Subtitles from the scratch

[indijay]

Hello All,

Whole day I have been going through these forums to find a way to add subtitles to my DV video when I make DVD out of it and all I find is, in all guides, they add subtitles after DVD is made This whole process is pretty confusing to me.

What I usually do is, transfer video to iMovie and then make DVD out of using iDVD, work very well, no worries.
Now, for the first time I made Picture Show on DVD using iDVD and I strongly felt need of subtitles to these pictureshows. I couldn't find anyway to add subtitles to this pictureshow video.
So is there anyone who can suggest me how do I build my subtitles for this pictureshow from the scratch or even if I want to add subtitles to DV, how do I do it?
If its not possible using iMovie and iDVD, I have PC as well so if I have to move away from Mac, its OK too. I just prefer these two programs as they are very easy to use and iDVD menus are indeed brilliant.

Many thanks in advance for all help

[manono]

Hi-

Demux into elementary assets (video, audio, chapters) using PGCDemux, reauthor with the added subs, and replace back into the original DVD using the Replace button of VobBlanker. That way you have selectable subtitles (on or off), and keep the original menu and anything else that may be in there. If you want to "burn" or "embed" or "hard-code" the subs into the video, then you'll have to reencode. That's how I do it, using a PC. I don't know anything about Macs.

[redwudz]

Have you looked in 'Tools>Subtitle'? <<<<<< There appear to be several programs to create subtitles from scratch.

[indijay]

Right, there are many programs, even many authors have mentioned them in the guides but my question is why do you have to create DVD first and then reauthor after making subtitles?? Why can't you make subtitles first time itself when you author it using raw video??

[manono]

Well you can, of course. Just add them in when authoring. Authoring apps are particular about the format the subs have to be in. Some take one kind or kinds, and others take other kind(s). Just make sure your subs are in the same format(s) that your authoring program accepts.

[byteguy]

You do not need to reauthor to add subtitles.

You can create subtitles while you're making your movie but it depends on your NLE. EditStudio lets you do this.

Or you can do as most people do: make the movie, make the subtitle using a tool, and then merge them together when you author the DVD.

Not every authoring program supports subtitles which is why there are so many "how to add after you've made the DVD" guides.

I use EditStudio for editing, VisualSubSync to make make/edit the subtitle file, and DVD-Lab Studio to put them all together and burn to DVD. Works great.

[indijay]

I read description about VisualSubSync and all it says is its syncing tool and needs srt or sub file to work with.
In my case, I want to start from the scratch.

[daamon]

I received a PM from indijay. I've quoted the main bits and responded below...

...but now need arised to add subtitles to movie and to the best of my knowledge iMovieHD doesn't support subtitles so I am looking for other tools on PC (Windows system)...

The first thing to establish is whether you want the subtitles:

a) permanently as part of the video, i.e. they are combined into the video and become part of each video frame,

b) or whether you want what are called "switchable" subtitles, i.e. you can turn them on or off. These subtitles are stored in a seperate file to the video file.

I couldn't figure out in the whole forums yet how to make subtitles from the scratch, there are few programs but I found documentation too little to make any sense out of it.

This sub-section in the Guides section will be of use for creating subtitles and options on tools to use.

If you want permanent subtitles, then this specific guide will be of use: How to add permanent subtitle to a video with virtualdubmod

Otherwise, switchable subtitles are added in during authoring. Some tools don't support this, others do. One that is commonly recommended as an authoring tool and that supports subtitles is DVDLab (and the Pro version). This guide will be of interest: How To Backup a DVD and Add new Subtitles to the DVD using DVD-Lab Pro - Yes, there is info on backing up a DVD, but it's the "...and Add new subtitles to the DVD" that will be of use.

Also, there's a category in the "Tools" section for subtitling software... A lot of the guides are quite old, and will not refer to newer software.

The link below lists all the software that can be used in connection with subtitles:
https://www.videohelp.com/tools?s=24#24

I hope that helps some - even if only to point you in the right direction. Good luck!

[kschang]

Subtitle workshop.

In general, it's better to type the stuff as you hear them, worry about timing later. Once you got the "transcript" of the dialogue down, you can then try to fit them to the timing.

[indijay]

I found a similar thread, https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=298864, Going to give a try to the guides mentioned on that thread, before I pay DVD-lab!!

Thanks everyone for input here.

[byteguy]

I read description about VisualSubSync and all it says is its syncing tool and needs srt or sub file to work with.
In my case, I want to start from the scratch.

Did you actually download, install, and try any programs or read any helpfiles?

The short descriptions are just that... SHORT descriptions.

Many of the programs listed let you start from scratch.

Trust me, VisualSubSync will let you write your own. I'VE DONE IT (sorry for shouting but honestly...). Highlight an area and hit "add subtitle" or press Control-W and POW you have a new subtitle moment you can write "TO THE PAIN!" in.

Subtitle Workshop lets you write your own. I'VE TESTED IT (I just didn't like the interface)

Winsubtitler lets you write your own. I'VE TESTED IT (you just have to wire money to Hungary for a license).

Dude, if you won't even spend time trying recomendations then you are REALLY going to hate writing your own subtitles. It can take forever. It takes me about 10 times the length of the segment to do the subtitles. In other words, a 6-minute presentation takes an hour to subtitle by hand.

[indijay]

Byteguy,

I am really sorry but I did download the program and try to play around but I agree that it was quick one till I came across the guide on above mentioned link.
To be quite honest with you, there are so many (just so many) guides on the web and very few have worked for me so sometimes it becomes difficult to distinguish which one is genuine and which one is just load on the web.
I will be starting to work with VisualSubSync and hoping that I get my job done.

Many thanks for your input, I indeed appreciate it.

[SuperMole]

Hello to you all,

I have a similar question.

I edit a movie using iMovie. I have the text file for my subtitles, but this program has the only possibility: type subs in manually. I presume these subs are then embedded. This method is very time and effort consuming, AND it takes huge place on my HD.

Is there any other method, which allows me to add this text file afterwards (or any other moment) as a whole to my DVD without having to type line by line? I found a reference to a program called Jubler, sounds like something I might wanna use... What other tools would you advise?

I work under Mac OS X. If I have to add subs AFTER I made the DVD, tools for Windows are no problem. I would, however, prefer a tool that somehow integrates into iDVD or iMovie. Something like adding an extra timeline for text and adjusting its timing..... (I'm also afraid that considering my discspace I cannot use advanced programs like Premiere/Final Cut).

Thanks in advance!

[SuperMole]

Was it a strange question that has no answer or am I being unpatient?
Adding some new thoughts.
The "subtitles" I have is just a text file, without reference to frames and times. I suppose this is necessary to make working subs? But do I first make a DVD and then add subs or is it possible to make a separate file with subs and put everything in the DVD?
All help will be really greatly appreciated!

[Baldrick]

If you are looking for max os subtitle tools ask in our mac forum section instead. I don't think iDVD supports any switchable subtitles.

[SuperMole]

Thanks for your reply!
I am not specifically looking for mac subtitle tools, but rather for advice about working method with the text file I have. I think it's possible to convert my iMovie project into other Windows-compatible format.