Use an SRT File in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve
Video editors can import a ready-made SRT file as a caption track. That gives you a first draft in minutes instead of typing every line, and the subtitles stay fully editable inside your project.
Create the SRT
Use the generator on your finished video or its audio export, correct the text, and download the SRT. Use the same cut as your timeline so the timing matches.
Import into Premiere Pro
Choose File → Import and select the SRT, then drag it onto your sequence. Open the Captions workspace to edit, restyle and position the text.
Import into DaVinci Resolve
Choose File → Import → Subtitle, pick the SRT, then drag it from the Media Pool onto the subtitle track. Adjust appearance in the Inspector.
Style and export
Choose a font and size that stay readable on small screens, then export the video. Burned-in captions are made by your editor, not by the generator.
Why bring an SRT file into your editor
Typing captions into a timeline by hand is one of the slowest jobs in editing. With a ready-made SRT file you start from a complete, timed first draft. The editor turns it into a caption or subtitle track that you can restyle, move, trim and export along with the video.
It also keeps your workflow flexible. The same SRT can go to Premiere Pro for a client cut, DaVinci Resolve for a grade and YouTube for the published version, without anyone retyping a word.
Before you import: prepare a clean file
- Generate and proofread the subtitles first, because fixing text in the generator is faster than fixing it across many timeline clips.
- Make sure the time codes match the final cut. If you trim the video after generating, the subtitles will drift.
- Keep lines short, with two lines at most, so the styling step has nothing to fight.
- Export SRT; it is the format both programs accept most reliably, and it uses UTF-8 so accented and non-Latin text stay intact.
If your edit changes a lot after subtitling, generate again from the final export so the timings line up.
Styling the captions once they are in
Both programs let you choose font, size, colour, outline and position. A clear sans-serif font, white text with a thin dark outline or soft shadow, and a position a little above the bottom edge work well on almost any footage. Test it on a bright shot and a dark shot, since those are where problems show.
Apply the style to the whole track rather than line by line, so everything stays consistent. If you work on vertical video, keep the text away from the edges where social apps overlay their buttons.
Exporting with or without burned-in text
You usually have two choices. Burn the captions into the picture, which guarantees everyone sees them on any platform, or export the video clean and upload the SRT separately so viewers can switch captions on and off and choose a language.
For YouTube, a separate SRT is often better because viewers can toggle it. Our guide on adding subtitles to a YouTube video shows the upload step. For rules on line length and pacing, see how to make subtitles easy to read.
Quick tips
- If you re-cut the video later, regenerate or shift the SRT so it stays in sync.
- Keep a separate SRT file as well; platforms like YouTube can use it for accessibility and search.
- Menu names change between versions. If one differs, look for the Captions or Subtitles import option.
Ready to try it? Drop a video or audio file into the free subtitle generator and have subtitles in minutes. Open the generator →