How to Add Captions to Videos in Final Cut Pro

Learn to create, edit, and export closed captions in Final Cut Pro. Follow this professional workflow to ensure accessibility and compliance.

1. Create a caption role. Open your project in the Timeline. Navigate to the Edit menu and select Captions, then choose Add Caption to create an initial CEA-608 caption track. Ensure the caption role is set to your preferred language in the Caption inspector.
2. Enter caption text. Select the newly created caption clip in the timeline. Open the Text inspector to enter your dialogue. Press Return to finalize the entry and automatically create a subsequent caption clip that aligns with your audio track.
3. Adjust caption formatting. Select all caption clips to apply consistent visual styles. Use the Caption inspector to modify the caption standard, such as CEA-608 or iTT. Adjust text alignment and font settings if your chosen format supports styling.
4. Validate synchronization. Play back the timeline and ensure caption triggers align with audible speech. If a caption appears out of sync, drag the start or end edges of the caption clip to snap to the waveform peaks in the timeline.
5. Configure export settings. Select File, then Share, and choose Master File. Click the Roles tab in the share window. Ensure the captions role is set to Burned In or Sidecar File depending on your distribution requirements.