Subtitle lead-in
Show each subtitle a few frames before the speech starts, as broadcast subtitles do.
Broadcast convention is that a subtitle appears a couple of frames before the speech it carries, because the eye is slightly slower than the ear. Lead-in does this for you.
At 25 frames per second, with a lead-in of 2 frames:
| Time | |
|---|---|
| Speech starts | 00:05.000 |
| Subtitle appears | 00:04.920 |
Set it
Lead-in (frames) is in the formatting settings of the upload dialog, and in your organization's upload presets. It is a whole number of frames from 0 to 25. The default is 0, which turns it off.
The built-in Broadcast preset uses a lead-in of 2 frames with 42 characters per line.
Where it applies
- Subtitle files you download from the editor.
- Videos rendered with burned-in subtitles.
- The preview in the editor.
Word timings do not change. The transcript, the waveform and the word highlighting still show when each word was said. Only the moment each subtitle appears moves.
Rules it follows
- Never closer than the minimum gap. A subtitle is not moved earlier than the end of the one before it plus your minimum frames between subtitles setting (3 by default).
- Never later. If there is no room, a subtitle keeps its original start.
- Never before the start of the media.
- Frame rate. The media's own frame rate when it is known, otherwise 25 frames per second.
Lead-in and the API
Subtitle files from the API do not include lead-in, and API jobs cannot set one. If you need a lead-in on API files, download from the editor, or shift the API file with offsetSeconds.