Cumulative subtitles

What is a cumulative subtitle

A cumulative subtitle is a special type of subtitle that is overlaid over the previous subtitle. Generally cumulative subtitles are used when there are multiple persons present at the same time in the TV picture. When the first person starts speaking only the text for the first person appears in the subtitle. When the second person starts speaking the text for the second person appears in the subtitle and the text for the first person is not deleted. The second subtitle in this example is called a “cumulative subtitle”.

The following picture shows the first subtitle which contains the text for the first person.

The following picture shows the cumulative subtitle which appears when the second person starts speaking. The text for the first person is not erased.

How to prepare a cumulative subtitle in FAB Subtitler

After preparing the first subtitle, click on the menu Subtitle/Insert and then click on “Insert add-on”. A new subtitle will be inserted after the current subtitle and a + (plus) symbol will be visible next to the subtitle number in the list of subtitles on the right side for the newly created cumulative subtitle.

The following picture shows the first subtitle shortly before adding a cumulative subtitle.

The following picture shows the cumulative subtitle. The text from the previous subtitle will be visible although it cannot be edited. Only the text for the second person can be edited.

Please note that the OUT timecode of the first subtitle will be the same as the IN timecode of the second (cumulative) subtitle because the cumulative subtitle will be displayed without erasing the previous subtitle.

This page was last updated on 2021-05-06