How to import SRT captions into Premiere Pro (with a file that just works)
To import an SRT into Premiere Pro without errors, start with the right file. In FilmScribe, you upload the video, proofread the transcript and download the SRT in UTF-8, at your sequence's frame rate. Then import the .srt and drag it onto the timeline above your video: every line becomes an editable caption, right on time.
Step by step
- 01 Upload the video to FilmScribe Upload the file, the audio or a YouTube link. We transcribe every word with its timing.
- 02 Proofread the transcript Fix names, numbers and technical terms in the text before creating the captions.
- 03 Pick the frame rate Use your sequence's rate and the TV, Netflix or YouTube preset.
- 04 Download the SRT The file comes out in UTF-8, with numbered blocks and no overlaps.
- 05 Import it into your editor Import the .srt, drag it onto the timeline above the video and apply the track style.
SRT is the simplest and most widely accepted caption format there is: a text file with the number, the start and end time and the text of each caption. Premiere Pro reads SRT as a caption track, and every line becomes an editable item on the timeline, right on time.
When an import fails, the problem is almost always the file, not the editor. So this guide starts with the file: how to create an SRT in FilmScribe that imports on the first try, how to fix an SRT you already have with FilmScribe’s free tools and then what to do on the timeline.
Why an SRT fails to import
Open any SRT in a text editor and you’ll see blocks like these:
1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,800
Welcome back to the channel.
2
00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:07,450
Today we're talking about
how we plan a shoot day.If any part of a block breaks the pattern, the file is rejected or only partly imported. What to check:
| What to check | Right | Wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Encoding | UTF-8 | ANSI or another (accents turn to symbols) |
| Millisecond separator | 00:00:01,200 (comma) | 00:00:01.200 (period, the VTT format) |
| Timing arrow | --> with a space on each side | -> or no spaces |
| Block separation | One blank line | None or several |
| Numbering | 1, 2, 3 in order | Repeated or missing numbers |
| Overlap | Each caption ends before the next starts | Two captions in the same interval |
| Frame rate | Same as the sequence | Different (captions slowly drift) |
The SRT FilmScribe creates already follows every one of these rules.
How to create the right SRT in FilmScribe
1. Upload the video, the audio or a link
Upload the file (MP4, MOV, MKV, MP3, WAV and more) or paste a YouTube link. If only part of it matters, pick the range before processing: only that range is processed and counts toward your plan’s hours. We transcribe in 90+ languages, word by word, with the timing of every word and speakers separated.
2. Proofread in the transcript, not on the timeline
Use search to find names, numbers and technical terms and fix them right in the text. Reading and fixing a transcript is much faster than opening caption after caption on the timeline. The fix applies to the SRT and to clip captions.
3. Pick the preset and frame rate
FilmScribe creates the SRT with TV, Netflix and YouTube presets and lets you pick the frame rate. Use your sequence’s rate: that’s what prevents captions that start right and slowly fall behind.
4. Download the whole file or just a section
Download the SRT for the full recording, or select lines in the transcript and download captions for just that section. SRT is on every plan and works for audio-only uploads too. For Final Cut Pro, captions also come as FCPXML. See more in captions and the guide on how to create an SRT file.
Already have an SRT? Fix it before you import
If the file came from another program, a translator or was typed by hand, run it through FilmScribe’s free SRT fixer. It converts accents to UTF-8, limits each caption to two lines, removes overlaps and snaps timings to your sequence’s frames. You download a clean SRT and, if you like, an .xml with one marker per caption, handy for reviewing or building the edit from the text.
Other free FilmScribe tools for the same file:
- Subtitle sync: shifts the whole SRT earlier or later, or changes its frame rate.
- Subtitle converter: turns VTT or TXT into SRT.
- Subtitle reading speed checker: flags captions that go by too fast and lines that run long.
Importing the SRT into Premiere Pro
With the right file, importing is short. Open the sequence, import the .srt from the File menu and drag it from the Project panel onto the timeline, above the video track. The program creates a caption track with every line on time. To change the look of all captions at once, style one (font, size, color, outline and background) and save it as a track style. On export, you choose whether to burn the captions into the video or create a separate file.
Recent versions of the program also create auto captions from the sequence audio. For a project that lives entirely there, that works. For long material, review by someone else or the same text in other formats, creating the SRT in FilmScribe and importing it means less rework, because proofreading happens once, in the transcript.
Problems after importing
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Accents turn into symbols | File isn’t UTF-8 | Run it through the fixer or create it again in FilmScribe |
| Only some captions show up | Missing blank line or broken numbering | Fix the file in the tool and import again |
| Captions stacked on top of each other | Overlapping timings | FilmScribe’s fixer removes the overlap |
| Captions early or late | A fixed offset | Shift the whole file in the sync tool |
| Delay grows through the video | Different frame rate | Download the FilmScribe SRT at the sequence’s rate |
| Nothing shows in the monitor | Caption display turned off | Turn on caption track display in the monitor settings |
| Exported video has no captions | Captions not included in the export | Choose burn-in or a separate file when exporting |
If the SRT was made for a different cut of the video, the captions may sit in a section you’re not looking at. Create the SRT from the same file that’s in the sequence.
Captions in more than one language
On Studio and Agency, FilmScribe translates captions into 9 languages while keeping every block’s timing, and you download one SRT per language. In the editor, each file becomes its own caption track: turn one on at a time to review and export the language you need. Name files with the language (video_en.srt, video_es.srt) and check line breaks, because translated sentences change length. See how to translate subtitles.
Captions too long to read
Sometimes the SRT imports perfectly but captions flash by or take up three lines. Use two lines at most, breaking at natural phrase boundaries, and a comfortable reading speed of around 17 to 20 characters per second. FilmScribe’s TV, Netflix and YouTube presets and the reading speed checker help you get there.
More than captions: the cut timeline
If the goal is to build the edit from what people said, the SRT is only part of it. On Studio, Agency and their trial, FilmScribe’s export to editors delivers the timeline already cut as .xml, which opens in Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, or as .fcpxml for Final Cut Pro, linked to the original file. It can start from favorites, the script, selected sections or clips. You can also upload your project’s synced timeline and get the cut back on top of it.
For Reels and Shorts there’s another route: FilmScribe delivers the clip as an MP4 with animated captions burned in, and it drops into the sequence as a finished clip. See animated captions in Premiere and DaVinci.
Common mistakes
- Importing without checking the file. Half of all errors go away by creating the SRT in FilmScribe or running the file through the fixer.
- Proofreading on the timeline. Fixing in the FilmScribe transcript is faster and the fix applies to the SRT and to clips.
- Forgetting the frame rate. Captions made for 30 frames per second in a 25 fps sequence slowly drift. In FilmScribe, pick the rate before downloading.
- Styling captions one by one. Use a track style and adjust only the exceptions.
- Captions over a face or under the app’s buttons. Place them with the destination in mind.