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bruce26236303utxi
Inspiring
September 23, 2022
Answered

Captions disappear after importing Mp4 clip into Premiere Pro 2022

  • September 23, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 1615 views

Hi,

I'm trying to do some editing to an mp4 video that has closed captions (it's 153.9 mb).  The captions appear when I play it in quicktime on the mac; also when I play it in VLC on a PC (though the subtitle format is a little different, so they are not burned in).

 

When I import it into Premiere Pro, with the preferences->media->import captions box checked, there are no more captions!  If I try to export the media, the option to include captions is greyed out; the text->captions pane just offers the option to transcribe or create.  So they do not appear to have been imported.

 

Has anyone else had this problem or know of a workaround?

 

Thanks,

 

Bruce

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer bruce26236303utxi

    > it can save them to mp4 just fine.

     

    Are you burning in? I still see no option for embedding captions to mp4. I (incorrectly, I now think) assumed you wanted to embed.

     

    Stan

     


    Sorry again.  Subtitle Edit will not embed the subtitles into an mp4.  The documentation says to use Handbrake.  In Handbrake, after you open the mp4, you need to click on the subtitles button and then the 'tracks' button to see the menu to load a subtitle file.

     

    So, to summarize:

    1.  Premiere 2022 will not import closed subtitles from an mp4 file.  You need to use Subtitle Edit to extract a .srt file, and then import the file into PR (from file->import) and then drag the subtitle track to the edit window.

    2.  PR will export 'burned in' subtitles to an mp4, but not closed captions (i.e., where the viewer can switch them on or off).

    3.  If you want to export an mp4 with closed captions, you need to export an .srt file from PR as a sidecar when you export the mp4, and then use Handbrake to add the subtitles back in.

     

    I think I finally got it right this time, there were a couple of errors in my earlier posts.  

     

    Bruce

    1 reply

    Stan Jones
    Community Expert
    Stan JonesCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 23, 2022

    See this post from 2021. As far as I know, this is still the status:

    https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/embedding-closed-captions-not-an-option-on-file-formats-that-support-them/m-p/12440374#M371546

     

    My assumption is that they also do not support importing captions from an H.264 embed. You must extract the captions and import.

     

    Stan

     

      B
      bruce26236303utxiAuthor
      Inspiring
      September 25, 2022

      Thanks, at least now I know I didn't forget some setting.  I'll be removing some of the video, so I'll need to have captions in the video while I edit it.

       

      It seems the best thing to do would be to extract the captions with a separate app, that will  save them in a .srt file.  Then, import the video to PR (which will ignore the captions), and  then import the srt file into PR.

       

      Next, I can do my editing.

       

      Then, I'll export the .srt file from PR, export the mp4 file (which will leave out the subtitles), and finally use an app to insert the new .srt file into the new mp4 file.

       

      Does anyone recommend an app to do the insertions/deletion of subtitles for non-premiere supported formats?

       

      Bruce

       

      PS - even if adobe can't handle subtitles in mp4 import or export, they really should show some sort of warning, like 'alert: your import will ignre captions since premiere cannot import captions in an mp4', and 'warning: your export will ignore your captions because Premiere cannot export an mp4 file with captions.'

      B
      bruce26236303utxiAuthor
      Inspiring
      October 3, 2022

      Sorry again.  Subtitle Edit will not embed the subtitles into an mp4.  The documentation says to use Handbrake.  In Handbrake, after you open the mp4, you need to click on the subtitles button and then the 'tracks' button to see the menu to load a subtitle file.

       

      So, to summarize:

      1.  Premiere 2022 will not import closed subtitles from an mp4 file.  You need to use Subtitle Edit to extract a .srt file, and then import the file into PR (from file->import) and then drag the subtitle track to the edit window.

      2.  PR will export 'burned in' subtitles to an mp4, but not closed captions (i.e., where the viewer can switch them on or off).

      3.  If you want to export an mp4 with closed captions, you need to export an .srt file from PR as a sidecar when you export the mp4, and then use Handbrake to add the subtitles back in.

       

      I think I finally got it right this time, there were a couple of errors in my earlier posts.  

       

      Bruce


      One little detail: the video I was editing had a [Music] subtitle starting at 0:00:00, and voiceover starting 13 seconds later.  Unfortunately, Subtitle Edit incorrectly coded this with the [Music] starting at 13 seconds, and the voice coming in 3 seconds later.  I emailed the developer, and he suggested right-clicking on the erroneous first  [Music] subtitle and selecting 'Column->Delete Cells and Shift columns up', and this fixed the problem.

       

      So, double check your Subtitle Edit results if the music starts at 0:00 in an Mp4, and you should be good to go. Workflow remains:  (1)Subtitle Edit to extract the initial .srt and check initial timing, (2) PR import .srt, (3) do your editing, (4) PR .srt export, and (5) Handbrake to reinsert the .srt (whew!).

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