Leveraging Colored Backdrops for Seamless Edits

The world of video-making owes much of its magic to small leaps of innovation. One of these leaps is the use of the chroma key background, which most people know by the more colloquial term—green screen.

Chroma key, also known as green screen or blue screen, is a cool hack for seamless visual storytelling, allowing content creators to replace backgrounds with any image or video they want. This technique is widely embraced in film, television, and online content, and has opened the door to limitless creative possibilities. Aside from its ability to maximize creativity, it is also cheap to employ and convenient to set up, which has made it a staple for everyone who works with visuals.

In this simple guide, we’ll delve into the fundamentals of the chroma key effect, how it is used for video making, and how to leverage that as you perfect your visual content.

YouTube Video Background Creating realistic video scenes at your will is easy to complete with Filmora green screen removal.

Create Video Backgrounds Create Video Backgrounds Learn Green Screen

How Does Chroma Key Work?

Chroma Keying is done by singling out a specific color (usually green or blue) from the foreground, removing it, and replacing it with a different background (for example, a sunset). This process typically follows a series of steps:

• Background Selection:

A solid, single-color background, often green or blue, that contrasts well with the subject must be used. The color chosen should not be present in the subject or any props in the camera field to avoid unintentional transparency.

• Color Keying:

This requires the use of specialized visual effects software to key out the chosen color. The green or blue background is designated as transparent, making everything of that color see-through. The software distinguishes between the keyed color and the subject, creating a mask for the transparent areas.

• Foreground Filming:

This involves filming the subject against the live chroma key background. During filming, the chosen background color (green or blue) won’t appear in the final result due to its transparency. The subject is captured as if separately from the isolated background.

• Post-Processing:

In post-production processing, the editor takes the keyed-out color and replaces it with the new background of their choice. This step creates the illusion that the subject is in a different setting or environment. The transparent areas become filled with the chosen background which, if done right, results in a cohesive and visually appealing composition.

Why Green?

Theoretically, the chroma key background can be any solid color. However, the most commonly used colors are studio blue and bright green, with the latter far more common.

The choice of background color depends on the specific requirements of the production and the colors present in the scenes being filmed.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Contrast

The less similar your chosen background color is to natural skin tones, the easier to isolate and replace in your footage. Bright green provides a strong contrast to most human skin tones and is less likely to be present in costumes or natural surroundings, making it easier to isolate subjects during the color separation.

Luminance

The color green emits light with greater intensity than blue, allowing for far more effective isolation by cameras during filming. This also means that blue screens demand increased lighting for proper exposure compared to green. This situation may be less than ideal if you lack powerful lighting or you don’t have the big bucks for them.

Digital Sensors

Many digital cameras and sensors are more sensitive to green wavelengths, resulting in cleaner and more accurate color keying during post-processing. Modern technology has also evolved to optimize for a green background, making it a more practical choice for the chroma key effect.

Wardrobe and Set Design

Bright green occurs less naturally in costumes and set designs than other colors, making green the optimal choice for reducing the likelihood of color spill and keying issues. However, if you know your scene will have lots of green, it is probably best to film with a blue screen, so there’s less risk of color spill and less post-production work.

Setting up Your Own Chroma Key Studio

Setting up your chroma key is convenient and straightforward, but there are some key factors to consider while setting up to ensure maximal performance.

Choosing the Right Background Color

The first step in the chroma key setup is selecting the right background color to be keyed out. This choice determines your effective color separation and ensures a smooth keying process during editing. Choosing a chroma-key background color that contrasts distinctly with the subject’s colors is essential for effective color separation. This prevents unintentional transparency, color spill, and ensures a polished final result.

Lighting Considerations

Lighting is an important part of the chroma-keying process. Bold, uniform, and consistent lighting on both the subject and the background makes it easy to delineate one from the other fully. This minimizes shadows and variations in color, creating a smooth and seamless keying process. Multiple diffuse lights from different angles are often used to illuminate the green screen evenly.

Positioning/Camera

Proper subject and camera placement are necessary to ensure an even color-keying process during post-production. To prevent shadow interference, the green screen should be smooth, tense, and without wrinkles or shadows.

High-quality cameras are essential every time, especially for chroma keying. Images with better definition are easier to key, so camera quality significantly affects the outcome. Even if your camera isn’t the best, merely shooting well can ensure a clean color-keying process during editing, resulting in professional-looking visuals.

Recording Tips for Chroma Key

• Proper Lighting

Maintaining uniform and well-defined lighting during recording is essential for a successful chroma-keying process. This consistency ensures a seamless keying process during post-production.

• Keep Distance from the Green Screen

The optimal distance between the subject and the green screen minimizes color spill and allows for natural movements. Proper distance between subject and background allows for easier isolation of the background and much smoother post-editing. A recommended starting point for the issue is around 6 to 10 feet from the background.

• Subjects and Clothing

As mentioned before, the choice of costume for Selecting appropriate clothing that doesn’t match the chroma key color prevents transparency issues. Subjects also have to be positioned in such a way that there is minimal light interference and reflection. These contribute to a flawless chroma key outcome.

3 Basic Troubleshooting Strategies

• Color Spill

Sometimes, reflected light from your green background can be cast on your subject and may remain so when the background light is keyed out. This phenomenon is known as a color spill. It is usually because of uneven lighting or shooting around reflecting surfaces. Avoiding spill can differentiate between good and lousy chroma key aftereffects.

Human hair is one area where color spill can show up unsuspectingly. Due to the translucency of hair, it is common for some unintended light to seep through. This allows some background visibility, which you do not want with a chroma key. This is especially notable with lighter hair colors like blond hair.

There are ways to account for this. Many video-editing software have features such as spill suppression and screen matte adjustments that can enhance the final footage. Specialized plugins also go a long way in ensuring minimizing spill. Addressing spill correction tackles unwanted green artifacts and ensures a clean keying process.

• Poor Lighting

Suboptimal green screen lighting can lead to inconsistencies in keying and editing, undermining your product. One way to avoid this is to light the screen and subject separately. Another tip, although expensive, is using multiple diffuse light sources and trying to maintain even lighting across every square foot of your scene. Super bright or dark spots can ruin your output, so it’s worth the extra effort if you don’t want to deal with problematic post-production.

• Poorly Refined Edges

Chroma keying should leave your videos with crisp, defined, natural-looking edges. But post-production editing can make all the difference if it doesn’t come out to your taste. Softening and refining edges make a smoother transition between the foreground object and the new background. Light adjustments to edge thickness and screen matte settings can also help enhance overall visual quality and add finesse to your work.

Conclusion

Green screen photography produces excellent results, and its ease of use makes it indispensable for videographers of all levels. In this guide, we’ve discussed chroma key technology, its role in the industry, and how to apply it to your craft to elevate visual content.

Chroma key, also known as green screen or blue screen, is a cool hack for seamless visual storytelling, allowing content creators to replace backgrounds with any image or video they want. This technique is widely embraced in film, television, and online content, and has opened the door to limitless creative possibilities. Aside from its ability to maximize creativity, it is also cheap to employ and convenient to set up, which has made it a staple for everyone who works with visuals.

In this simple guide, we’ll delve into the fundamentals of the chroma key effect, how it is used for video making, and how to leverage that as you perfect your visual content.

YouTube Video Background Creating realistic video scenes at your will is easy to complete with Filmora green screen removal.

Create Video Backgrounds Create Video Backgrounds Learn Green Screen

How Does Chroma Key Work?

Chroma Keying is done by singling out a specific color (usually green or blue) from the foreground, removing it, and replacing it with a different background (for example, a sunset). This process typically follows a series of steps:

• Background Selection:

A solid, single-color background, often green or blue, that contrasts well with the subject must be used. The color chosen should not be present in the subject or any props in the camera field to avoid unintentional transparency.

• Color Keying:

This requires the use of specialized visual effects software to key out the chosen color. The green or blue background is designated as transparent, making everything of that color see-through. The software distinguishes between the keyed color and the subject, creating a mask for the transparent areas.

• Foreground Filming:

This involves filming the subject against the live chroma key background. During filming, the chosen background color (green or blue) won’t appear in the final result due to its transparency. The subject is captured as if separately from the isolated background.

• Post-Processing:

In post-production processing, the editor takes the keyed-out color and replaces it with the new background of their choice. This step creates the illusion that the subject is in a different setting or environment. The transparent areas become filled with the chosen background which, if done right, results in a cohesive and visually appealing composition.

Why Green?

Theoretically, the chroma key background can be any solid color. However, the most commonly used colors are studio blue and bright green, with the latter far more common.

The choice of background color depends on the specific requirements of the production and the colors present in the scenes being filmed.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Contrast

The less similar your chosen background color is to natural skin tones, the easier to isolate and replace in your footage. Bright green provides a strong contrast to most human skin tones and is less likely to be present in costumes or natural surroundings, making it easier to isolate subjects during the color separation.

Luminance

The color green emits light with greater intensity than blue, allowing for far more effective isolation by cameras during filming. This also means that blue screens demand increased lighting for proper exposure compared to green. This situation may be less than ideal if you lack powerful lighting or you don’t have the big bucks for them.

Digital Sensors

Many digital cameras and sensors are more sensitive to green wavelengths, resulting in cleaner and more accurate color keying during post-processing. Modern technology has also evolved to optimize for a green background, making it a more practical choice for the chroma key effect.

Wardrobe and Set Design

Bright green occurs less naturally in costumes and set designs than other colors, making green the optimal choice for reducing the likelihood of color spill and keying issues. However, if you know your scene will have lots of green, it is probably best to film with a blue screen, so there’s less risk of color spill and less post-production work.

Setting up Your Own Chroma Key Studio

Setting up your chroma key is convenient and straightforward, but there are some key factors to consider while setting up to ensure maximal performance.

Choosing the Right Background Color

The first step in the chroma key setup is selecting the right background color to be keyed out. This choice determines your effective color separation and ensures a smooth keying process during editing. Choosing a chroma-key background color that contrasts distinctly with the subject’s colors is essential for effective color separation. This prevents unintentional transparency, color spill, and ensures a polished final result.

Lighting Considerations

Lighting is an important part of the chroma-keying process. Bold, uniform, and consistent lighting on both the subject and the background makes it easy to delineate one from the other fully. This minimizes shadows and variations in color, creating a smooth and seamless keying process. Multiple diffuse lights from different angles are often used to illuminate the green screen evenly.

Positioning/Camera

Proper subject and camera placement are necessary to ensure an even color-keying process during post-production. To prevent shadow interference, the green screen should be smooth, tense, and without wrinkles or shadows.

High-quality cameras are essential every time, especially for chroma keying. Images with better definition are easier to key, so camera quality significantly affects the outcome. Even if your camera isn’t the best, merely shooting well can ensure a clean color-keying process during editing, resulting in professional-looking visuals.

Recording Tips for Chroma Key

• Proper Lighting

Maintaining uniform and well-defined lighting during recording is essential for a successful chroma-keying process. This consistency ensures a seamless keying process during post-production.

• Keep Distance from the Green Screen

The optimal distance between the subject and the green screen minimizes color spill and allows for natural movements. Proper distance between subject and background allows for easier isolation of the background and much smoother post-editing. A recommended starting point for the issue is around 6 to 10 feet from the background.

• Subjects and Clothing

As mentioned before, the choice of costume for Selecting appropriate clothing that doesn’t match the chroma key color prevents transparency issues. Subjects also have to be positioned in such a way that there is minimal light interference and reflection. These contribute to a flawless chroma key outcome.

3 Basic Troubleshooting Strategies

• Color Spill

Sometimes, reflected light from your green background can be cast on your subject and may remain so when the background light is keyed out. This phenomenon is known as a color spill. It is usually because of uneven lighting or shooting around reflecting surfaces. Avoiding spill can differentiate between good and lousy chroma key aftereffects.

Human hair is one area where color spill can show up unsuspectingly. Due to the translucency of hair, it is common for some unintended light to seep through. This allows some background visibility, which you do not want with a chroma key. This is especially notable with lighter hair colors like blond hair.

There are ways to account for this. Many video-editing software have features such as spill suppression and screen matte adjustments that can enhance the final footage. Specialized plugins also go a long way in ensuring minimizing spill. Addressing spill correction tackles unwanted green artifacts and ensures a clean keying process.

• Poor Lighting

Suboptimal green screen lighting can lead to inconsistencies in keying and editing, undermining your product. One way to avoid this is to light the screen and subject separately. Another tip, although expensive, is using multiple diffuse light sources and trying to maintain even lighting across every square foot of your scene. Super bright or dark spots can ruin your output, so it’s worth the extra effort if you don’t want to deal with problematic post-production.

• Poorly Refined Edges

Chroma keying should leave your videos with crisp, defined, natural-looking edges. But post-production editing can make all the difference if it doesn’t come out to your taste. Softening and refining edges make a smoother transition between the foreground object and the new background. Light adjustments to edge thickness and screen matte settings can also help enhance overall visual quality and add finesse to your work.

Conclusion

Green screen photography produces excellent results, and its ease of use makes it indispensable for videographers of all levels. In this guide, we’ve discussed chroma key technology, its role in the industry, and how to apply it to your craft to elevate visual content.

How to Integrate Titles and Descriptions Into Your YouTube Video

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before or After Uploading

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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