Hand off reviewed SRT captions to a Final Cut Pro editor

Give the reviewer a reference with a known start

Suppose you are cutting a portrait of a printmaker. The 25 fps timeline starts at 01:00:00:00. Eight seconds into the review movie, she lifts the first proof and says, “Keep that edge on the proof.” Send the reviewer the entire locked cut, including those eight seconds. Record the cut identifier, project start time and a second recognizable line near the end. A reference that starts halfway through the timeline needs a different timing map.

Use a film you own or have permission to transcribe, translate and share with the editor and reviewers. Include only cleared dialogue in any file you pass on. If a contributor approved the original words but not a translated public release, keep that language out of the delivery until cleared.

Prepare a separate SRT for each language

On an Apple Silicon Mac, open the reference in Polyglot and transcribe its dialogue locally after model setup. If the reviewer already has an SRT, import a copy and attach the matching movie for playback. Check “proof” against the audio: in a print studio it can mean a trial impression. Have a fluent reviewer check that meaning in a translation, and listen for significant sounds or off-screen speakers if the brief calls for accessibility captions.

Export one reviewed SRT per written language. Keep the cut ID in each filename, for example Printmaker-v7-en.srt and Printmaker-v7-nl.srt. Tell the editor that 00:00:08,000 in these files means eight seconds after the first frame of v7. Keep approved originals so a later import or picture revision can be checked against them.

Choose relative or absolute insertion in Final Cut Pro

Open the matching project timeline in Final Cut Pro. Choose File > Import > Closed Captions, select the SRT and assign the SRT caption role and the subrole for the written language. For the zero-based printmaker files choose Relative to Timeline. Final Cut adds the project start, so the eight-second cue lands at 01:00:08:00. Repeat for Dutch using its own language subrole.

Choose Absolute only when the supplied cue times already use the project clock. If the first cue in a different delivery reads 01:00:08,000, adding the hour again would place it at 02:00:08:00. Check the file and the timeline start before shifting any cues. Do not compensate in both Polyglot and the import dialog.

Return a sidecar that starts with the movie

Check the proof-lifting line in the imported lane and compare the late reference line. If the opening fits but the later line misses after a scene was trimmed, ask for the matching cut. Changing the project offset would move the opening line too. Keep the previous files and review the affected passage against the new edit.

For a movie that plays from zero, use File > Export Closed Captions in Final Cut Pro. Select the intended language subroles and choose Relative to Timeline so the exported sidecars refer to elapsed movie time again. Request absolute timing instead only if the receiving editor explicitly needs the project clock. Final Cut handles this project export; Polyglot supplies reviewed SRT files.

Open each exported SRT with the delivered movie in a compatible player. At the lift, read the actual sentence in the selected language; check the ending as well. If the English file works but Dutch repeats the English sentence, inspect the exported text and the language assignment. A correct filename or a visible caption lane alone does not pass the handoff.

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