Edit a Video Transcript Fast in the Subtitles Panel

Names, brand terms and numbers are where a generated transcript slips. A proofreading pass takes a few minutes when the transcript is laid out well, and the Content tab in the Subtitles panel is built for that pass.

What the Content tab shows

After you run Generate subtitles, the panel opens on Content. The captions read as flowing paragraphs. Each caption starts with a timestamp chip, and a small pause chip appears wherever the speech stops for more than half a second. A pause longer than two seconds starts a new paragraph, so the transcript follows the shape of the talk.

The caption under the playhead is highlighted. During playback the list scrolls along, so you can listen and read at the same time. Click a timestamp chip to move the playhead to the start of that caption.

You can also double-click a caption on the video itself and edit its text there. Press Escape or click away to commit it. This is handy when you spot a typo during playback and want to fix it where you saw it.

Fix words in place

Click the text of any caption and type. Click elsewhere or press Escape to commit the change. Each committed edit is its own undo step.

Timing depends on how you edit:

• Swap a misheard word for another single word and the word timings stay intact.
• Add or delete words and DepCut spreads the caption's words across its time by word length. That is fine for plain captions. It matters if you use word highlight, where the highlight follows the timings.

Clear all the text in a caption and click away, and the caption is removed.

Split and merge

• Press Enter with the cursor inside a caption to split it at that spot. If the caption still has its original word timings, both halves keep them.
• Press Backspace with the cursor at the very start of a caption to merge it into the caption before it.

Use splits for captions that carry two thoughts and merges for fragments that belong together. Short, whole-thought captions are easier to read on screen.

A proofreading routine

1. Play the video from the start with the Content tab open and follow the highlighted caption.
2. Fix names, numbers and product terms first. These are the mistakes viewers notice.
3. Split captions that hold two ideas and merge fragments of one idea.
4. Look at the pause chips. A long pause is a natural place for a caption to end.
5. Play the finished transcript once more with the sound on.

Save the proofreading for last. Running Regenerate at the top of the Content tab swaps the captions on the active track for a fresh transcript, and your edits go with them. Undo can bring them back, but the cleaner path is to finish the video edit, generate the captions once and then proofread. Transcription spends account credits, so one pass also saves them.

Start your next pass

Generate subtitles in DepCut, open the Content tab and work down the transcript with the routine above.