DaVinci Resolve Subtitle Fix for YouTube
Did you auto-generate subtitle captions in DaVinci resolve subtitles, then realize they are always off by a couple of seconds when you export for YouTube, and then decide never to use this incredible time-saving feature again?
The quick answer is to set the timeline timecode to 0 and export an SRT without formatting.
But if you want to know a few more tricks about controlling subtitles in Resolve Studio, stick around for some tricks I've never shared before.
If you have found the timing of your exported SRT files to not be lined up when you upload them to YouTube, it’s likely that the timeline timecode was set to 1 hour, which is the DaVinci Resolve default. So to change a pre-existing timeline, locate the timeline in the bin. Right-click and choose to change the starting timecode. Make the new value 00:00:00:00.
Simply re-export with a right click in the subtitle header panel and you should be set. If you choose “SRT without formatting” this will not put annoying markup in the file that YouTube won’t read anyway, so this is my suggested output setting for most platforms.
The beauty of an SRT caption or subtitle file is that the user that is watching can turn them on or off. Often times I’ll find myself using them when I don’t have headphones in and don’t want to disturb people around me.
2 Important Defaults
Preferences - User - Editing - Start Timecode to 0 for all new, future timelines is good idea if you often export timelines with captioning.
and
Project Settings - Subtitles and Transcription - Maximum characters per line set to 42 for 16x9 content and 8 characters per line single line for vertical social media style videos when you might want to “burn” them into the video file.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Timeline dropdown menu - choose “Create subtitles from audio” - I like this set to command + shift + T (t for title)
“Auto Track Selector” - Shift select all on or off
“Selection Follows Playhead” - option/alt + A
“Mark In and Out points” (X marks the spot) - X
“Show subtitle tracks” - command + option + S
Snap Captions
Snap Captions by Orson Lord is a great plugin to convert the static, plain jane, Resolve styled captions into Animated and Dynamic Text + Titles for burned in captions. The best part is you can download it from here for free and it’s automatic!
