Translate Subtitles in Premiere Pro With One Click (Using Cutback)

Reaching an international audience starts with speaking their language, literally. Whether you're making tutorials, marketing videos, podcasts, or YouTube content, multilingual captions are key to building global visibility.

But if you've ever tried translating subtitles in Premiere Pro manually, you know how painful it can be. With a few shortfalls, you might even find yourself depending on Google Translate or Microsoft Translator to consolidate your edits. Between that and exporting SRT files, editing, and syncing translated text, it’s a multi-step nightmare, unless you're using Cutback.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to translate captions into 29+ languages and apply them directly to your Premiere Pro sequence through automatic transcription, no exporting or juggling external tools.

Why Translate Subtitles/Captions At All?

Adding subtitles in multiple languages:

• Increases video accessibility

• Boosts SEO in international search engines

• Helps retention for non-native speakers

• Expands your reach to a global audience

With Cutback, you can instantly translate and apply captions in your timeline, no exporting required. With a built-in translation engine and AI powered by translation models, Cutback does the linguistic heavy-lifting.

Step-by-Step Caption Translation: How to Translate Subtitles in Premiere Pro with Cutback

Step 1: Prepare Your Project in Premiere Pro

Open a new or existing Premiere Pro project and load your video and audio files into a sequence.

Cutback is a native extension, so everything happens inside Premiere. You don’t need to export your video or captions to another tool.

Step 2: Launch Cutback

Go to Window > Extensions > Cutback.

Once it opens, click on the [Edit Captions] tab.

If you haven’t already generated a transcription, you’ll need to do that first. Cutback’s AI-powered transcription feature will create accurate captions directly from your audio.

Need help with that step? We’ve got a full tutorial here.

Step 3: Translate Captions in Premiere Pro using Cutback

Once your base transcription is complete, look to the bottom-right corner of the Cutback panel and click the [Translate] button.

From here:

• Choose your target language from the 29 available options.

• Cutback will automatically generate translated captions based on your original audio.

• Translations are powered by AI and optimized for subtitle clarity and timing.

Supported languages include Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, and many more.

✏️ Step 4: Review and Edit the Translation

Even though Cutback’s translations are highly accurate, it’s still best practice to do a quick review, especially for nuance or brand-specific phrasing.

To edit:

• Click directly on any translated line in the editor.

• Make corrections or style adjustments as needed.

This flexibility makes Cutback ideal for both pros and first-timers when it comes to content creation.

Applying Translated Captions to Your Video

Once you're happy with the translation, it’s time to apply it to your video inside the Premiere Pro timeline.

You have two main options depending on your editing style:

Option 1: Use Native Premiere Pro Caption Tracks

To apply translated captions as regular text captions:

1. Click [Apply to sequence]

2. Choose:

   • [Premiere Pro captions]

   • Enable [Split track for translation]

Cutback will generate a second caption track for the translated subtitles, keeping your original captions intact. You can then toggle between languages.

⚠️ Note: Premiere Pro only allows one caption track to be active at a time. If the translated track doesn’t show up, try deactivating the original track.

Option 2: Use Animated Captions for Both Languages

If you want to display both original and translated captions at the same time (for example, English on top and Korean underneath), you can use animated captions.

Here’s how:

1. Click [Apply to sequence]

2. Select [Animated Captions]

3. In the settings popup, choose your caption style and under Translation, select [Include]

This option allows you to display dual-language subtitles with motion styling, perfect for creators targeting bilingual audiences or international platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Reels.

Example Use Case: YouTube Creators Going Global

Let’s say you’re a content creator with a large English-speaking audience but are gaining traction in Spanish-speaking regions.

With Cutback:

• You transcribe your English script.

• You translate into Spanish with one click.

• You use animated captions to show both languages at once, no extra software or freelancers needed.

It’s that simple.

What Makes Cutback’s Translation Feature Unique?

Integrated inside Premiere Pro – no more juggling apps or re-importing files

One-click AI translations – auto-detects speaker tone and phrasing

Side-by-side original + translated support – ideal for dual-caption workflows

Supports animated subtitle output - great for modern, stylized content

Editable text fields – make changes before finalizing the output

Troubleshooting Common Issues

I don’t see the translated captions in Premiere Pro.

Premiere only allows one caption track to be visible at a time. Make sure to deactivate the original track if you want to see the translated version.

I'm getting errors when applying subtitles.

If your Premiere version is outdated or you’re using a beta build, some features may not function as expected. Cutback is optimized for Premiere Pro 2023 and above.

Can I edit both the original and translated captions?

Yes! Each line is independently editable within the Cutback editor.

Final Thoughts

Multilingual captions aren’t just a nice-to-have; they’re a necessity for global reach. And while the old workflow for subtitle translation used to involve spreadsheets, freelancers, or separate software, Cutback makes it seamless.

In just a few clicks, you can:

• Transcribe your video

• Translate captions into 29 languages

• Apply them as animated or native Premiere Pro captions

Whether you’re a content creator, video editor, or part of a media team, this is the fastest way to add global polish to your projects, right from the timeline.

Try Cutback’s translation tools today and unlock your global audience.

For more in-depth knowledge about the ins and outs of video editing, check out our latest posts on the Cutback blog or our YouTube channel. You can also join Cutback’s Discord community of like-minded video editors.