· 2 min read
A Short moves quickly, so captions need to be accurate and easy to scan. Start from the audio, keep the caption track tied to time, and make the final read-through part of the workflow instead of treating it as an optional polish step.
Choose the caption path that fits the video
For a talking-head Short, burned-in captions make the message visible immediately. A separate subtitle file can be useful when a platform or downstream editor expects a timed text track. These are related outputs, but they are not the same job.
| Need | Useful starting point |
|---|---|
| Always-visible captions | Captioned MP4 with a readable style |
| Portable timed text | SRT or WebVTT subtitle file |
| Mixed Hindi-English speech | A transcript you can correct before styling |
Review code-mixed speech before you style it
Automatic captions may flatten the difference between Roman Hindi, Devanagari, and English terms. Check names, product words, and phrases such as “aaj ka workflow” before choosing line breaks. Display script is a presentation decision; it should not overwrite the canonical words or timing.
Keep the first line and the last line safe
The top and bottom edges of a Short are busy with product UI. Place captions in a consistent region, then test a few long and short sentences. The right placement should work for a one-line punchline and a two-line explanation without crowding the speaker.
Finish with a muted-view check
- Read the first ten seconds with sound off.
- Check that punctuation and line breaks match the thought.
- Look for Hindi, Hinglish, and emoji rendering issues.
- Confirm the export resolution and duration before upload.