An Arabic interview should not mean typing every subtitle by hand. SmoothyApp can transcribe Arabic speech on your computer, let you correct the transcript and save an SRT for your edit. The local caption tool is free and does not require a SmoothyEdit account.
There is a useful distinction here: Premiere can work with imported Arabic captions, but Arabic is absent from Adobe’s published native Speech to Text language list, checked October 10, 2026. SmoothyApp supplies the transcription step. You still finish and style the subtitles in your editor.
Start with the right recording
Open Captions in SmoothyApp. Use your connected Premiere sequence, or choose an audio/video file directly. The file workflow does not require Premiere. For an edited sequence, transcribe audio that matches the picture you intend to caption; changing the edit later can move words away from their subtitle times.
Choose Arabic and a multilingual model. English-only models are not suitable for Arabic. The first model download needs internet and disk space; after setup, transcription runs locally without uploading your recording.
For an interview or dialect-heavy conversation, Large v3 Turbo is a useful starting point when your computer has the resources. Tiny and Base are lighter, but they can miss words or repeat phrases. A larger model still needs a review, particularly with overlapping voices, background music and mixed Arabic/English speech.
Give the transcript a correction pass
Generate the captions, then listen while reading. Start with a short section containing names, dialect and any technical terms. This tells you whether the model is a good fit before you rely on the full result.
SmoothyApp’s caption editors follow the writing direction of the text. A sample Arabic line might read:
وقت أقل في التكرار، ومساحة أكبر للإبداع.
Correct the words and cue timings. Use find and replace for a recurring name, but review each phrase in context. Reformatting can change line lengths and cue layout without transcribing again. Keep subtitles readable instead of trying to fit every word onto one crowded line.
Take the SRT into the edit
Save an SRT locally or use the connected Premiere import. Inspect the result with a font that supports Arabic, including mixed-direction text and punctuation. SRT carries text and timing; the editor controls the final typography and position.
For Resolve, save the SRT and use the DaVinci Resolve Free workflow. A paid Resolve upgrade is not needed just to import the subtitle file. The dedicated Resolve plugin remains upcoming; this workflow uses files.
Keep the reviewed SRT with the project, and check the first and last cues after any picture changes. For a broader walkthrough, read the local captions guide or explore the caption tools. If a dialect or recording exposes a problem, describe the workflow in our Discord community and help us improve it.