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How to translate and burn subtitles on a Mac

Burned translated subtitles take three distinct passes: transcribe the speech, translate the timed segments and render those segments into a new video. Keeping the passes separate makes errors easier to find before they become pixels.

Go from speech to a captioned copy

  1. 1

    Transcribe in the spoken language

    Start with the audio, even when the source already has visual captions. You need timed text that later Actions can use.

  2. 2

    Review names and specialist terms

    Fix the parts most likely to break translation or mislead a viewer.

  3. 3

    Translate the timed transcript

    Preserve segment order and timing. Export SRT or VTT now if the destination accepts subtitle files.

  4. 4

    Burn captions into a copy

    Render a new H.264/AAC MP4. Keep the source and subtitle files beside it.

  5. 5

    Watch a sample before publishing

    Check reading speed, line breaks, names and meaning. High-stakes translation needs a qualified reviewer.

Burn only when the words must always show

Burned captions survive players and platforms that ignore sidecar files, but viewers cannot hide or restyle them. Prefer SRT or VTT when the destination supports a selectable caption track.

Use the Farsi starter or change the target

Farsi-subtitled copy wires the three passes together. Duplicate it and change the Translate Action’s target language for another job.