We're Pitching at Berlinale—Here's What We're Bringing
We got the email in December: Wavery was selected for the EFM Startups program at Berlinale.
For context, EFM Startups picks 12 media-tech companies each year. Previous alumni include Letterboxd, FilmChain, Respeecher, Largo.ai. Companies that went on to reshape how the film industry works.
Now we’re one of them. And honestly, it still feels surreal.
What We’re Actually Presenting
WhisperScript is an offline transcription tool. That probably sounds boring until you understand the problem it solves.
Filmmakers work with sensitive material constantly. Scripts in development. Unreleased performances. Confidential interviews. Footage from international co-productions with layers of NDAs.
Cloud transcription services create friction here. Legal questions about data residency. Concerns about who can access your files. Dependency on internet connectivity—a real problem on location shoots.
WhisperScript runs entirely on your machine. No uploads. No cloud. Your material stays under your control.
Why This Matters for Post-Production
Here’s what editors actually do with transcription:
- Search dialogue across scenes to find specific moments
- Pull quotes for promotional materials
- Organize interview footage by topic
- Create subtitles for accessibility and international distribution
All of this is faster when transcription happens locally. No waiting for API responses. No worrying about connectivity. No wondering who else might have access to your unreleased content.
The Bigger Vision
Transcription is our foundation, but we’re building toward something larger: intelligent audio search across entire projects.
Imagine searching a five-hour documentary for “every moment someone mentions climate change” in under a second. A sound designer pulling every door slam from 50 hours of raw footage. An editor finding all the ad-libs in a comedic performance.
These capabilities exist for images and text. They should exist for audio and dialogue too—and they should work locally.
Come Find Us
Our pitch is Sunday, February 15, 14:00-15:00 CET. We’re also participating in the EFAD workshop where Jonathan is speaking about AI and creative workflows.
If you’re at Berlinale and want to talk about transcription, post-production workflows, or just grab coffee—reach out through getwavery.com. We’d love to meet you.
See you in Berlin.
Jesse handles content at Wavery. He’s unreasonably excited about subtitle workflows.