You can't move subtitles/captions below a fixed point in Premiere Pro 2021?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 6, 2021
4 replies
13820 views

Hi,

Can anyone help.

The new subtitling/captioning option in Premiere Pro 2021 doesn't allow you to move captions to the bottome of the frame. Previously, the freedom to do so was provided by the Effects Control tab. The new version means you have to work with the Essential Graphics panel and it doesn't allow you to drop your captions/subtitles below a certain point, it seems.

Regardless of the anchor point I choose or the value I enter on the verticle axis, Premiere Pro refuses to place captions as

Does anyone know how to place the subtitles/captions lower in the screen?

R

This topic has been closed for replies.

P

Paddy B

Participating Frequently

Prem pro version 23.1.0

I had this issue on a single line captions track (not sure about the 2 line option - but guessing same issue would occur). I'm working on a project where I'm dealing with VTs sent to me with name straps and graphics already burnt on the mp4s, so now I need to add subtitles to these VTs. In some cases I needed to move the subtitles lower (to the bottom of the frame) to avoid getting in the way of the graphics already on the mp4.

See screenshot 1a and 1b. (I have not included the actual footage for privacy reasons but you get the point). I could not change the 'align and adjust' settings any lower as it was, however.. I did find a workaround. (Note: I did try just adding a text graphic to the sequence, but then realised this would not work as I may need to export the SRT file as well as the burnt in version).

Screenshot 1b shows the number values (0,0,0,0) if you select the position as the 'middle bottom' of the square grid icon thing.

BUT.. if you select the 'top middle' square grid thing, (screenshot 2b) and then enter the numbers similar to these numbers, you will then be able to move the caption track to where you desire. (2a shows this more clearly).

This way you don't have to create a nested sequence. The exports (burnt in) work fine too. Not checked the SRT file with video combo yet, but guessing it would be fine!

Note: it works best inputting the number on the right first, and work your way left. So type in -572 first, then hit 'shift and tab' twice then insert 974.

Hope that helps somebody!

Stan Jones

Community Expert

patboyle,

Absolutely too cool! Congrats on finding a very odd workaround! My tests and comments:

The PR 2021 caption workflow did improve the vertical limit so text could go down to 5%, rather than the previous 10% limit.

In this test, I am using Minion Pro with font set to 48, in a 1920X1080 sequence.

As described below, I did not find numbers that allow 2 lines of captions (at my font size) without stopping the position from going below the 5% limit.

Also, note that PR does not export position information in srt sidecar, so this has no chance of working for that sidecar. I did not test any caption types that might carry this information. Its usefulness may be limited to burn-in.

My version of the steps you described:

Select the caption to be modified, with the EGP open.
Note that, in the Text section, it does not really matter how the vertical paragraph alignments are set: because of the limit to one line, they very slightly move the text up and down. But you may need to adjust these later.
In the Align and Transform section, “Zone,” select the Upper Middle Zone.
To the right of it are 4 adjustments: Set Horizontal Position, Set Vertical Position, Set Horizontal Size, and Set Vertical Size. These can be adjusted by clicking and typing values, or by dragging.
Click on the number and set the vertical size to -572. This moves the bottom of the caption bounding box up so it is now about one line in height. Note: You can still see two lines down to -235, and the box no longer gets smaller at -274. But those values do not extend the range of the vertical position. I did not test many values between -572 and -274; might as well just use the -572!
Click on the number and set the vertical position to 974. This moves the caption bounding down to almost the bottom of the screen. Note: Once the 5% limit is exceeded, you can use the drag to adjust the position, including dragging it completely below the bottom of the screen!

Stan

T

Thang0101

Participant

You can do the following:

- Create new Sequence (bigger in width)

- Copy Sub to new caption

- Import new Sequence to old Sequence

- Adjust sub by new sequence to fit position in old sequence that you want

Good luck!

Stan Jones

Community Expert

Yes, Caption Tracks being on their own and NOT video tracks meant they were not subject to workarounds that used the Effect Controls. See my comment below for a general workaround to this issue.

I don't think there is really a difference between single and multiple line captions regarding the bottom (or top, left, or right). There are a variety of other differences, particularly paragraph alignment.

PR 2021 moved the minimum distance from the actual edge of the frame, compared to PR 2020. In 2020, using only the Caption controls, you could get to about 90%. With 2021,you can get to 95%. For most users, that will be fine.

If not, see "To Adjust Caption Track Position" in this post:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro/faq-workaround-nesting-to-apply-effect-controls-to-caption-track/td-p/11935335

Stan