How to Add Subtitles to a Movie

No matter what language you speak, everyone loves watching movies. The issue, however, is that many films lack the budget to translate into multiple languages, meaning you may not fully understand the movie depending on your geographical location. Whether you want to add subtitles to your favorite movies or need to subtitle your own, translating films isn't too difficult, though it requires time and patience. This article discusses how to add subtitles to movies that don't already have them. If you want to learn how to enable subtitles while watching a movie, click here.

Note that you can only add subtitles to movies on your computer. If your current DVD film doesn't have subtitles under the "Settings" or "Language" options in the DVD menu, you won't be able to add subtitles without using advanced software and equipment. Protected DVDs can't be rewritten, and the DVD player won't allow you to add new languages. However, computers are entirely different devices, and you can add any new subtitles you want to a movie viewed on your computer.

• If you're watching a film on a DVD player, try pressing the "title" or "subtitle" button on the DVD player remote control.

Find the movie you want to add subtitles to on your computer and place it in a separate folder. Locate the movie file in Finder or Windows Explorer. Typically, it will be a .mov, .avi, or .mp4 file. Fortunately, you don't need to edit the movie file, but you will need to find it and link it to a new subtitle file. Subtitle files typically have the .SRT extension and simply include the words and the timing for each subtitle to appear in the movie.

• You need to keep the movie file alongside the .SRT subtitle file for it to read the subtitles.
• Some older subtitle files may have the .SUB extension.

Search the internet using "Movie Title + Language + Subtitles" to find the right file. Use your preferred search engine to look for subtitles in your language. For example, if you need Indonesian subtitles for the movie X-Men: First Class, you can search for "X-Men: First Class Indonesian Subtitles." The first website you find is often a good one to use, as these files are usually small in size and rarely contain viruses.

Find the subtitles you want and download the .SRT file. Download the .SRT file from a website such as Subscene, MovieSubtitles, or YiFiSubtitles. Be sure to avoid any pop-up ads and only download the .SRT or .SUB files. If you're unsure about a website, leave and look for another one.

Rename the subtitle file to match the movie file. If the movie file is named BestMovieEver.AVI, the subtitle file should be named BestMovieEver.SRT. Locate the downloaded file wherever it's stored (usually in the "Downloads" folder) and make sure you rename it to match the movie title. The .SRT file name should be exactly the same as the movie name.

Place the .SRT file in the same folder as the movie. If you don't already have a folder dedicated to your movies, create one. Put the .SRT file into the movie folder. This will automatically link the files in most video players.

• VLC Player is the easiest and free video player that handles most file formats.

Add the .SRT file to the movies you upload to YouTube by selecting "Captions" when uploading. After selecting Captions, click on "Add a Caption Track" and locate your .SRT file. Make sure the "Caption Track" option is enabled and the "Transcript Track" is disabled. Click the "CC" button while watching the video to activate subtitles.

Understand the purpose of subtitles. Subtitles are translations, and anyone who's used Google Translate knows that translation is both an art and a science. If you're creating subtitles for a movie scene, you need to carefully consider each line:

• What is the purpose of the dialogue? No matter what words are used, what emotion is the character trying to convey? This is the guiding principle when translating.
• How do you sync the subtitles with the character's speech? Some people will choose to show several lines of dialogue at once, starting a bit early and ending a little later to give viewers enough time to read.
• How do you handle slang and figurative language? These are often mistranslated, so you'll need to replace the slang or figures of speech with their equivalents in your language. However, this requires you to research the meanings of idioms and slang from foreign languages.

Use subtitle creation websites to efficiently add subtitles to any movie file. Websites like DotSub, Amara, and Universal Subtitler let you watch a movie while writing subtitles, and then export an .SRT file that matches the movie. Though these subtitle websites work differently, they follow a similar format:

• Select the time when the subtitle appears.
• Write the subtitle text.
• Select when the subtitle disappears.
• Repeat throughout the movie and mark "Complete" when done.
• Download the .SRT file and place it in the same folder as the movie.

Create your own subtitles using Notepad. While this process can be done quickly using software, you can write subtitles yourself if you prefer. To do this, open a text editor like Windows' Notepad or Apple's TextEdit (both are free and pre-installed), and ensure you know the proper subtitle format. Before you begin, choose "Save As" and name the file "MovieTitle.SRT." Then, set the encoding to "ANSI" for English subtitles and "UTF-8" for non-English subtitles. Afterward, write your subtitles. Each part should be written on a separate line, so press "enter" after each line:

• Subtitle number. 1 will be the first subtitle, 2 the second, and so on.
• Subtitle duration. The duration is written in the format hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds --> hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds (hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds)
  • For example: 00:01:20:003 --> 00:01:27:592
• Subtitle content: This is the text of the subtitle.
• A blank line. Leave a blank line before the next subtitle number.

Create subtitles directly in video editing software to avoid handling .SRT files. This method lets you see the subtitles as you add them, and you can manually adjust their position, color, and style. Open the movie file in video editing software, like Premiere, iMovie, or Windows Movie Maker, and drag the video into the timeline. From there, click on the "Titles" menu in the software and select the style you prefer. Type out the subtitle text, place it at the desired position in the film, and repeat.

• You can right-click on the title, copy, and paste it so all titles are formatted the same way, saving time.
• The only downside to this format is that the film must be saved as a separate file. You won't be able to turn off the subtitles, as they will now be part of the movie.