How to import SRT subtitles or your Premiere Pro captions and turn them into animated captions

Step by step

1. Open the Import tab — In the Text step, click + Add text, then the 📥 Import tab. The line Active sequence shows which sequence you are working on.

2. Method 1 — import a file — Click Choose an .srt file and pick your .srt or .vtt file.

3. Method 2 — import from the project — Save your project, choose All subtitles or Only between in/out points, then click Import from the sequence.

4. Pick the caption track if asked — If the sequence has several caption tracks, the panel lists them with their first words: click the right one.

5. Check your lines — The window closes and your lines appear in the Text step, ready to style, lay out and generate.

Which import method should I use?

Both methods live in the same place: 2 Text step › + Add text › 📥 Import tab. The top of the tab reminds you of the target: Active sequence: “your sequence”.

Method	Where	What it reads	When to use it
Method 1 — from an .srt file	📥 Import › Choose an .srt file	A .srt file, or a .vtt file	You received subtitles from a client or a translator, or you exported them from another project.
Method 2 — automatic (from the project)	📥 Import › Import from the sequence	The captions already in your active Premiere Pro sequence	You made or corrected captions in Premiere Pro and want to animate them, without exporting anything.

Why it matters: you keep the text you already checked and paid for — a translation, a client-approved script, captions fixed line by line. Subkick Caption only adds what was missing: the style, the animation and the word placement.

Method 1 — import an .srt or .vtt file

1. Click + Add text, then the 📥 Import tab.
2. Under Method 1 — from an .srt file, click Choose an .srt file.
3. Pick your .srt or .vtt file.
4. The message N caption(s) imported from “file.srt”. confirms the import, and your lines appear in the Text step.

What the panel expects from the file:

• Timestamps with hours, in the SRT form 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,500 (a dot instead of the comma also works). VTT timestamps without hours are not read.
• One subtitle of the file becomes one caption block. A subtitle written on two lines is joined into one line of text; the layout step rebuilds the lines.
• Formatting tags in the text (such as <i>) are removed.
• If nothing can be read, the panel says No readable caption in this file. Check that it’s a real .srt file, saved as text.

How to export an SRT file from Premiere Pro

If your captions are in another Premiere Pro project, open the Text panel, go to the Captions tab, open the ⋮ menu and choose Export to SRT file. Then import that file with Method 1. In the same project, Method 2 is quicker.

Method 2 — import the captions of your sequence

1. Save your project (Ctrl+S / Cmd+S). It must have been saved at least once; after that, the panel saves it again by itself before reading it, so your latest corrections are included.
2. Under Method 2 — automatic (from the project), choose All subtitles (default) or Only between in/out points.
3. Click Import from the sequence.
4. If the sequence holds several caption tracks, the panel shows Several caption tracks found — pick the right one: with the first words, the number of subtitles and the duration of each track. Click the right one.
5. The message N subtitles imported from the project. confirms the import.

With Only between in/out points and no caption in that range, the panel imports the whole sequence and says so: No subtitles between in/out points — N subtitles imported (whole sequence).

Tip: Method 2 reads the captions you created in Premiere Pro — typed in the Text panel, imported there, or made with Premiere Pro’s own speech-to-text. If the sequence has none, the panel says No Adobe captions found on this sequence.

What is kept from your captions, and what isn’t

Kept	Not kept
The text of each caption	The font, color, size and position of the original captions
The start and end of each caption	Any styling or animation made elsewhere

Inside each block, the words are spread over the duration of the caption in proportion to their length. You can then time each word precisely by dragging its boundaries in the timeline under the list — see Edit lines, blocks and timecodes.

Right after the import, the Compo Auto of your preset styles and places the words, and you land on the Text step with your lines in front of you.

Note: an import replaces the imported or transcribed text of this sequence (Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z brings the previous text back). Text you typed in the ✍ Write tab is kept separately and isn’t lost.

How to turn Premiere Pro captions into animated captions

1. Import your captions (Method 1 or 2).
2. In 1 Style, pick a preset in the gallery — see Choose a preset.
3. In 2 Text, fix a word or re-split long lines if needed.
4. In 3 Layout, check each block on the full-screen preview — see Layout and word placement.
5. Click ⚡ Generate: your animated captions arrive in a sequence named <your sequence> Subtitles, placed on the track you chose and tidied into a bin of your project — see Generate on the timeline.

You can keep the original Premiere Pro caption track as a backup, or hide it before exporting your video.

Import or AI transcription?

	Import (.srt, .vtt or project)	AI transcription
Credits	None, on every plan	Counted in seconds of audio
Word timing	Spread over each caption, by length	A real timecode for every spoken word
Follows later cuts (🔗)	No	Yes — see Captions that follow your edits
Best for	Approved or translated text, captions already fixed	Starting from the voice, with exact word timing

If the import doesn’t work

Message	What to do
Save your project first (Ctrl+S), then try the automatic import again.	The project has never been saved: save it once, then click Import from the sequence again.
No active sequence in Premiere.	Click in the timeline of your editing sequence, then try again.
Could not read the project file (.prproj). Use the .srt method instead.	Export your captions to an SRT file from the Text panel and use Method 1.
No Adobe captions found on this sequence.	Create or import captions in Premiere Pro first, or use Method 1.
No readable caption in this file.	The file isn’t a readable .srt: export it again from Premiere Pro.

More fixes in Troubleshooting.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import an SRT file into Premiere Pro and animate it word by word?

Yes. In Subkick Caption, open the Text step, click + Add text › 📥 Import › Choose an .srt file and pick your file. Each subtitle becomes a caption block, then you pick a preset and generate animated, word-by-word captions in your Premiere Pro timeline.

Can Subkick Caption use the captions I already made in Premiere Pro?

Yes. Subkick Caption reads the captions of your active sequence directly from the project: save the project, then click Import from the sequence in the 📥 Import tab. No export is needed.

Does importing an SRT file use transcription credits?

No. In Subkick Caption, importing an .srt or .vtt file or the captions of your sequence is free on every plan, Free included. Only AI transcription uses credits.

Does Subkick Caption keep the style of my Premiere Pro captions?

No, and that's on purpose. Subkick Caption keeps only the text and the timing of each caption, then applies your preset: fonts, colors, animations, word placement and sounds.

Can I import a WebVTT (.vtt) file?

Yes. The Choose an .srt file button in Subkick Caption also accepts .vtt files. The timestamps must include the hours (for example 00:00:01.000); shorter VTT timestamps without hours are not read.

Will imported captions follow my cuts if I edit the video afterwards?

No. In Subkick Caption, only words that come from AI transcription are anchored to your clips and follow your edits. Imported captions keep their timecodes: finish your edit before importing, or transcribe instead.