The SRT format has become the standard for working with subtitles, as it is supported by most video players. Originally, it was the native format of the SubRip program, a Windows utility for extracting subtitles from DVDs.
Currently, it is widely used by submission platforms and by Vimeo. It is the simplest subtitle format that exists, which is perhaps why it has become so popular.
These are 3 fundamental keys to using it properly and understanding its basic operation for festival distribution:
#1 SRT is Plain Text
This is one of the most important characteristics: it is not possible to format it natively. Sometimes I speak with directors who try to have the subtitles in a specific format, consistent with the aesthetics of their film. We must understand that subtitles are independent; in the case of SRT, each player applies a different format, which is very interesting. The format can be adapted to the screen.
In the original SRT files there is no formatting information; this is an example of the file:
Depending on the characteristics of each player, we can adapt the subtitle format. In VLC, for example, the format can be changed in Preferences> Subtitles / OSD:
Here you can modify the size, font, border, etc.
Even Netflix has an option to change the format of the original subtitles.
There are other players, such as Vimeo, that come with a preconfigured format that cannot be changed.
Despite this, some codes can be used, such as <i> for italics. This option is not official, so it is not supported by all players (for this reason I do not recommend using it). You may have sometimes seen these codes, which have not been read correctly by the player and end up being very annoying.
#2 It Can Be Opened on Any Operating System
A plain text file, such as SRT (or TXT), can be opened with the text editors that come by default on any operating system. In Windows, we find Notepad, and on Mac, TextEdit. In Linux there are several editors; in Ubuntu, for example, Gedit comes by default.
In any case, we can use specific subtitle programs. The best of all is, without a doubt, Aegisub, a program that has been developed primarily for working with subtitles in manga cinema.
It has many advanced tools, and although its default format is ASS (which does save formatting information), it is also possible to export in SRT format. The best thing about Aegisub is that it is free and compatible with all operating systems.
If you use Windows, you can also use Subtitle Edit, also free and works by default with SRT. One of the advantages of this program is the large number of formats it supports, including XML for DCP.
If you do not have Windows, you can use its online version, which works very well; it is Subtitle Edit Online (currently in beta).
Working with and exporting SRT to other formats is a simple process, but we must use the appropriate software, which is also free. As I mentioned in this post about subtitles, we must respect the source formats.
#3 Character Encoding
Character encoding allows our natural language to be converted to the electronic representation system. That is, it adapts characters to the necessary formats so they can be read by players. There are several encoding systems; the standard is Unicode, which includes European alphabets, as well as Chinese, Japanese, etc. It has several character subsets.
For our subtitles (in English, French, or Spanish) to work, they must be saved within the subset UTF-8 (Unicode Transformation Format). Although this topic is somewhat complicated, basically if we have any problems we must carefully review the character encoding and change it. This can be done when saving the file from a plain text editor:
In summary, we must be clear about two basic premises: SRT subtitles have no formatting, and it is very important to work with the appropriate tools. It makes no sense to use Word or other rich text programs for handling plain text files.
Although this topic is complicated, I hope this post helps you prepare your subtitles for international distribution.