How To Create Subtitles In Premiere

The caption and subtitle workflow has been greatly improved in Adobe Premiere Pro 2021. Follow these quick and simple steps to add professional quality captions or subtitles to your videos.

Create New Caption Track

Click on Captions Button at top
If it is not visible, go to Windows > Workspace > Captions.
In the Text panel, choose Create New Caption Track button.
Choose Subtitle or Caption
Click on Plus sign button.
Manually type text. It will become a segment in your timeline.
Extend and trim the caption with click and drag of the segment edge, and move the caption as you move all other segments with click and drag of entire segment.
Create another caption by moving the playhead (blue line) to the end of the caption segment, click in the empty area, then click on the plus sign.

Change Caption Appearance

Select a Caption segment.
In Essential Graphics panel (which should already be open), you can:
a. Change the font size and type
b. Change the position by choosing a zone, and fine tune location within the zone by adjusting the numbers
Note: Usually Subtitles are placed at bottom center of videos.
c. Change the color of the font, with the Fill tool
d. Add Background by selecting background color, opacity and how much space appears around text.
e. Add Shadow (which improves visibility of the text)

Change Appearance Through Entire Timeline

Go to Essential Graphics Panel > Track Style
Change to Create Style
Name it, if you want to.
Click OK
This will set the style for all your caption segments in your video

Importing Captions Created Separately (Importing SRT file)

Click File > Import.
Choose your srt file.
Click Import
Find it in your Project panel.
Drag it into your timeline.
Choose when captions will start.
a. Source timecode – indicate time on track
b. Playhead position – where Playhead (blue line) is placed
c. Timeline start – beginning of video(Insert start time)
Hiding and deleting an existing caption track is the same for all other tracks:
a. Hide – click on track, click on eyeball icon, track will be grayed out
b. Delete – right-click on track, choose Delete Track

Modifying Segment Text

Split text into two segments:

Select the segment.
Split it with the Caption Split tool. This will duplicate the entire text field
Edit the text manually to split between two segments

Merge text into one segment:

Select multiple segments.
Click Caption Merge tool.

Export As SRT File

For YouTube you will export the video file and the srt file and upload them as separate files, to provide the option for viewers to turn captions on or off.

Click the three dots at the top of the text panel (if not visible increase the panel size)
Click Export File > SRT file
Choose a folder and name the file.
Click Export

Burn SRT File Into Video

For social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc. burn the captions into the video. This will result in one MP4 file with captions and no way to turn them on or off.

Click anywhere in the timeline.
Go up to File > Export media
a. Format: h 264
b. Click Preset > Match Source – High bitrate
c. Captions tab > Burn captions into video
Click Export Button

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