How to translate Text+ titles and subtitles in DaVinci Resolve

To translate a DaVinci Resolve edit by hand, you duplicate the timeline for each language, retype every Text+ title in the copy and give it a subtitle track in that language. Translate titles does the same from an exported .drp. It reads every Text+ and Text title, translates them into the languages you pick, and gives you a .drp with one timeline per language, ready to import.

Machine translation. Check with a fluent speaker before publishing.

The manual way: a timeline for each language

Everything here works in the free version of Resolve.

1. In the Media Pool, right-click the finished timeline and choose Duplicate Timeline. Rename the copy with the language, such as "Main Edit ES".
2. Open the copy on the Edit page. Select each Text+ title and type the translation into the text box in the Inspector. For a Fusion title with several text layers, such as a lower third with a name and a job title, edit each layer on the Fusion page.
3. Do every title on the timeline, then start again for the next language.

Watch the length as you go. Translated text is often longer than the English: the W3C's article on text size in translation puts short strings at up to two or three times the English length. A name strap that fit can run off its background.

Subtitles

Each language gets its own subtitle track.

1. Right-click a track header and choose Add Subtitle Track. Rename the track with the language.
2. Get the translated subtitles as an SRT, from a translator or a service. Resolve Studio can make subtitles from the dialogue with Create Subtitles from Audio, in the spoken language, which gives you a source file to translate.
3. Choose File > Import > Subtitle, pick the language's SRT, and drag the subtitle clip onto its track.
4. On the Deliver page, Subtitle Settings exports the subtitle tracks you tick, as separate files or burned in.

The step-by-step for the import and its timing trap is in adding SRT subtitles in Resolve.

The CutConvert way: one timeline per language from the .drp

1. In the Project Manager, right-click the project and choose Export Project to save a .drp.
2. Drop the .drp on Translate titles. CutConvert reads it on your computer and lists every Text+ and Text title it found, with the timeline and timecode of each. Subtitles go through an SRT, below.
3. Pick the languages. Names, brands and anything else that should stay as it is go in Keep these words as they are. The first 10 items in one language preview free, on screen.
4. Check the review table. Every line can be edited, and the lines to look at are flagged: longer than the original, a font that may not have the new script's characters, or right-to-left text. Shorten asks for a shorter version of a line, and Export CSV gives you the table to send to your own translator.
5. Tick the box to confirm a fluent speaker will check the translations, and download the .drp. In the Project Manager, choose Import Project and open it.

The project holds the original timeline and one timeline per language, named after the original with the language and its code at the end. Each translated timeline starts with a marker named "Machine-translated: review before delivery".

What comes across, and what doesn't

• Text+ titles keep their font, size, colour, position, animation and the rest of their styling, including each layer of a title with several. Words styled differently inside a layer keep that style when the translation allows it; otherwise the line takes the first style and the report says so.
• Subtitle tracks aren't translated inside the .drp yet. Export each track as SRT (right-click the track and choose Export Subtitle), translate the SRT on the same page, and import each language's SRT onto its own subtitle track.
• Other text isn't read. Text drawn by Fusion tools other than Text+ and titles from third-party plug-ins stay in the original language.
• Fonts. A line is flagged when its font may not have the characters of the new script. You can turn on Swap fonts that lack these characters to use a Noto font for that script, which then has to be installed on the computer that opens the project.

Only the on-screen text is sent to be translated. The .drp and your media stay on your computer.

FAQ

How do I add subtitles in another language in Resolve? Add a subtitle track for each language (right-click a track header and choose Add Subtitle Track). Import that language's SRT with File > Import > Subtitle and drag it onto the track. On the Deliver page, Subtitle Settings can export each subtitle track as its own file.

Do translated Text+ titles keep their styling? Yes. A translated Text+ title keeps its font, size, colour, position and animation, and only the words change. Lines that run longer than the original are flagged in the review table so you can shorten them first.

Does it work with the free version of Resolve? Yes. The free version and Studio both export and import .drp projects.

What isn't translated? Text drawn by Fusion tools other than Text+, and titles from third-party plug-ins, isn't read and stays in the original language. Text burned into the footage can't be read at all.

How much does it cost? The first 10 items in one language preview free, on screen. One project costs $5 for one language, $9 for up to 3 or $15 for up to 10. Pro includes 10 translated projects a month with up to 5 languages each, and Studio includes 40 with up to 80.