SRT export

[NimChimpski]

I am looking at a project that has subtitles that I want to export as an SRT. The first sub lands at 18 seconds and there are about 800 but the .srt has the first sub at 26 minutes and there are only about 80. I have tried a few things but I thought I would try in here to see if anyone recognizes this issue and found a solution...

[Stan Jones]

Open or Closed Captions in the stream you are exporting?

Is the stream split in the sequence in any way?

How are you exporting? From the project panel or from the timeline (the latter only works for Closed).

This can happen for a variety of reasons. One is that PR encounters a character in the text that creates a flaw in the exported srt.

[NimChimpski]

Hi Stan.

Open Caption.

The caption object is split several times but after copying 1 instance out to a new sequence I found that all the captions were there after dragging the ends out either way.

I exported from the export - caption

cheers

roen

[Stan Jones]

When you open the caption stream from project panel, and look in the caption panel, are they all there?

[NimChimpski]

They seem to be.

I haven’t been able to check in fine detail but they start at 18 secs and go to 75 minutes in PP in the caption page ...hundreds. I didnt create the subs myself

[Stan Jones]

Certainly a lot more than 80!

The first caption appears in the timeline at 18 seconds? (I assume that is what you mean by "lands.") But when you export the srt, it is at 26 minutes based on your looking at the timecode, importing it to PR, or what?

[NimChimpski]

Sorry, yes the first sub occurs at 18 seconds. Between 18 seconds and 26 minutes there must be about 200-300 subtitles. I am looking at them in Word. SRT is quite sensitive to formatting but otherwise just plain text. My assumption was that the subtitle immediately before the first one exported must contain something that breaks the rules but an elimination process looks like the only way I can track it down. My curiosity urges me to find the cause, my bank balance pushes me to find the quickest way to deliver. Modern dilemmas! Maybe today I will spend time looking at the first one that doesn’t work and see if that one has any unusual properties. In Word I can see the “<i> italic<\i>” embedded instructions. Maybe there is something like that doing something to break a rule.

[Stan Jones]

Yes, I think that is likely to be the problem. I sent you a PM (private message) offering to look at the file.

Use something other than Word - notepad or I like Notepad++. If you find a problem, you can get a clean save of changes - Word will screw it up.

[Stan Jones]

I suspect some character is being interpreted incorrectly by PR when exporting the srt; and this breaks it.

In the file you sent, caption 12 has an odd symbol in the beginning of line 2. The same symbol occurs in other captions, including 17 and 25. I'm viewing it in Notepad++, and have no idea what it is.

I would look at the caption before the first one you are seeing in the export. Is it blank? Extra line as the last line with text in it?

[NimChimpski]

I think I might have a hunch...

I was talking to the editor today and he was explaining that he was taking caption instances and editing them around. I took one instance, put it in a new timeline and, on stretching out either end of that instance, I found what to me appeared to be all the subtitles but when I ask it to export it only exports the subtitles from within the bounds, before I dragged the tails out...maybe? I will check my hunch after Easter or maybe I will give in to burning curiosity and go in over the break...

[NimChimpski]

and Happy Easter for everyone who is getting a break

and don’t forget:

in Australia at this time of year we have chocolate bilbys

[Stan Jones]

When the caption stream is manipulated in the timeline (cut, copies, moved, etc), the usual problem is that you can only export srt of an Open Caption stream from the project panel. And there, it is the same old caption stream in "its" order and timing - not the timeline order or the timeline timing.

But your export is only a few captions vs the many you can see.

You already confirmed you are exporting in that way, and that when you open the stream from the project panel, they are all there.

Let us know!

[NimChimpski]

part presto!

Video In Point and Video Out Point determine which subtitles get into the .srt

I reset the in and out and the srt gave me the lot but now I have the pleasure of checking them against the edit.

I duplicated the caption stream so I could keep a guide...

I am most disappointed that my Bilby pictures (chocolate and real) didn't post!