Wooohooo. With Simon Says and a couple of clicks you can now easily transcribe clips and timelines natively in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve. Then receive markers (which attach to clips) and subtitles (which attach to sequences).
If you're looking to transcribe/subtitle in Resolve for Windows, see this article.
Requirements for Mac users
Mac computer with DaVinci Resolve v16 or v17 installed. We support both free and paid versions of Resolve. Resolve needs to be downloaded from Resolve's website, not from the Mac App Store (as the one from the Mac App Store installs to a different unsupported directory).
Latest Simon Says macOS app downloaded and installed:
Install the python scripts for Resolve.
WE NOW SUPPORT RESOLVE 17.2
Use the "Alternative way" option below if you are on Resolve 17.2+.
Resolve supports external integrations using Python scripts. Simon Says installs these scripts so you can transcribe and caption.
Best way to install: The python scripts correctly downloaded and installed. You can install the scripts automatically from the Simon Says macOS app v3.6+ from the "Simon Says Transcription" menu. If you don't see the option in the menu, that means you have installed it correctly (or are on an old version of SS macOS app).
Alternative way: or you can install it manually. Download the scripts here (updated Dec 16, 2020).
Move all the files in the ZIP folder to one of these locations:
All users (recommended):
/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Fusion/Scripts/Comp/Simon Says
or Single user (not recommended):
~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Fusion/Scripts/Comp/Simon Says
You will need to create the folder "Simon Says"
Confirm the scripts are installed correctly:
Open DaVinci Resolve and check the scripts are in the menu Workspace / Scripts / Simon Says
If you run these scripts and you are on Catalina, you will see this warning:
You need to go to the Apple dropdown and choose System Preferences and then select "Security & Privacy". You should see a screen like this (below); click "Allow Anyway".
TaDa! You should be good to go!
How-To Transcribe Clips and Subtitle Timelines
Video overview:
Make sure to open both Resolve and Simon Says applications.
1. Transcribe Clips and attach markers to them
a. index the clips in your Resolve bin
select a bin with clips (multicams are not supported)
go to the menu Workspace / Scripts / Simon Says and select "1a Transcribe Clips in Bin"
once it indexes, open the Simon Says Mac app and a new project will have been created. Simon Says then transcodes and uploads the clips for transcription.
click "Transcribe" in the Simon Says Mac app and pay.
once Transcription is complete, click Export, choose the Resolve icon, and choose "Markers".
b. reconnect transcript to the clips in Resolve
go back to Resolve. From its menu Workspace / Scripts / Simon Says, select "1b Attach Transcript Markers to Clips"
TaDa, markers will seamlessly reconnect!
Advanced: you can make edits in Simon Says, such as add notes and speaker names and they will intuitively and appropriately roundtrip back to Resolve.
2. Caption/Subtitle your Edit
Caption and subtitle (including translated subtitling of) your timeline:
make a timeline active in Resolve
go to the menu Workspace / Scripts / Simon Says and select "2 Subtitle-Caption Timeline"
once it exports, open the Simon Says Mac app and a new project will have been created. Simon Says then uploads the exported timeline for transcription.
click "Transcribe" in the Simon Says Mac app and pay.
once Transcription is complete, click Export. (If you are looking to translate, do it at this step.) Choose SRT subtitles. It downloads to your Downloads folder. Unzip it.
go back to Resolve and locate the downloaded SRT file and import it
TaDa, captions / subtitles will seamlessly reconnect!
