# Make the words easy to follow.

Good captions represent the final spoken words and give viewers enough time to read them. Accuracy and phrase grouping come before a decorative caption style.

Source: https://vibeclip.ai/skills/add-captions/
Updated: 2026-11-01

This is an original VibeClip workflow brief, not an installable Agent integration. Use it with the editing tools you have available. VibeClip is in development.

## Inputs

- The final spoken cut and its audio
- A transcript with timing, or a transcription tool
- Names, technical terms, language and output dimensions

## Copy this brief

Create captions for the final spoken cut. Check names and technical words against my glossary, flag unclear audio and group text into readable phrases. Align captions to speech in the edited timeline, not the untrimmed source. Keep text away from important faces, controls and likely platform overlays. Use restrained emphasis and review the complete video at phone size before export.

## Review the result

- [ ] Names and technical terms have been checked against the glossary.
- [ ] Caption timing follows the final edit.
- [ ] Phrase breaks preserve meaning and are readable at playback speed.
- [ ] Captions do not cover essential visual information.

## Correct text before choosing a style

Transcription creates a starting point. Review names, acronyms, numbers and words with similar sounds against the actual audio. Mark uncertainty rather than silently guessing. Use a glossary for product names or specialized vocabulary so the same term is spelled consistently throughout.

Caption wording and a source transcript serve different purposes. A shortened caption may help readability, but it should not silently rewrite the record you use for source-time editing. Keep the original transcription available when making editorial changes.

## Group by meaning

Split at natural phrase boundaries. Avoid separating a person’s first and last name, a number and its unit, or a short preposition from its object. Very short word-by-word captions can work as a deliberate treatment, but they also increase motion and may make a dense explanation harder to follow.

Read the captions at normal speed on the actual output size. If a line is too dense, consider a longer display interval, a better phrase split or a simpler surrounding layout. Increasing type size alone can create more wrapping and reduce the usable reading time.

## Match the edited clock

Generate or realign captions after the spoken cut is stable. A caption that was correct before a trim may now begin too early or overlap another phrase. Check the first and last word of each important segment and the transition across removed pauses.

## Keep delivery formats separate

Burned-in captions become part of the rendered picture. A separate subtitle file can remain selectable in a player that supports it. Decide which delivery you need before export; do not assume one automatically produces the other.

## Reference

Read the [caption readability guide](/blog/caption-readability/). Public references include [ChatCut Add captions](https://chatcut.io/skills/add-captions) and the [WebVTT specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/webvtt1/) for timed text delivery.