenters can leave timestamped comments on video, and a comment can include a drawing on the frame. Each comment can be marked completed once it’s dealt with.

For keeping the source files, exports, and transcripts of a production in order, how to manage video project files goes further.

Frequently asked questions

What video formats can Fabric transcribe?

Fabric transcribes uploaded MP4, MOV, and WebM files, plus YouTube and TikTok links. Video file formats explained covers the differences between formats.

Is video transcription free in Fabric?

No. Transcription needs a paid plan. Uploading and storing video is possible on the free plan, within its storage and file size caps.

Can I transcribe several videos at once?

Yes. Upload a batch of files together, or move a folder into the Fabric desktop drive. Each video is transcribed after it arrives.

Can I edit a video transcript after it’s generated?

Yes. Transcripts in Fabric can be edited, so you can correct names, terms, and anything misheard.

How do I find a specific moment in a long video?

Search for what was said. Results from transcribed video open at the timestamp, and the AI assistant cites timestamps in its answers too.

Will uploading lots of video fill up my laptop?

Not through the desktop drive. Files there take no space on your computer and stream when you open them.

Can I transcribe a video without downloading it first?

For YouTube and TikTok, yes. Paste the link into Fabric and it’s transcribed from the link.

Can someone comment on a specific moment in my video?

Yes. Share the video with commenter permission and they can leave timestamped comments, including drawings on the frame.