Subtitles for your short film. Ready for the final cut.

Use the complete film as your timing reference

Export the version of your short film that will actually be screened, including logos, opening silence and credits. Those seconds matter to subtitle timing. A dialogue recording or an earlier cut can help with wording, but it is not the timing reference for the finished film. Keep the video edit identifier with every subtitle deliverable.

Import your authorized film into Polyglot and generate original-language subtitles. Processing runs locally on your Mac after model setup. Listen to the result against the final sound mix. Music, whispers, sound effects and overlapping dialogue can obscure words that were obvious in a clean production recording. The generated text is a draft for review.

Read the dialogue as part of the scene

Watch a complete scene while reading, rather than reviewing isolated lines only. A brief response such as “not now” can carry the meaning of a whole exchange. Check contractions, names and unfinished sentences. Preserve the character’s intent when tightening text; the subtitle should not explain a plot point that the dialogue deliberately leaves uncertain.

Look closely at off-screen speech and moments when the camera shows a listener. Polyglot does not assign speaker identities automatically. Where viewers need speaker context or meaningful sound descriptions, plan a human captioning pass. A speech-only subtitle draft is not automatically the same deliverable as an accessibility caption track.

Give translated lines room to work

Review translations with someone who understands both the language and the scene. Literal wording may miss a joke, a double meaning or a character’s formality. Keep decisions consistent across repeated phrases. If the speaker is deliberately vague, avoid a translation that supplies a more definite answer than the film gives.

Polyglot keeps source cue timing when translating and editing text. If a translated line needs different timing, line segmentation or positioning around titles, use a compatible subtitle editor for finishing. Do not promise a distributor that an automatic export has already passed their reading-speed or placement requirements. Review those requirements against the actual final output.

Deliver the version the venue asks for

Confirm format and language requirements with the screening destination before handing anything over. A festival may ask for a specific file or a rendered screening version. Polyglot exports UTF-8 SRT; it does not create a cinema package, embed a designed caption style or burn subtitles into the video. Use your finishing workflow for those tasks.

Name each export with the film, edit and language, then test it with the matching picture. Watch the first spoken line, a rapid exchange, a scene transition and the ending. Keep an untouched source video and the saved Polyglot project. If the film is recut, recheck subtitles against the new export rather than assuming the earlier track still fits because most scenes stayed the same.

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