Whether you’re a seasoned video editor or a novice, you may have heard about Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s more than capable of satisfying a variety of editing needs, from Hollywood-level effects to simple transitions. In any case, Premiere Pro is a powerful tool you can add to your arsenal as a content creator.
Another thing it can help you do is to caption your videos, which may seem overkill considering the other powerful editing capabilities of the program. However, it’s actually practical, thanks to its intuitive and streamlined interface.
Learning how to add captions in Premiere Pro is a great way to begin studying the program. Of course, it’s easier said than done because of the program’s daunting interface. Fortunately, you can learn through it easily by taking it one step at a time.
Why use Adobe Premiere Pro to add captions to your videos?
Premiere Pro has a dedicated captioning feature that makes it easy to add captions to your videos, with an intuitive interface that allows you to set:
- The start and end points of each caption
- Font size, type, and color
- Position on screen
Plus, if you’re well-versed with the software, you can add animations and effects to your captions.
There are three easy methods for captioning your videos in Adobe Premiere Pro. Here’s a step-by-step guide for each method:
Method #1: Import a subtitle file
Premiere Pro allows you to import subtitle files into your projects. After importing the subtitle file, closed captions from the file will appear on your project with the specified start and end points.
To do this:
- Left-click “Import captions from file” in the “Captions” section under “Editing.”
- Navigate and double-click your subtitle file to open it.
- The “New caption track” prompt will appear. Click “OK.”
- Adjust start points, end points, font options, and subtitle text wherever necessary.
Pros
Quick and easy
Needs little to no adjustments after importing
Cons
Requires an already existing subtitle file
The main disadvantage of this method is that you need to have a subtitle file already in hand, which is unlikely if you need to edit your video. Generally, this means you have to undergo the tedious process of transcribing the final video to create the subtitle file.
Alternatively, you can simply send an audio-only copy of your final video to an automated transcription service like FreeTranscriptions! and quickly receive a transcription of your video, making it easier to create the subtitle file.
Method #2: Create captions using the built-in feature
The built-in caption feature of Premiere Pro is an intuitive and convenient tool for adding captions. While there is a more general text function, the dedicated captioning tool is designed solely with captions in mind. For instance, you can immediately adjust the positioning to the typical bottom center of the video with a single click (versus setting an exact numerical value with the text tool).
After editing your video:
- In “Captions” under “Editing,” left-click “Create new caption track.”
- The “New caption track” prompt will appear. Click “OK.”
- Under “Captions” press the plus button to create a new caption.
- Type the caption line. If you want to modify the caption text, double-click the caption block under the “Captions” section.
- Adjust the start point, end point, and font settings.
- To create another caption, right-click the caption block and click “Add caption after.”
- Repeat steps 4-6 for the remaining captions.
You can modify the font settings of each text block individually. Alternatively, if you want the same font style for all your captions:
- Select one of your caption blocks under the “Captions” section.
- Under the “Edit” section on the right side, click the dropdown under “Track Style” and select “Create Style…”
- Name the text style as desired.
- Adjust the font settings.
- Under “Track Style,” click the logo of the upward-facing arrow.
6. The “Push Style Attributes” prompt will appear. Select “All captions on track” and press “OK.”
The main advantage of the built-in captioning tool is that you can create a subtitle file from your created captions. This practically means that you can create both open captions and closed captions for your video in Premiere Pro!
To do this:
- Under the “Captions” section, press the “…” logo.
- Select “Export to SRT file.”
- If you want other formats, select “Export to text file” and save it as another file type.
- Name your subtitle file and click “Save.”
Pros
Precise in setting the start and endpoint of the captions
Easy to add subsequent captions
Lets you make both open and closed captions
Cons
Can take time and energy to do
Method #3: Use the text feature
While it may be more practical to use the built-in captioning feature for your captions, using the text feature still has some advantages like being able to add effects and animations. The main disadvantage is that you’re unable to produce an SRT file out of the text blocks. However, if you want to flair up your captions, this is a trade-off that you may find worth making.
Here’s how you do it:
- Left-click the Text tool.
- Click on any part of the preview screen.
- Type the caption text.
- Modify the font settings.
- Press the “Selection Tool” and drag the text element to the position of the video where you want the caption to be.
- If you want to center the captions, press the “Align Horizontally” option.
- Adjust the start points and end points of the text block.
- Repeat steps 1-7 depending on the number of captions.
Pros
- Same customizability as the caption feature
- Can add animations and effects to the text
Cons
- Requires more effort to time captions with audio
- Can only produce open captions
No matter what method you use, learning how to add subtitles in Premiere Pro is very beneficial as the program is capable of helping you create captions for your videos. However, you might find that the process of captioning can be tedious. Usually, you can get by transcribing the video beforehand, which can reap multiple benefits besides making it easier to create captions. This, unfortunately, is also tiring – but it need not be. Instead of doing the transcriptions yourself, consider using an automated transcription provider like FreeTranscriptions! Simply send an audio copy of your video and immediately receive a machine transcript for your captioning needs.