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KazuT_G
Inspiring
July 7, 2026
Answered

Can I put Transcript sidecar Files next to proxies rather than the raw media?

  • July 7, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 42 views

Is there a way to put Transcript sidecar Files next to proxies rather than the raw media? We’re doing a proxy workflow where we are giving our editors and director drives with only the proxies on it and not the raw media. Of course, they will need the transcripts as well.

    Correct answer PaulMurphy

    I'm not sure which files you mean by transcript sidecar files. Are these .prmi or .json files?
     

    Neither one will really work as a sidecar file for the transcript. The .prmi file is just a cache of what Premiere Pro's media analyzers produce, so the media doesn't have to be re-analyzed when it's reused. The transcript itself is always stored in the project file.

     

    The .json format does let you bring a transcript into Premiere Pro with word-level timecodes intact, but it attaches per clip. Even if you send your editors a .json file for each transcript, they will need to attach each one manually.

     

    More importantly, if you're using a proxy workflow and want the smoothest online conform down the track, I recommend creating a project file with the raw media linked and the transcriptions included, then sending it to your editors on a drive along with the proxies. This ensures the metadata and the resolution of the original footage are stored in the project, even though the original media is offline.
     

    More detail on both formats here:

    How to update .prmi sidecar files

    Now in Beta: Import Your Own Transcript

    5 replies

    Stan Jones
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 8, 2026

    @KazuT_G,

     

    Curiosity: I thought he problem of transcripts when working with proxies without the source media was solved pre-PR2025? Are you saying that if your editor doesn’t have the full media, a project with transcripts does not have them?

     

    But to clarify, the .prmi does contain a transcription if the clip was transcribed in the project that created the .prmi. If you create a new project and bring in a clip with a .prim from a previous  project that has been transcribed, you will get the transcription. But it is NOT the transcript with any edits, etc. one that is being used by the previous project.

     

    I assume what you are seeing is that the .prmi is next to the full clip, and not with the proxies.

     

    As Paul says, you can delete them if you will never be needing the media search options.

     

    Stan

     

    KazuT_G
    KazuT_GAuthor
    Inspiring
    July 9, 2026

    We were misinformed because we were listening to ChatGPT. It lied to us, telling us that, with a Production that is on LucidLink, in order for the transcripts to be available to everyone using the Production, it said we needed to select “Cache analysis results for reuse: Next to the media as a sidecar file” under Media Analysis & Transcription. I guess ChatGPT is not as well-informed as the experts on the Adobe Community. Ignoring ChatGPT, we deleted all the .prmi files (as we don’t use Media Analysis) and it won’t affect editor/director access to the transcriptions.

    PaulMurphyCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 7, 2026

    I'm not sure which files you mean by transcript sidecar files. Are these .prmi or .json files?
     

    Neither one will really work as a sidecar file for the transcript. The .prmi file is just a cache of what Premiere Pro's media analyzers produce, so the media doesn't have to be re-analyzed when it's reused. The transcript itself is always stored in the project file.

     

    The .json format does let you bring a transcript into Premiere Pro with word-level timecodes intact, but it attaches per clip. Even if you send your editors a .json file for each transcript, they will need to attach each one manually.

     

    More importantly, if you're using a proxy workflow and want the smoothest online conform down the track, I recommend creating a project file with the raw media linked and the transcriptions included, then sending it to your editors on a drive along with the proxies. This ensures the metadata and the resolution of the original footage are stored in the project, even though the original media is offline.
     

    More detail on both formats here:

    How to update .prmi sidecar files

    Now in Beta: Import Your Own Transcript

    KazuT_G
    KazuT_GAuthor
    Inspiring
    July 7, 2026

    Thanks again ​@PaulMurphy! We misunderstood what the .prmi files were; we thought those were the transcripts. We will likely be handing one of our raw footage drives to online after turnover. Right now, there's a .prmi file next to each raw footage file, so we have thousands of them cluttering our raw footage drives. Is it safe to delete them? 

    The workflow I was thinking of using was to export our transcripts from Premiere, copy & paste them into a Google Doc, then share that Google Doc with the director and have him add comments (email tagging the editor the comment is meant for). 

    Community Expert
    July 7, 2026

    Those .prmi files store metadata for Premiere Pro's Intelligent Search feature, which lets you search your footage using natural language to describe a shot. The settings that control them live in Preferences > Media Analysis & Transcription.

     

    It's safe to delete them. If Analyze all imported media to search for visuals or audio is enabled there, Premiere Pro will simply regenerate them. You can also control where these files are saved using the Cache analysis results for re-use setting.

     

    That said, it may be worth keeping them. If the files stay next to the footage, your editors can use them to search their footage with Intelligent Search. To do so, they need to set Cache analysis results for re-use to Next to media as sidecar file.

     

    Your Google Docs workflow sounds fine. It's worth noting that Frame.io now includes transcription, so your director can watch the footage and read the transcript at the same time, and add comments that can be imported directly into Premiere Pro as markers.

    Frame.io Transcription Overview