Animated Captions for Shorts & Reels
Six caption styles with word-by-word highlight animation, generated from the transcript, positioned anywhere on the frame, and burned into the export — no separate captioning tool.
Short-form feeds autoplay muted, so animated captions aren't decoration — they carry the message. Word-by-word highlighting in particular keeps a viewer's eye moving with the audio, which is why nearly every clip that travels has it.
ClipSonic generates captions from the same transcript it uses to find clips, so timing is already word-level. You pick one of six styles, drag the caption block to where it should sit on the vertical frame, preview it live over the clip, and it's burned into the render. The style is saved per clip, not app-wide, so a talking-head clip and a gameplay clip can look different.
Six caption styles
Each style animates word-by-word as the audio plays: Clean (plain, high-contrast), Karaoke (fill-highlight across the line), Bold Pop (scale punch on the active word), Neon Glow (lit outline), Bounce (spring on each word) and Boxed (solid background block). Preview any of them live over the clip before you commit.
- Word-by-word highlight synced to the transcript timing
- Drag the caption to any position on the 9:16 frame
- Style saved per clip, not globally
- Burned into the export — plays anywhere, no sidecar file
How captioning works here
Auto-generated
Captions come from the transcript ClipSonic already made — no re-typing, no manual sync.
Word-by-word highlight
The active word is emphasised as it's spoken, using word-level timing from transcription.
Drag to position
Place the caption block where it works for that clip — clear of faces, logos or gameplay HUD.
Live preview
See the exact animation over the clip before rendering.
Burned in
Baked into the video on export, so captions show on every platform with no upload-time captioning step.
From local or cloud transcription
Works the same whether the transcript came from local Whisper or a cloud provider.
Common questions
How do I add animated captions to a Short?
In ClipSonic, once a clip is transcribed, pick one of six caption styles, drag the caption to position, preview it, and it is burned into the export automatically.
Are the captions word-by-word?
Yes — every style highlights the active word as it is spoken, using word-level timing from transcription.
Can I move the captions on the frame?
Yes, drag the caption block anywhere on the vertical frame; the position is saved per clip.
Are captions burned into the video?
Yes. They are rendered into the exported file, so they display on any platform without a separate subtitle upload.
Do I need to type the captions?
No — they are generated from the transcript ClipSonic creates during clip discovery.
Does captioning require the cloud?
No. Transcription can run locally via Whisper, and captioning and rendering are always local.
Related pages
Caption a clip in one pass
Download ClipSonic free and add burned-in animated captions to a Short — generated from the transcript, styled and positioned by you.