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Subtitles

Add subtitles to your videos and audio: generated automatically, translated, or uploaded as VTT files.

Written by Cody Iddings

Video subtitles and captions

Makeshapes supports adding subtitles (also called captions or closed captions) to videos in your experiences. Subtitles improve accessibility and help learners who are non-native speakers or prefer to read along with the video.

Letting Makeshapes make the subtitles

You don't have to write a VTT file by hand. Makeshapes can transcribe your media, and if your organization has the AI media tools switched on, translate the result.

Generate captions

For a video or audio file with no subtitles in its own language, open the file in the media library. In the Subtitles section, click Add subtitles, and then click Generate captions. The file is transcribed automatically and the track appears when it's ready, usually within a few minutes.

The Subtitles section of a video's details, with the Add subtitles menu open and Generate captions highlighted.

Generate captions only appears when there's something to generate. Once a track exists for the file's own language, Makeshapes won't offer to make a second one. To redo it, delete the existing track first.

Auto-translate a track

With a ready English track in place, click Add subtitles, and then click Translate from English. In the Auto-translate subtitle track dialog, choose a language in Target language and click Start auto-translation. The new track is added alongside the original.

The Auto-translate subtitle track dialog with Source track, Target language and Start auto-translation highlighted.

Translation needs a finished English track to work from, so generate or upload one first. Translate from English only appears when your organization has the AI media tools switched on and a ready English track exists.

Subtitles on upload

You can also decide this up front rather than file by file. In an experience, click Settings in the experience's sidebar and find Subtitle languages. This card only appears if your organization has AI subtitle translation switched on. The experience's sidebar starts folded to icons and stays the way you leave it: hover an icon to see its name, or click the logo or drag its edge to open it. Your organization can also set Default subtitle languages for new experiences, under Content settings on the Organisation settings page. Video and audio added to that experience is then subtitled in those languages automatically as it uploads, with no per-file step at all.

The experience Settings page with the Subtitle languages section and its Add subtitle language button highlighted.

Captions are free in the languages free captions cover. For other languages, Generate captions uses premium captions, which spend your organization's AI credits. The hint under Generate captions in the Add subtitles menu tells you which it will be before you start.

How subtitle support works by video type

Uploaded videos (recommended for subtitles)

For videos you upload directly to Makeshapes, you have full control over subtitles:

How to add subtitles to uploaded videos:

  1. Click Media in the sidebar.

    The sidebar of the creator app, with Media highlighted.

  2. Click the video you want to add subtitles to. The Video details panel opens.

    The Video details panel with the Subtitles section highlighted.

  3. In Subtitles, click Add subtitles, and then click Upload a subtitle file. If uploading is the only choice, click the Upload a subtitle file button.

    The Subtitles section with the Add subtitles menu open and Upload a subtitle file highlighted.

  4. In the Upload subtitle track dialog, click Choose file and select a VTT (WebVTT) file, up to 5MB.

    The Upload subtitle track dialog with the Choose file button highlighted.

  5. In Language, choose the language of the file.

    The Upload subtitle track dialog with the Language field highlighted.

  6. Optional: in Display label, enter a name for the track, such as "English (US)" or "Spanish (Mexico)".

  7. Click Upload subtitle. The track appears in the list with a Processing badge until it's ready, which takes a few seconds.

Managing subtitle tracks:

  • Add multiple languages: upload a separate VTT file for each language.

  • Edit a track: click More on the track's row, and then click Edit subtitles. See Edit subtitles later in this article.

  • Replace a track: in the editor, click More, and then click Replace with a file. See Replace a subtitle track later in this article.

  • Download a track: click More on the track's row, and then click Download, to edit the VTT file or back it up.

  • Delete a track: click More on the track's row, click Delete, and then confirm.

  • Order: tracks are listed with English first, then alphabetically. Editing a track keeps its place in the list.

  • Errors: if a track fails to process, a Failed badge and the reason from our video provider show on its row. Delete it and upload a corrected file to try again.

    A subtitle track row with its More menu open, showing Edit subtitles, Download and Delete.

File requirements:

  • Format: VTT (WebVTT) only

  • Size: Maximum 5MB

  • Encoding: UTF-8

  • Must start with "WEBVTT" at the beginning of the file

Creating VTT files:

VTT (WebVTT) files are plain text files with timestamps. You can create them with:

  • Subtitle editors like Subtitle Edit (free)

  • Video editing software that exports VTT format

  • Text editor (for simple subtitles)

A VTT file starts with the line WEBVTT, then each cue as a timestamp range (like 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:04.000) followed by its text.

YouTube videos

Subtitles are not available for YouTube videos in Makeshapes — YouTube's API does not expose its caption tracks to us, so the captions button is hidden on YouTube embeds. To add subtitles, upload your video directly to Makeshapes.

Vimeo videos

For Vimeo videos, manage subtitles in your Vimeo account:

  1. Go to your video in Vimeo

  2. Navigate to the video's settings

  3. Add captions/subtitles in Vimeo's caption manager

  4. Subtitles will automatically appear when the video plays in Makeshapes

Note: Subtitles from Vimeo may appear with different styling than uploaded videos. For the best subtitle experience and full control over formatting, we recommend uploading your videos directly to Makeshapes.

Edit subtitles

Video and audio files both support subtitle tracks. You can preview and edit a track without leaving the media library.

Preview a track

  1. Click Media in the sidebar, and then click a video or audio file to open its details.

  2. In Subtitles, click the track you want to see. Its captions show in the preview player. Click it again to turn them off.

    A video's details with one subtitle track selected in the Subtitles list and its captions showing on the preview player.

A track that's still processing can't be selected until it's ready.

Change the lines

  1. Click More on the track's row, and then click Edit subtitles. The details panel changes to the editor for that track.

    The subtitle editor for a track, listing each line with its time and text, and the Save changes button.

  2. Click a line to change its text. Changed lines show an Edited badge, and the footer counts them.

  3. Click a time to play from that line. The line that's playing is highlighted and scrolls into view.

  4. Click Save changes. In the confirmation dialog, click Save to replace the old subtitles with your edited ones. To leave without saving, click Cancel.

Replace a subtitle track

To swap out a track entirely, for example after editing the VTT file elsewhere:

  1. In the editor, click More, and then click Replace with a file.

    The editor's More menu open with Replace with a file highlighted.

  2. Choose your new .vtt file, up to 5MB.

  3. In the Replace the subtitles? dialog, click Replace. The dialog says the existing track will be deleted and replaced, and that this can't be undone.

The new file is uploaded after the old one is deleted. If the upload fails, the editor says so and keeps your changes, so you can save again.

Resizable video preview

The preview in the Video details panel, where you manage subtitles, is resizable. Drag the Video height handle under the player, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to make the preview taller or shorter (between 80 and 600 pixels). Subtitles keep rendering correctly at any size.

The video preview with the Video height handle below the player highlighted.

Turning captions on during a session

How learners turn on captions

Once you've added subtitle tracks to your videos, captions can be turned on during the session:

  1. During video playback, look for the captions/subtitles button on the video player controls

  2. Click or tap the CC (closed captions) icon

  3. Select the preferred language from the available options

  4. Captions will appear on the video

  5. The selected language continues throughout the entire experience

Where to find the captions control:

  • Group display - Available on the main video player

  • Host controls - The host can click Subtitles on or Subtitles off in the session controls, and choose a language or None

Accessibility and best practices

Ask the group:

At the start of your session, ask if anyone would benefit from closed captions. Some learners may need them for accessibility, while others may prefer them for better comprehension.

Why use subtitles:

  • Accessibility - Helps deaf or hard-of-hearing learners

  • Comprehension - Aids non-native speakers

  • Focus - Helps learners who learn better by reading

  • Noisy environments - Allows participation even with audio issues

  • Technical difficulties - Provides backup if audio fails

Best practices for subtitles

For creators:

  • Upload videos directly - This gives you full subtitle control

  • Add multiple languages - Support your diverse audience

  • Test subtitles - Preview videos to ensure subtitles are accurate and well-timed

  • Use clear labels - If you have multiple variants (for example, "English (UK)" vs "English (US)")

  • Keep file sizes small - Compress or trim subtitle files if needed

For hosts:

  • Announce subtitle availability - Let the group know captions are available

  • Show how to activate - Demonstrate where the captions control is

  • Check technical setup - Ensure captions work before your session

  • Be inclusive - Ask if anyone needs captions activated

Creating quality subtitles:

  • Accurate timing - Match subtitles to the spoken words precisely

  • Appropriate length - Keep lines readable (2-3 seconds per subtitle)

  • Proper punctuation - Makes reading easier

  • Speaker identification - Use brackets for speaker names: [Sam]: Welcome everyone

  • Sound descriptions - Include [music playing] or [applause] for context

Troubleshooting

Subtitles not appearing:

  • Check that the video has finished processing

  • Make sure no subtitle track shows a Processing or Failed badge in the media library

  • Verify the VTT file is properly formatted

  • Try uploading the subtitle file again

Can't upload subtitle file:

  • Ensure file is VTT format (not SRT or other formats)

  • Check file size is under 5MB

  • Verify file encoding is UTF-8

  • Make sure you don't already have a subtitle for that language

Upload failed:

  • Check your internet connection

  • Wait a moment and try again

  • If the issue persists, try a different browser

Processing taking too long:

  • Subtitle processing usually takes just a few seconds

  • Refresh the page to check if processing completed

  • If still processing after several minutes, contact support

Subtitles and multi-language are different things

Subtitles put translated text on top of a video or audio file. They don't change anything else — the activity instructions, buttons and prompts around the video stay as they are.

Translating the experience itself is a separate feature, available to organizations that have it switched on. It covers every piece of text across the experience, the post-experience emails, and alternative media files per language, and the host picks the language when they set up a session.

The two aren't tied together. Subtitle languages are chosen independently of an experience's content languages, so you can subtitle a video into a language the experience itself isn't translated into — useful when one person in the room needs support that the rest of the group doesn't.

Translating the experience itself is covered in How multi-language experiences work.

Summary

  • Uploaded videos - Full subtitle control via VTT file upload in the media library

  • YouTube videos - No subtitle support in Makeshapes (manage in YouTube Studio if needed)

  • Vimeo videos - Manage subtitles in Vimeo (some styling limitations)

  • Multiple languages - Upload separate VTT files for each language

  • Accessibility - Always ask the group if anyone needs captions

  • Automatic subtitles - Generate captions from the audio, then auto-translate them into other languages

For more information on uploading and managing videos, see Managing media content.

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