Create Animated Captions Using DaVinci Resolve 20

All NLEs today can convert speech to text, then generate captions for video.

However, following in the steps of CapCut, which popularized this feature, DaVinci Resolve now animates subtitles in a variety of ways. Here’s how this works.

CREATE CAPTIONS

Once your project is edited, open the timeline for which you want to create captions.

Choose Timeline > AI Tools > Create Subtitles from Audio

In this dialog, make whatever changes you wish. For me, the defaults are fine, but there are two additional presets to create captions in Teletext and Netflix formats.

The system initializes the AI engine, then creates the captions, both faster than real-time.

With the captions created, you can review, edit and retime them as necessary.

When you’ve reviewed and approved the captions, click the Effects text button (top red arrow), Titles (left red arrow), then scroll waaaay down to Animated.

Inside, you’ll find five animation formats to choose from; all are highly customizable.

Drag one of the five animation options into the caption track header. The animation is automatically applied to every caption in that track.

To adjust the animation style and timing for the entire subtitle track, click any caption to select the correct track, then, in the Video Inspector, click Track text button (right red arrow).

To adjust a single caption, select the caption in the timeline, then click the Caption text button (left red arrow).

• To disable the animation, slide the red slider to the left.
• To remove the animation, click the Trash can icon to the right of the animation name.
• To reset the animation, click the Clock icon to the right of the Trash can.

Adjust and giggle.

TO BURN IN CAPTIONS

By default, when you export a video containing subtitles in the Deliver page, they will be burned into the video; making them permanent.

To prevent burning in captions, click this icon in the track header of the Edit page to disable the caption track.

NOTE: Captions exported as a separate file can not be animated, but can be turned on or off by the viewer.