Best workflow for correcting captions

[JohnnyAir]

I've just completed editing a 30 minute video which had 470 captions.  At least half of those captions required changes.  When I export the final video to video streaming services I don't include captions inside the file.

I upload my final .mp4 to YouTube and bunny.net without captions and then upload the captions independently as a .srt file.

Is this the best workflow for correcting multiple (hundreds of)captions before uploading:

1.  Export captions from Premiere Pro to my desktop using the .srt option
2.  Add a .txt extension to the exported .srt file
3. Make the changes with one of my .txt editors
4. Remove caption track from timeline in Premiere Pro
5. Remove .txt extension from corrected captions file and import new .srt file into Premiere Pro to create new caption track if I wish to have a local copy version of the sequence with captions.

I initially chose the .txt file option when exporting from Premiere Pro but this changes the timing units between frame numbering and milliseconds and removes the caption numbering.  Hence exporting the .srt and creating a .txt file out of the .srt for the purposes of extensive editing.

[Annika Koenig]

Hi @JohnnyAir ! You can edit your captions right in Premiere Pro, using the Text panel. Double click a caption in the Text panel to enter edit mode. You can also do a replace or replace all to easily correct repeated incorrect words. 

 

[JohnnyAir]

Yes.  I am aware that I can edit captions from within the application and I do that if only a few changes are required.  However if hundreds of captions need editing I find it easier to work with a dedicated text editor.

[PaulMurphy]

If you want the ease of doing this in a text editor, you can export your transcript as a text file, make corrections, and then re-import the corrected version before creating captions.

Here’s how to do it:

1. In the Text panel, click the 3 dots at the top right of the Transcript tab and choose Export > Export to Text File.
2. Open the exported text file in a text editor and make your corrections. Note: This method is best for correcting text and adding punctuation—adding or removing words may throw your transcript out of sync.
3. After making your changes, go back to the Text panel, click the 3 dots at the top right of the Transcript tab, and choose Import > Import static transcript.
4. Use this corrected transcript to create your captions.

[JohnnyAir]

thank you.  I'll give that a try.

[Thibault1980]

Hey Paul, that's great, but how about when you've already done your subtitles and you want to send it to the client for correction ? I'd just like to export a text file, and import it again, so that it updates my subtitles. Any clues on how to do that ?

[PaulMurphy]

This is even easier, because you can simply export your captions as an SRT file (File > Export > Captions), which can be opened in any text editor. Then import the corrected file back into Premiere and add it to your timeline.