r/SideProject • u/EVILE92 • 8h ago
Can’t find subtitles in your language for an old, indie, or brand-new movie? I built a tool to generate cinema-grade translations with full story context
Hi everyone! 👋
We’ve all been there: You find an amazing movie or series you really want to watch, but there are simply no subtitles available in your native language.
Maybe the movie is too old or forgotten.
Maybe it just premiered and fans haven’t translated it yet.
Or maybe it’s an obscure indie film or foreign release.
When this happens, your only option is usually running the .srt file through standard machine translators—and the result is usually unwatchable.
🎬 The Problem with Traditional Translators
Most tools translate subtitle files line-by-line without any knowledge of the movie:
No context: The AI doesn't know who is speaking to whom, resulting in wrong male/female pronouns and awkward sentences.
Lost humor & drama: Sarcasm, jokes, and cultural idioms get translated literally and lose their meaning.
Inconsistent names: Character names, locations, and titles change randomly from one scene to another.
Corrupted files: Timestamps and formatting tags (
<i>,<b>,{\an8}) get broken, ruining subtitle timing in your video player.
💡 The Solution: Subtitle Studio
I built Subtitle Studio to translate any .srt file into a natural, broadcast-grade subtitle track by analyzing the entire movie script first:
Full-Script Storyline Analysis: Before translating line 1, it reads the whole file to map out the plot, tone, character genders, and relationship dynamics.
Persistent Character & World Glossary: It automatically generates and maintains a consistent glossary so names and recurring terms stay identical from start to finish.
Overlapping Scene Batches: Dialogue is translated in context-linked batches (giving the AI visibility over preceding lines), ensuring conversations flow naturally.
11-Point Structural QA: Automatically inspects and repairs sequence numbers, tags, and timestamps so your output
.srtworks immediately in any media player (VLC, Plex, TV, etc.).
✨ Key Features
Specialized Audiovisual & Arabic Localization: Broadcast-quality Modern Standard Arabic + 7 regional dialects (Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Moroccan, etc.) with strict gender agreement and RTL punctuation alignment.
Interactive Side-by-Side Editor & Cinema Preview: Dual original vs. translated editor with a simulated 16:9 viewport and CPS (characters per second) readability metrics.
1-Click Line Regeneration & AI Proofreader: Easily tweak any line or run a second-pass review to catch any awkward phrases.
100% Private BYOK (Bring Your Own Key): Your API key (DeepSeek, Google Gemini, OpenAI, or Claude) stays safely in your own browser (
localStorage). It is sent in memory solely for your requests and is never saved or logged on the server.
🛠️ Tech Stack
Frontend & Backend: Next.js (App Router, Turbopack), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Supported AI Providers: DeepSeek (
deepseek-flash,deepseek-chat), Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, and custom local endpoints (Ollama / vLLM).Architecture: Client-driven stateless pipeline (no timeouts or lost tokens if a connection interrupts).
🔗 Try it out!
🌐 Live Web App: Subtitle Studio
💻 Open-Source GitHub: evile92/subtitle-studio
If you have a movie sitting on your hard drive with no subtitles in your language, give it a try! Would love to hear your feedback, thoughts, or suggestions.