How to add text to a video on iPhone

Even if you post 15-second-long videos, subtitles and captions will increase their accessibility and, at the end of the day, your channel’s popularity. Subtitles have become if not a "must have", then at least a trait of modern digital etiquette. There are more and more situations when one can’t turn on the audio, not even mentioning that not everybody is comfortable perceiving voiceovers.

There are various ways to add subtitles to videos, depending on your device type, operating system, budget, editing proficiency level, and other factors. Nevertheless, some tools fit everyone’s needs: they are multi-functional enough to suit experienced users and still have a user-friendly interface and intuitively comprehensive navigation.

When it comes to Clideo, it has two tools that allow adding text to video on an iPhone or any other device. Both of them are platform-agnostic and have free modes, but still, each serves its precise aim.

An all-in-one ultimate video editor is a perfect way to create a video project from scratch. The service allows manual adding captions, editing, and elaborate customization. The subtitles tool is more specific, so this service is not capable of other editing actions, but it can generate text automatically, recognizing it from speech. This way, the second service is a better match for subtitling long videos, while the first one is more versatile.

How to add text in Video Editor

  1. Upload or create a video

    Open Video Editor in any browser and tap the “Get started" button.

    You can pload your video from local or cloud storage, pick it up from an inbuilt stock library, or record it right in the Editor. Add as many other elements as you need.

  2. Add captions to your video

    When all the element are there, tap the "Text" tab at the bottom.

    You will see a screen with various text presets. Choose any you like, as you will be able to adjust all the settings later.

    Then tap the subtitle track on the timeline to open its settings. Hit "Edit" to start entering and editing the text.

    All options are customizable, and you can set up the font, color, alignment, add text background and modify many other parameters. Match the captions with the video length and place them wherever you need on the canvas

  3. Save the subtitled video

    As soon as you are ready, hit the “Export" button at the top right and choose the output resolution.

    If your video doesn’t exceed 30 seconds, you can also loop it into an endless GIF.

    When the processing is over, either save your project to the chosen location or return to the editing pane.

By the way, you can also check out our iOS Clideo Video Editor app, which also allows you to add text to your video even without Internet access. Moreover, your projects are synchronized with the web version of Clideo's Video Editor, so you can create a project on your phone and continue editing on your computer.

How to add subtitles in the Add Subtitles tool

  1. Upload a video

    Open the Add Subtitles tool and tap the “Choose file" button to import a recording from your iPhone’s roll. Alternatively, call the drop-down menu and pick up a file from a cloud storage account.

  2. Add and edit subtitles

    At the next screen, you can choose if you want to generate subtitles automatically or insert them manually.

    If you choose to generate subtitles, select the language used in your video. Make sure you pick the correct variation, to make recognition more accurate.

    Then you will the see the editor where you can edit the subtitles one by one, if necessary.

    If you create them from scratch, or need to add a new subtitle, tap the “Add subtitle" command at the bottom, enter the text, adjust the timing, and repeat as many times as required.

    After that, in the "Styles" tab, change the font, size, and color, select the background color, position, etc. Mind that these settings will be applied to all captions.

  3. Save video with subtitles

    If you need subtitles as text, you can save them separately as a TXT or an SRT file. Otherwise, specify the output format at the bottom and export your project.

    In the end you will get a video with open (embedded) captions.

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