Guide — TitleFlow

Getting Started

Complete your first subtitle workflow

TitleFlow fits into your existing Final Cut Pro workflow instead of replacing it. It automates repetitive subtitle-title production while you continue editing in the environment you already know.

One-time setup

Complete the first three steps only once for each subtitle style. Extracted templates can be reused across subtitle files and future projects.

1
Create an empty project in Final Cut Pro, add the title you want, and adjust its parameters.
2
Export the project as FCPXML or FCPXMLD.
3
Import the document into TitleFlow to extract subtitle templates.

Your regular workflow

4
Import SRT or WebVTT subtitle files.
5
Preprocess one file, or use Preprocess All for a batch.
6
Assign subtitle templates and settings to speakers.
7
Export the projects in the workspace as FCPXML.
8
Import the generated FCPXML back into Final Cut Pro.

TitleFlow workspace with multiple projects and speaker settings — Organize multiple projects, subtitle files, and speakers in one workspace.

Understanding Templates

One Motion title, many reusable templates

TitleFlow reads the FCPXML or FCPXMLD you explicitly import and stores its Motion template reference together with supported visual parameters such as font, position, color, and text style. Different settings can turn one Motion title into multiple independent TitleFlow Subtitle Templates.

Basic Lower Third

David Right / Blue

Alice Down / Orange

Bob Left / Green

Three subtitle appearances in Final Cut Pro — Final Cut Pro

TitleFlow template import confirmation — TitleFlow

Organizing and moving templates

Templates can be renamed and are organized by resolution and frame rate.
Templates can be exported as standalone .tftemplate files.
Name collisions are numbered automatically; an identical template is rejected as a duplicate.

.tftemplate does not include the Motion template

A .tftemplate stores only information found in the FCPXML; it does not include the original .moti. On another Mac, the same Motion template must be installed with the same name and path. TitleFlow does not read, copy, or modify Motion template resources inside Final Cut Pro.

Role Mapping Explained

Configure once, apply to every matching speaker

Role Mapping separates speaker identity from subtitle appearance. Prepare a Subtitle Template, Lane, and Group Titles behavior for recurring speakers; unmatched speakers use Default.

TitleFlow Role Mapping screen including Default — Role Mapping does not include Exclude; individual speakers can be excluded after preprocessing.

Speaker Detection and fallback

During Preprocess, TitleFlow detects speakers using the label format selected in Settings. The format is configurable, but must include both a prefix and suffix, such as [Speaker]:, <Speaker>, or (Speaker).

[Alice]: Hello![Bob]: Hi!

When no label is detected, TitleFlow can inherit the previous speaker or use the subtitle filename or a custom name as the fallback speaker. Fallback determines who the speaker is; Role Mapping Default determines which settings to use when no rule matches.

Speaker label and fallback options in TitleFlow Settings — Customize the label prefix and suffix, then choose the fallback behavior used when no speaker is detected.

Master Speaker

Each project has one Master Speaker. Its assigned template determines the project environment, including resolution, frame rate, and other template-dependent settings.

Mixing template specifications

Final Cut Pro allows title templates with different specifications in one project, but mixing resolutions or frame rates may produce unexpected results. TitleFlow does not resize, convert, or adjust title templates. Make sure other speakers' templates suit the project environment determined by the Master Speaker.

Working with Import Folders

Organize projects before editing

TitleFlow can mix entire folders with individual SRT or WebVTT subtitle files in the same workspace. Unsupported files are ignored.

Folder import

Each folder becomes a project. Subfolders are flattened into separate projects and named using their path and folder name.

Before import

Podcast

Episode_01

ep_001_chinese.srtep_001_english.srt

Episode_02

ep_002_chinese.srtep_002_english.srt

TitleFlow

Podcast | Episode_01Podcast | Episode_02

TitleFlow separates path and folder names with “|”, avoiding the unsupported “/” character in Final Cut Pro project names.

Individual file import

When importing individual subtitle files, each file can become its own project or multiple files can be combined into one. The same file cannot appear twice within one project, but it can be used in different projects.

Two episode folders and their subtitle files inside a Podcast folder in Finder

TitleFlow showing two subfolders flattened into separate projects

Fine-tuning Subtitle Timing

Make subtitles appear and disappear more naturally

Lead-in and Tail-out apply to every project in the current workspace and remain saved in Settings. Optimization is applied only during export and does not modify the source subtitle files.

Lead-in+0.15s

Show the subtitle 0.15 seconds earlier.

Tail-out+0.10s

Keep the subtitle visible 0.10 seconds longer.

Both sliders range from −0.5 to +1.0 seconds, and values can also be entered directly. TitleFlow applies Lead-in and Tail-out first, then resolves other timing issues. Seconds are converted to frames according to the project frame rate only during export.

Lead-in and Tail-out sliders in TitleFlow Settings — Adjust each value with its slider or enter the number of seconds directly.

Automatic safeguards

Remove gaps that are too short between adjacent subtitles.
Protect subtitles from becoming too short.
Prioritize preserving every subtitle's complete content.
When timing is too crowded, adjacent subtitles may be merged to prevent missing content.