Subtitles, readability, and accessible delivery

Subtitles carry language and timing, not just decoration. Their accuracy matters more than animation. A readable subtitle should remain on screen long enough to understand and should not compete with faces or important graphics.

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Work through it

1. Create a subtitle track on your edit timeline. Enter a short spoken sentence manually and align its start and end with the actual speech.
2. Split long text at natural language boundaries. Keep lines concise, proofread names and punctuation, and allow a comfortable reading time instead of rapidly flashing words.
3. Set track-level styling consistently, then check placement against lower thirds and variable background brightness. Review at the actual intended viewing size.
4. Export a test with subtitles burned in, and a separate subtitle file when your delivery requires one. Reopen the subtitle file or rendered video and verify timing and characters.

Understand the decision

Use a subtitle track for subtitle deliverables. A Text+ graphic may look like a caption, but it does not automatically become a structured subtitle file. Accessibility also includes meaning: important non-speech sounds may need concise descriptions when the audience cannot hear them.

Your turn

Caption 30 seconds of dialogue, including a speaker change. Check every word against the recording and produce the subtitle format your imagined client requested.

Your notes

Write down what worked, what surprised you, and what to try next. Saved on this device.

Original practical lesson · Open the in-house resource shelf for practice files and definitions. Completion records your self-assessment, not certification.