Let’s talk captions. They’re small, but they can make a big impact. Not only do captions help people understand what’s being said on screen—they also keep people’s attention longer. And, in a world of autoplaying soundless videos, they’re pretty much essential. If you’re thinking about captioning a video, you’ll need to choose how to incorporate them. Each approach has its own ups and downs, and here are the three main ways to do it.
1. Upload Captions as an SRT File
The first option is uploading captions as a separate file in SRT format. An SRT file is essentially a formatted text file with timestamps. You can edit it directly on your computer or in YouTube’s editor if you want to clean up automated captions. This method is straightforward, and it’s easy to fix typos if you notice them later.
But here’s the catch: you’re at the mercy of how the video player renders captions. Style options are minimal, and you don’t get to control font, color, or positioning beyond what the platform offers. So if you’re looking to keep everything on-brand, this method won’t get you there.
2. Embed Captions in Metadata
Next up is embedding captions in the video’s metadata. With this method, captions become part of the video file itself, so there’s no separate SRT file to upload or manage. This is useful if you want captions to play by default without needing to attach a file.
The downside? You’re still at the mercy of the player’s styling options. Plus, you don’t always know if the captions are there until after uploading the file. It’s a great option if you want captions embedded without too much fuss—but keep in mind, it’s not highly customizable.
3. Burn-In Captions
Finally, there’s burning captions directly onto the video, a popular choice if you want full creative control over the look and feel of your captions. Burned-in captions are like those you see in TikTok videos—they can animate, change colors, and follow any specific branding guidelines you want. Descript is a popular tool for this, letting you style and animate captions in creative ways.
The downside here? Once they’re burned in, they’re permanent. Any updates or fixes you want to make later mean re-editing and re-rendering the entire video. So if you’re choosing this route, double-check spelling and phrasing upfront!
In the end, the choice comes down to flexibility versus control. SRT files and metadata embedding are good for quick adjustments, while burned-in captions give you total creative freedom. If you’re aiming for brand consistency or have a specific look in mind, burned-in is the way to go. Just remember, every video serves its own purpose, and the right captioning choice can be the difference between keeping people watching—or losing them altogether.
