What are animated captions?
Animated captions move with the speech: each word lights up, changes color, grows or appears the moment it is spoken. The best-known styles are karaoke, which fills in the spoken word, and word by word. They depend on the exact timing of every word and come burned into the video.
Also called: karaoke captions, word-by-word captions, dynamic captions
One sentence, word by word
In the karaoke style, the spoken word stands out while the others wait. Word-level timing decides when to switch.
| Time | On screen | Highlighted word |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00:03.56 | At my first one, | At |
| 00:00:03.80 | At my first one, | first |
| 00:00:04.61 | I forgot the vows. | forgot |
| 00:00:05.20 | I forgot the vows. | vows |
Why animated captions work on social
Movement pulls the eye to the speech and marks the speaker's rhythm, which helps hold people who scroll with the sound off. Highlighting the right word, like a number or a name, also makes clear what matters in the sentence.
Overdoing it gets tiring. A subtle animation that is easy to read on a phone usually beats effects on every single word.
Animated captions in FilmScribe
Because every word in the transcript has its own timing, the caption lights up each word the moment it is spoken. You get 235 styles, from classic TV to karaoke, viral, neon and 3D, with 54 fonts, per-word styling and automatic keyword highlights. The animation is burned into the clip, on every plan.
The SRT and FCPXML carry only text and timing, without the animation. On Studio and Agency, you can upload your brand font as TTF or OTF.
Caption styles gallery See all 235 animated styles in motion, by category, and pick the one for your next clip. See the styles →Animated captions that stay readable
- 01
Show a few words at a time
Word-by-word styles work best with a short phrase on screen. A long sentence with one word lit up makes the eye hunt, and single words flashing alone make the phrase hard to follow.
- 02
Highlight with more than color
Viewers with color blindness can miss a switch from red to green. Pair the color change with size, weight or a box behind the active word so the highlight still reads.
- 03
Break lines where speech pauses
Split lines at natural pauses, not in the middle of a phrase. “At my first one, / I forgot the vows” reads far better than “At my first / one, I forgot the vows.”
- 04
Check sync on fast talkers
If the highlight runs ahead of or behind the voice, the effect looks broken. Scrub the fastest passage slowly and make sure each word lights up as it starts, not after.
Related terms
See all terms →Frequently asked questions
Do animated captions work in Premiere?
The animation is burned into the video we render. In Premiere, you import the captioned clip, or the SRT, which carries the text and timing without the animation.
What is the difference between a style and a template?
A style only covers the captions: font, color, outline and word animation. A template is the whole look of the clip, with captions, title, on-screen text, background and layout.
Can I highlight just a few words?
Yes. Create a word style and click the words that should stand out, or turn on automatic keyword highlights, by color, box or underline.
Captions, clips and paper edits. All in one place.
Upload a video or paste a YouTube link. We transcribe every word with its timing, and you take the result to social media or to your editor.
See the result on your own recording before adding a card.