Set Up Dynamic Subtitles

NOTE  Dynamic Subtitles is one of the Autograf Rigging Utilities. It is supported in Templater 3.4 and later.

Using the Dynamic Subtitles rigging utility and an SRT file referenced in your data source, you can dynamically add onscreen text to your Templater customized video compositions. Only SRT files are supported at this time.

Dynamic Subtitles has two components:

  • SRT Rig: Framework for dynamic subtitling in your comp
  • SRT Stack: Expands the rig with a series of layers that each apply to a single subtitle

NOTE  You cannot disable subtitles that are added to a comp using Dynamic Subtitles. Also, due to limitations of After Effects, subtitles cannot be embedded in the exported file as a separate data stream.

This article provides an overview of the entire workflow for using Dynamic Subtitles in a composition. You should perform the tasks in the order shown.

Before you begin

  • Create a composition with at least one dynamic footage layer and link it to your data source.
  • In your data source, include an srt-data property or column to reference the SRT file.

  • Note the frames per second (FPS) so that you can make sure your subtitles sync correctly.

    WARNING  If your footage asset is a video, Dynamic Subtitles automatically matches the settings in your SRT file to the video. If the video duration is shorter than indicated in the subtitle file, the subtitles are trimmed to match the video length.

    Select your composition in After Effects and then click Composition > Composition Settings. The FPS value is in the Preset field.

Create the SRT Rig

  1. In your composition, click the dynamic footage layer to select it.
  2. In the Templater panel, click the wrench icon at the bottom left of the Batch Assets section. This launches the Autograf Rigging Utilities window.
  3. Click the (CC) icon to launch Dynamic Subtitles. In the panel on the right, the SRT Rig tab is shown by default.
  4. In the left panel of the Dynamic Subtitles dialog, select the composition and then the dynamic footage layer you want the subtitles to be superimposed on.
  5. Select a Layer Color for your subtitle layers from the drop-down. The color is to help you recognize these layers in the timeline. It does not affect the text or background color of your comp. This menu is already populated with the colors shown in After Effects > Preferences > Labels.

  6. To set Subtitles in layer markers to show by default, select the checkbox. You can also use the Markup and Clear buttons to toggle this on and off as needed.

    NOTE  The Markup and Clear buttons apply to an individual iteration of your comp. To include subtitle markers at the rig level in every iteration, select the checkbox.

    Subtitle markers let you see where each subtitle begins and ends as the underlying footage plays. This can be helpful when you iterate through your dynamic footage, especially if your footage assets are of different durations.

  7. To Add a background layer to your SRT Rig by default, select the checkbox. You can also use the Insert and Remove buttons to toggle this on and off as needed.

    NOTE  The Insert and Remove buttons apply to an individual iteration of your comp. To include a background layer for the SRT Rig in every iteration, select the checkbox.

    We recommend you set a background layer during your initial set up of the SRT Rig. The background makes the rig easier to see and manipulate while you're designing. You can always remove it before you replicate or render.

  8. Click Create.

When the SRT Rig is added to your comp, you will see up to three new layers:

  • srt-display: Enables you to configure a variety of settings related to the appearance of your subtitles, including font, color, size, location in the comp, and so on. You can also configure some of these values from your data source. This is a reserved column name.
  • srt-bg: If you add a background layer to your SRT Rig, this layer allows you to configure it separately from the srt-display. This is a reserved column name.
  • srt-data: Enables you to separately configure the subtitle data. This is a reserved column name.

Set styles for the SRT Rig

Creating the SRT Rig also attaches several controllers to its srt-display layer which can be found in the layer's Effect Controls pane. These style settings apply to all subtitles in your video composition. If you need more granular control over specific subtitles, you can create an SRT Stack.

We recommend that you take time to style the rig first, since your stack will then have the rig values as their defaults.

Due to the precise matching of subtitles to video, do not attempt to configure settings for the srt-data layer.

You can use the SRT Rig effect controls to configure settings for the srt-display layer. These settings include several for the background, which should not be styled separately. You can configure:

  • Templater Settings: layout and time
  • Position
  • Font color
  • Font size
  • BG padding - horizontal
  • BG padding - vertical
  • BG color
  • BG roundness
  • BG opacity

NOTE  These settings should already be familiar to you from your use of After Effects and Templater. If you need additional information about them, consult your After Effects documentation.

Create an SRT Stack

The SRT Stack is a set of up to two layers for each subtitle you add to your comp: srt-display and srt-bg. The stack gives you granular control over the position, font, background, and so on for individual subtitles.

If you have a lot of subtitles, creating an SRT Stack can result in a significant number of layers. If you don't need this level of control, you can skip this task. In this case, each subtitle layer in the stack inherits the styling of the SRT Rig.

NOTE  If you already have the Dynamic Subtitles dialog open, skip the first three steps.

  1. In your After Effects project, select the comp that contains your SRT Rig.
  2. In the Templater panel, click the wrench icon at the bottom left of the Batch Assets section. This launches the Autograf Rigging Utilities window.
  3. Click the CC icon to launch Dynamic Subtitles.
  4. In the left panel, select the composition you want to add the SRT Stacklayers to.
  5. Click the SRT Stack tab.
  6. Select a Layer Color for individual subtitle layers from the drop-down. The color is to help you recognize these layers in the timeline. It does not affect the text or background color of your comp. This menu is already populated with the colors shown in After Effects > Preferences > Labels.

  7. To set Subtitles in layer markers to show by default, select the checkbox. You can also use the Markup and Clear buttons to toggle this on and off as needed.

    NOTE  The Markup and Clear buttons apply to a single iteration of your comp. To include markers for every subtitle in every iteration, select the checkbox.

  8. To Add a background layer to each subtitle by default, select the checkbox. You can also use the Insert and Remove buttons to toggle this on and off for individual subtitles as needed.

    NOTE  The Insert and Remove buttons apply to a single iteration of your comp. To include a background layer for every subtitle in every iteration, select the checkbox.

  9. To Detach layers from rig by default, select the checkbox. This detaches all the layers for every subtitle so that you can work on them individually. You can also select a single subtitle layer, and then use the Attach and Detach buttons to work on that layer only.

    WARNING  If you click the Detach button without selecting a layer first, all layers for all subtitles are detached. Templater will ask you to confirm that this is what you want to do.

    You can only change the styling of an individual subtitle if its layers have been detached from the rig. You must also keep that subtitle's layers detached after styling. If you reattach a layer, it reverts back to the rig settings and the individual styling is lost.

    If you know you need to style all or most of your subtitles individually, detaching all layers up front can save you time. The detached layers have the same initial settings as those you configured for the SRT Rig.

    On the other hand, it might make more sense to keep the layers attached by default if:

    • Most of your subtitles can use the rig values.
    • You have a lot of subtitle layers and are afraid you'll lose track of what you've worked on if they're all detached.

    You can then use the Detach and Attach buttons for the subtitle layers you need to configure separately.

  10. Select a Detached Layer Color from the drop-down that is different from the color selected for the SRT Rig. This menu is already populated with the colors shown in After Effects > Preferences > Labels. This can be very helpful when you're working on large numbers of subtitles and layers.
  11. Click Create.

Delete an SRT Rig or SRT Stack

You can delete an SRT Rig, SRT Stack, or both. For example, you might have created the rig for the wrong comp, or need to revert many individual layer changes.

NOTE  Deleting an SRT Rig does not automatically delete the associated SRT Stack. This protects you from accidentally deleting a stack that has lots of individually configured layers.

If you already have the Dynamic Subtitles dialog open, skip the first three steps.

  1. In your After Effects project, select the comp that contains the SRT Rig or SRT Stack you want to delete.
  2. In the Templater panel, click the wrench icon at the bottom left of the Batch Assets section. This launches the Autograf Rigging Utilities window.
  3. Click the CC icon to launch Dynamic Subtitles.
  4. In the left column of the dialog, click the comp with the SRT Rig or SRT Stack you want to delete.
  5. To delete the SRT Rig:
    1. Click Delete.
    2. Click Yes to confirm.
  6. To delete the SRT Stack:
    1. Click the SRT Stack tab.
    2. Click Delete.
    3. Click Yes to confirm.

Related Topics

Autograf Rigging Utilities