Maintaning subtitles while cutting file into clips

Question

I'm working on a re-cut project with a foreign language source. I have the original, as an mp4 and corresponding srt file, and what I want to do is to first add an edit on every scene change in the original clip (by ctrl-k ing it), then convert every individual scene segment into its own clip so I can tag them, then put the clips back on a new sequence in a new order. My issue is that I cannot figure out how to do this and also preserve the subtitles for each clip.

Right now, I am dragging and dropping the chopped segments into a new bin, this creates a bunch of versions of the source file each with in and out points that correspond to the specific scene it's a clip of. However, you can't drag and drop the segments while the subtitles are also selected, so the new clips lose their associated subtitles.

You also cannot add the clip to a new sequence and then import just the section of the srt that corresponds to the clip (as far as I can tell). I was hoping that this would be possible because premiere clearly knows where the clip is situated in the source file and so could theoretically cut out the corresponding section of the srt file and sync it with the clip.

The only way I can think of doing this right now is to first export a version with burned in subtitles and then edit that, but that's inelegant and a huge time waste, so I was hoping there might be another way to keep the subtitles associated with their respective clips.

PaulMurphy · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure I'm fully grasping what you're describing, so it might help if you simplify what you have and what you're trying to achieve.

From what I can gather, you have an MP4 with a subtitle file, and you need to divide this into segments and add some edits to it without losing sync with the subtitles.

I would recommend the following:

Add your MP4 and subtitles to a sequence: Name this sequence "Old Edit."
Create a new sequence: Name it "New Edit," and nest the "Old Edit" sequence in this new sequence. This will keep your MP4 and subtitles linked together.
Split the nested sequence: You can split the nested sequence into segments with edits on the timeline and add any additional clips as needed.
Replace a nested segment if necessary: If you need to replace a nested segment with the original clips and subtitles at any stage, select it in the timeline, go to Sequence > Match Frame (F), disable the Nest button in the Timeline (under the Timeline timecode), and then choose Clip > Overwrite (.).

This approach should help you maintain sync between the video segments and their corresponding subtitles while allowing you to edit as needed.

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