Merrill transcription service for historic “Jetman” broadcast

National Geographic were put in touch with Merrill a week before Swiss daredevil, Yves Rossy (or “FusionMan” as he calls himself), was due to make his ground-breaking flight across the Channel powered only by a jet-propelled wing strapped to his back. Due to bad weather the flight had to be cancelled for three days running until blue skies finally appeared on 27 September and conditions were perfect. Merrill had a reporter on standby all week until the big day finally arrived.

National Geographic were filming a live broadcast of the voyage and needed a transcript of the programme within 90 minutes of the end of the show. The transcript was then translated into four languages in order to subtitle the programme for transmission in Scandinavia and The Netherlands. Our reporter watched the programme in real-time and transcribed the action, delivering a full transcript within 90 minutes of the end of the broadcast. This was the first time MCC has worked for National Geographic and only the second time National Geographic has broadcast a live programme.

Craig Madlin, Operations Co-ordinator for National Geographic, said: “I was very impressed with the level of service provided by Merrill. It was a very tight deadline and they delivered, with time to spare.”

Jolanta Kaczmarek, Sales Executive, Media and Corporate Communications, said: “We were delighted to be involved in such an exciting event and to work with National Geographic for the first time was great. The team were under considerable pressure but performed really well.”

For further information on our Media and Corporate Communications services, please contact Jolanta Kaczmarek on 0207 421 4006 or by e-mail to jolanta.kaczmarek@merrillcorp.com.