# Reel-to-blog workbook

Apply this template to a Reel you own or are authorized to reuse. The example below was written for the guide; it is not an actual Reel or a product transcription result.

## Your source

Creator:
Direct Reel link:
Relevant passage times:
Checked TXT wording:

## Your editing decisions

Main question the post answers:
Words or conditions that must stay:
Repetition to remove:
Visual context to explain:
Added facts and supporting sources:

## Your outline

Title:
Cause or main point:
Example:
Conditions and exceptions:
Next action:

## Your blog draft

Write your draft here. Mark any direct quote and keep its source beside it.

## Final checks

- [ ] Compared quotations with the audio.
- [ ] Preserved conditions that affect the meaning.
- [ ] Verified added facts and visual context.
- [ ] Kept the original export separate.

## Complete written example

### Source text

Here’s a caption check I do after trimming a clip. I cut five seconds from the start of this example, but I kept the old subtitle file. Now the captions start five seconds late. I haven’t changed the words; I’ve changed where they belong. If that’s the only edit, move the cues for the speech you kept five seconds earlier and remove the cues for speech you cut. If I also cut something in the middle, one shift won’t fix the whole file. Play it from the start, check every cut, and check the end too. Save the adjusted subtitles under a new name.

### Outline

Title: Why captions start late after you trim a video
1. Explain why the old cue times no longer match.
2. Show the five-second opening-trim example.
3. State when one timing shift is insufficient.
4. Check the revised subtitles and keep the original file.

### Finished draft: Why captions start late after you trim a video

Captions can start late after you remove the opening of a video but keep its original subtitle file. The words may be unchanged, while their positions in the edited video have moved. The subtitle file still uses the earlier timeline.

Take a clip with five seconds removed from its start. A spoken line that began at 00:10 in the original now begins at 00:05. If its subtitle cue still starts at 00:10, it appears five seconds late.

When that opening trim is the only change to the timeline, use your subtitle editor to move the cues for retained speech five seconds earlier. Remove cues for speech you cut, and recheck any cue that crosses the trim point. Keep each end time later than its start time.

A cut in the middle requires another check. Speech before that cut and speech after it may need different timing adjustments. Changing playback speed also changes the timeline. In either case, one fixed shift may not align the complete file.

Play the adjusted subtitles with the exact video you plan to publish. Check the opening, each edit and the ending. Also check the wording, because correct timing does not establish that the transcript is correct.

Save the adjusted subtitle file under a new name and keep the original export. This gives you a reference if a later video edit changes the timing again.

Editorial additions: the original-timeline explanation and the check for cues crossing the trim point. These are explanatory guidance, not source quotations.

Guide: /blog/repurpose-instagram-reel-transcript