How to create and export subtitles with DaVinci Resolve.

upcoming davinci resolve zoom workshops, autumn 2021.

I publish this series of free article and tutorials as a complement to my upcoming Online DaVinci Resolve Workshops, hosted in Zoom.

SPECIAL LIMITED OFFER: if you register in any of my workshops before September 10th, you pay only 95 Euros. This is a 100 Euros discount! After that date, prices will go back to the regular 195 Euros. So, don’t skip this opportunity!

Next DaVinci Resolve Zoom workshops are:

• DaVinci Resolve 17 Editing, Online (Zoom), September 27th to October 1st, 09:30 to 13:30.
• DaVinci Resolve 17 Color Grading, Online (Zoom), October 11th to 15th, 09:30 to 13:30.
• DaVinci Resolve 17, Fusion: Titles and Animation, Online (Zoom), October 25th to 29th, 09:30 to 13:30.
• DaVinci Resolve 17, Fusion: Visual Effects, Online (Zoom), November 8th to 12th, 09:30 to 13:30.

Time Zone: Central European Time (Berlin).

Now, to the free content of today!

Subtitles in DaVinci Resolve.

I’m presenting you a tutorial about subtitle creation in DaVinci Resolve 15, the flashy new version of this incredible piece of software.

If you are a filmmaker, you know how painful and complicated is to handle subtitles: on one hand you need to create every subtitle, on the other hand there’s separate subtitle files, then you sometimes need to change the style… It can be complicated.

This is a question I get a lot from my students: what’s the best way to do subtitles?

Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer offer the possibility of adding Captions, but no other solution is as simple and elegant as the one found in DaVinci Resolve 15.

Mind you: I teach all main editing softwares, Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, FCP X, and Resolve. I’m not trying to convince you here! That said: If had to add subtitles today to one of my projects, I would totally do it with DaVinci Resolve.

As I always say, even if you don’t use DaVinci Resolve to edit or grade your projects, the software offers you numerous tools like this one, that can be of great help to accomplish some tasks, stuff you’re gonna need to do.

Example: you can export a master file from your editor (Premiere Pro, Avid, FCP X), import that master into Resolve, add subtitles in Resolve, and then export a subtitle .srt file.

Considering DaVinci Resolve 15 happens to be free, why not use it?

HOW TO CREATE AND EXPORT SUBTITLES WITH DAVINCI RESOLVE 15

STEP 1: LOCATE SUBTITLE TEMPLATE

In the EDIT tab, where we find all of the editing tools, we go to the Effects Library, top-left, and go to Titles.

We scroll down, and we find Subtitle.

STEP 2: DRAG SUBTITLE TEMPLATE TO TIMELINE

To add the subtitle to our Timeline, we just need to drag it to the desire position:

As you can see in the image, this generates, automatically, a Subtitle Track, called Subtitle 1.

STEP 3: EDIT THE SUBTITLE

To edit the subtitle, we just need to select it, and open the Inspector window.

In the Inspector, we go to Captions and edit/write our own subtitle.

Subtitles operate in the Timeline like regular video clips, so we can of course manipulate them there: change position, duration, etc..

STEP 5: ADD FOLLOWING SUBTITLES

To add more subtitles, we just need to have the play-head in the desired position, and click Add New.

Right clicking directly on the Subtitle Trak also does it.

And we continue like this, adding every subtitle we need.

Subtitles are displayed on the Timeline like this:

They are displayed on the Inspector like this:

An on the image, like this:

STEP 5: CHANGE SUBTITLE STYLE (IF NEEDED)

The subtitle template in DaVinci Resolve 15 is great. It has the look and characteristics of professional subtitles.

That said, if we need to, we can change the style and properties of every subtitle on the same Subtitle Track. In all of them at the same time!

We go again to the Inspector, and click Track Style, where we find access to the regular text properties: font, style, alignment, colours, size, shadow, etc..

Any change we do here will be automatically applied to every subtitle on the same Subtitle Track.

Cool, ah?

Example, if we want to make every subtitle yellow and big, we select any subtitle and change the properties.

Changes are applied to the the whole track.

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STEP 6: EXPORT SUBTITLES

As you may know, to export in DaVinci Resolve 15, we go to the Deliver tab.

In Render Settings, where we customise format, quality, etc., we now find options to export the subtitles:

• Burn into video: burns the subtitles on the image.

• As a separate file: instead burning subtitles on the image, generates a parallel subtitle file, in the .srt format. We always need a separate subtitle file: film festivals usually ask for it, it’s also need it add subtitles to a DCP, it allows to export a single master, and have different parallel subtitle files, in different languages, etc..

• As embedded captions: similar to the previous one, but subtitles are not a parallel file. They are added as metadata to the video file. Devices and software able to read captions will display the subtitles.

So, it’s that easy!

It works very well, and like I said, makes DaVinci Resolve 15 one of the best options out there to work with subtitles in our projects.

Also, if a professional subtitler is in charge of the job, and delivers us a subtitle file (.srt), we can import that in Resolve, and generate a Subtitle Track in our Timeline.

UPCOMING DAVINCI RESOLVE WORKSHOPS IN BERLIN.

If you wish to join any of my DaVinci Resolve Workshops in Berlin, follow the link to know about dates and details.

All my workshops are 20 hours, in English, and cost just 195 Euros.

Classes happen at my co-working space, in central Kreuzberg.