SubtitlesBeginner

How to Add Subtitles to a Video

Create a transcript, correct the wording and export a subtitle file to use with your video.

Start with a transcript

Upload your video to ScreenApp and wait for transcription to finish. Play a passage to check that the correct audio was captured. If the language is wrong, check transcription language settings before retrying.

A subtitle file contains text and timing. Exporting that file is separate from putting visible captions onto the video picture.

Correct the words and speaker labels

  1. Open the transcript beside the recording.
  2. Listen to names, numbers and technical terms before correcting them.
  3. Check speaker changes, especially where people talk over each other.
  4. Save your corrections, then download a fresh transcript export.

Use transcript editing for wording and speaker labels for attribution. Keep uncertain speech marked for review rather than filling it with a guess.

Export and attach subtitles

The transcript download menu supports TXT, DOCX, PDF, VTT and SRT. Choose the subtitle format accepted by your destination player or editor.

Import the subtitle file alongside the matching video. Preview the beginning, middle and end to check synchronization. If you trimmed the video separately, the original subtitle timing may no longer match it.

Use your destination editor for caption placement, line breaks and styling. Check its export preview if you need captions permanently visible in the picture. A text export alone does not burn captions into a video.

Translate subtitles

Use the recording’s translation action and select the target language to review translated text. Transcript downloads use the recording's saved transcript and speaker labels; selecting a displayed translation does not change the exported language. Check the actual downloaded language before publishing. For a translated subtitle file, use a subtitle workflow that explicitly exports the target language and review its timing. See translation help.

For a spoken translation, follow the separate dubbing workflow.

Review before publishing

Watch the finished video with its captions. Check that text is readable, names are correct and meaningful sounds or speaker changes are represented where your audience needs them. Automatic speech transcription alone does not establish accessibility compliance.

Accuracy and Methodology explains transcription limitations. If export fails, use download troubleshooting.