Clip Caption Kit

How to Split One Master SRT for Multiple Video Clips

Export one SRT for the full source video, prepare a CSV with each clip's name, source start and source end, then batch-extract the matching captions. Re-time each result by subtracting the clip start, renumber the cues and export the files under the clip names.

Step 1 — Prepare the two inputs

The master SRT

Export subtitles for the full-length source and keep it untouched. Every clip file is derived from it, so it stays the single source of truth — never edit a derived clip file and expect the change to survive a re-run.

The clip timeline CSV

Three required columns: name,start,end. Copy the in/out points from your editing timeline. Extra columns are ignored, and both HH:MM:SS.mmm and HH:MM:SS,mmm work.

name,start,end
intro,00:00:15.000,00:00:45.000
clip-01,00:03:42.000,00:04:18.000
clip-02,00:08:14.000,00:09:02.000

Download the example CSV or the blank template.

Step 2 — What happens to each caption

For every row, captions are kept when they overlap the range, re-timed against the clip start and renumbered from 1:

Master cue:        00:03:45,500 --> 00:03:48,000   "so today we ship it"
Clip:              clip-01 00:03:42,000 --> 00:04:18,000
Overlap check:     03:45,500 > 03:42,000 and 03:48,000 < 04:18,000  → fully inside
Re-timed:          00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:06,000
Renumbered:        cue 2 of clip-01 (after the 03:43 caption)

A caption that starts before the clip or ends after it is a boundary caption: trim it to the boundary (the default) or exclude it. All of this is computed in whole milliseconds, so the same input always produces the same output.

Step 3 — Run it and review

  1. Open the batch SRT splitter and upload both files.
  2. Fix anything the row-level validation reports — each message names the row and shows the original line.
  3. Review each clip: caption count, boundary warnings and the safe filename that will actually be written.
  4. Export one ZIP with srt/, txt/ and manifest.csv.

Three ways to do this, compared

MethodStrengthWatch out for
By handZero setup, fine for one clipTime subtraction, renumbering and naming are repeated for every clip and every revision
A scriptFully automated once writtenBoundary captions, duplicate names and encoding edge cases are yours to maintain
Clip Caption KitCSV in, audited ZIP out, with the manifest recording every decisionRequires signing in; the free plan covers one project with up to 200 captions

Revisions: change the CSV, not the files

Because the timeline lives in the CSV, a revision is a one-row edit and a re-run. Two properties make this safe: the master SRT is never modified, and manifest.csv records the range, caption count, boundary policy and warning count for every clip in the package, so a reviewer can audit the delivery without opening the files.

Edge cases worth knowing

  • 0 captions in a range — warned, not blocked; silent b-roll is a real deliverable.
  • Ranges past the end of the SRT — warned so a typo like 00:80:00 cannot silently produce an empty file.
  • Duplicate clip names — blocked, because two files cannot share a name; rename one row.
  • Unsafe characters in names — previewed with the cleaned filename shown next to the original.

Master SRT splitting FAQ

Open the batch SRT splitter

Bring the master SRT and the clip CSV — the re-timing, renumbering and packaging are one click from there.

Open the Batch SRT Splitter