Text and subtitles in your videos

In the Polimake Desktop video editor there are two ways to put words on screen: text you write yourself (titles, lower thirds, quotes) and subtitles generated from what's said. On top of that, the transcript lets you edit the video as if it were text.

Add text

1. Open the Text tab in the side panel.
2. Click Add text for plain text, or pick a ready-made style such as a clean title, poster, outline, lower third, speaker card, cinema, quote, neon or headline. They're grouped into one, two and three lines.
3. Click to place it at the playhead, or drag it to the timeline. It goes on its own track, above the video.
4. To change the words, double-click the text in the viewer and type right there.

With the text selected, the inspector lets you change Text, Font, Size and Color, and under Animation, how it comes in and goes out. To move it, drag it in the viewer; guides help you center it.

Generate automatic subtitles

Subtitles come from what's said in the clip. They're generated with Whisper, on your computer.

1. Right-click a video or audio clip and choose Generate captions.
2. Under Language, choose Spanish or English. The editor's transcription can't detect the language on its own, so you have to tell it.
3. Under Model, keep Whisper base or choose Whisper tiny if you want it faster.
4. Click Start. You can stop it with Stop.

The subtitles appear already in place, in sync with the speech. If the video was already transcribed in your library (see Automatic transcription), it's quicker because it doesn't have to listen again.

To correct them, select them and change the text of each line. If you change the edit, right-click and choose Regenerate captions.

Style the subtitles

With the subtitles selected, the inspector lets you choose a Style (for example a bold yellow or an outlined one), the Size and the Position: Top, Center or Bottom.

Subtitles are drawn into the picture on export if you choose Burn in under Subtitles (see Export the video).

Edit the video from the transcript

The Transcript tab shows what's said in your clips, word by word. From there you can cut the video without touching the timeline:

1. Select a video or audio clip. If it has no transcript yet, click Generate transcript.
2. Use Search transcript to jump to a word.
3. Select the words you don't want and click Mark for deletion. You can mark several pieces.
4. Click Delete marked and the editor cuts those pieces out of the video.

If you change your mind before deleting, Restore all removes the marks. You can also Copy or Cut words and paste them on the timeline.

To clean up a clip in one go, right-click it: Remove silence and Remove filler words take out the pauses and the "uh"s and "um"s.

Frequently asked questions

Are my videos uploaded to make the subtitles?

No. Whisper runs on your computer; only the voice model is downloaded, once.

Which languages can I generate subtitles in?

In the editor, Spanish or English. You have to choose the language before starting.

Can I export the subtitles as a separate file?

Today, when exporting, you can burn them into the picture or leave the video without subtitles.

What do I do if a subtitle is wrong?

Select it on the timeline and correct its text in the inspector.