Create subtitles or captions manually

Create subtitles or captions manually

There are different ways to add subtitles or captions to videos:
  1. Write them manually with the subtitle tool
  2. Edit an existing subtitle/caption file
  3. Import a ready .txt file (e.g. speech transcription) to the tool and create subtitles from that
  4. Use the automatic subtitle generation AI tool to generate raw/unrefined subtitles that can be further manually edited with the subtitling tool
This article is about option 1.

When creating subtitles manually, you will first start the subtitle tool from: 'Assets' -> 'Videos' -> chosen video file -> 'Subtitles' tab -> the 'NEW' button from the bottom row of buttons. 



It will open the Icareus Subtitle tool with the video.

Adding subtitles/captions



The tool will open without subtitles/captions.

You will need to click "Add subtitle" to add new subtitle lines. It will create the first subtitles.



After that you need to click the '+' button on each subtitle to add new subtitles or to create subtitles between two different subtitles.



The subtitles are added to the Main Subtitle list but also to the timeline below. Each subtitle will show for 0.3 seconds by default unless edited manually, with a 0.01 gap between them to avoid overlap.
You can also add new subtitles on the timeline by pressing the left mouse button and dragging the cursor on the timeline for as long as you want the subtitle to last. A new subtitle will appear, starting from where you first clicked and stopping where you stopped pressing.




Writing subtitles/captions

After adding a subtitle, you can write the subtitle text. To know what to write, you can watch the video with sound inside the subtitle tool. It will start/stop by pressing the [SPACE] key on your keyboard.
With the mouse you can also move the timeline to the correct spot of the video.
Writing subtitles happens in the subtitle list. If you want the subtitle to continue onto a second line, press [ENTER] to start a new line.
Normally the subtitles have a maximum of two lines.



Setting subtitle/caption timing

For each subtitle there are:
  1. Time in (cue in): start of the subtitle
  2. Time out (cue out): end of the subtitle
There are different ways to change the timing of each subtitle/caption.
  1. Manually writing the time for each subtitle 
  2. Drag each subtitle to the correct place and for the correct amount of time on the timeline
  3.  Using Cue in - Cue out tool
Manually you can write it here:



Dragging each subtitle to the correct place on timeline:



Select the start or end of the subtitle box to adjust its length or move the whole box with the mouse.

Using arrow keys to Cue In/Cue Out

Subtitles can also be created and timed with the left and right arrow keys. 



Use the left arrow key to Cue In/start the subtitle where the red line is on the timeline.



You can then either play the video or move forward on the timeline by dragging it. Press the right arrow key to Cue Out/end the subtitle where you want it to stop. A subtitle will be created between the two points on the timeline.



Saving and exporting subtitle to video

You can Save the subtitle files with these buttons to the left of the window.



If you are creating a new subtitle (not editing current one) you need to click the 'Save as' button. It will open a pop-up:



You can now name the subtitle file. A good way is to name it is with the language used:



Click 'Save' to save the file.

The subtitle file will then appear in the 'Subtitles' tab of the video.



You can close the tool.

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