Search FAQs

Yes. A phrase can match across adjacent subtitle lines within the same indexed caption track. It does not have to fit inside a single subtitle line or caption segment, because Filmot indexes each track as continuous text rather than as isolated cues.

For example, if one caption ends with “a different” and the next begins with “point of view,” searching "a different point of view" can still find the phrase. The line break between captions does not require a special operator or a wildcard.

The words must still satisfy your query. Extra words, different spellings or transcription errors can prevent an exact quoted phrase from matching. If the wording is uncertain, try a shorter phrase or a proximity expression such as "different point view"~5, which allows a few words in between and ignores order.

This matching works within one caption track. It does not stitch together text from different videos or combine the wording of an English track with a separate translated track. Open the result and read or play the surrounding captions to confirm the complete sentence.

Search with the words, title fragments or dialogue you remember, but keep in mind that Filmot matches indexed text rather than the meaning of a phrase. Spelling and transcription differences can affect results.

These techniques help with approximate wording or inaccurate automatic subtitles:

• Exact phrase: use double quotes, such as "vaccine efficacy", when you know the wording.
• Nearby words: use "w1 w2"~N or w1 NEAR/N w2 when the words may be separated or occur in a different order.
• Alternative spellings or word forms: join variants with |, such as colour | color. Quote alternatives containing several words.
• Context: combine variants with nearby words to reduce false positives, for example (filmot | philmont | philmot | filmont) NEAR/15 (youtube | subtitles | captions | transcript | transcripts).

Examples for terms frequently transcribed in different ways include:

• "CRISPR cas9" | "CRISPR-Cas9" | "CRISPR Cas 9" | "crisper cas9" | "krisper cas 9"
• "mRNA" | "messenger RNA" | "messenger R.N.A."
• "CO2" | "carbon dioxide" | "CO 2"

To search title words, use Metadata search, or combine subtitle words with the Video Title field under Filters. The ? icon beside the search box opens the syntax guide.

Filmot's index is incomplete and contains existing caption text rather than audio. If a video has no collected transcript, or was never indexed, a remembered spoken quote cannot find it through subtitle search.

Filmot supports keyword, Boolean, phrase and proximity operators in subtitle search and title expressions. Click the ? icon beside the search box to open the Search Syntax Cheat Sheet.

• Spaces: require all terms, though they need not be adjacent. Example: CRISPR gene editing. Do not type AND; it is treated as an ordinary search word.
• OR, written as |: match alternatives, such as "dark matter" | "dark energy".
• Double quotes: match an exact ordered phrase, such as "gravitational waves".
• Parentheses: group conditions, such as "stem cells" (therapy | treatment) or (CRISPR | "gene editing") ("sickle cell" | "cystic fibrosis").
• "w1 w2"~N: match words near each other in any order, such as "vaccine efficacy"~5.
• NEAR/N: match nearby terms, phrases or groups, such as "black hole" NEAR/10 "event horizon".
• NOTNEAR/N: match the first term without the second nearby, such as radiation NOTNEAR/100 microwave. The maximum distance is 500.
• * inside a quoted phrase: stand for exactly one word, such as "basic * spectroscopy".
• -word: exclude every video containing that word, such as quantum -computing. A query containing only excluded terms is invalid.
• Caption placeholders: search #FUCK# for censored words, or sound labels such as #Laughter#, #Music# and #Applause#.

The same operators work in the Video Title field under subtitle-search filters and in the title box on Metadata search.

Filmot supports proximity searches and a one-word wildcard inside quoted phrases. Open the Search Syntax Cheat Sheet with the ? icon next to the search box for more examples.

• "w1 w2"~N: finds the words in any order, with up to N words between them. Put ~ and the number directly after the closing quote, for example "vaccine efficacy"~5 or "tumor suppressor"~3.
• w1 NEAR/N w2: finds two terms within N words of each other, in any order, with a distance up to 500. It also accepts quoted phrases and grouped alternatives, for example "black hole" NEAR/10 "event horizon" or ("dopamine" | "serotonin") NEAR/10 ("receptor" | "pathway").
• "w1 * w2": inside a quoted phrase, * stands for exactly one word. "observed * decay" can match "observed radioactive decay" or "observed beta decay". Use additional asterisks for a longer gap, or combine alternatives: "basic * spectroscopy" | "basic * * spectroscopy".

To exclude a nearby term instead, use w1 NOTNEAR/N w2. For example, radiation NOTNEAR/100 microwave finds occurrences of "radiation" without "microwave" within that distance.