The Blackbird Editor provides closed captioning tools that allow you to view and edit captioning in both live and file-based workflows. In this tutorial, we will focus on live workflows of editing and modifying closed captioned content on the Edit side.
Once your video, audio, and closed captioning are on the timeline, you may need to make modifications to the time, spelling, grammar, or the position of closed captions on the screen. There are several methods to achieve these functions.
To modify content in a single block of caption text or the entire closed caption track
- Double-click on the closed caption track. Two options will be presented to you.
- Copy the closed caption's metadata into the sequence for editing. This option targets the current caption categorized as "This metadata."
- Copy all captions' metadata into the sequence for editing. This option targets all captions categorized as "all metadata."
Once you select either option, the blue closed captions will turn into black on white text, indicating that they are ready for editing. At this point, the closed captions lose their connection to the source, allowing you to change the text.
Trimming the caption length will not expose the next caption in line because it is no longer connected to the source. However, this allows you to move single or multiple closed caption text blocks independently in time by clicking or shift-clicking and dragging them. You can also move them vertically to other closed caption tracks. If the selected closed caption block does not disconnect from the previous block, try using the create edit button to put a fake edit to separate the blocks.
Cut, copy, and paste operations can also be performed using keyboard shortcuts on the timeline.
To modify where your closed caption appears on the screen
- Right-click on the caption track.
- Toggle the positions between the top, middle, and bottom of the screen.
- This feature allows you to reposition the closed caption so that it does not cover an area of interest, such as a lower third title.
- You can also assign this feature to a keyboard shortcut for quick access.
The next closed caption tutorial in this series will focus on unique features of closed captions and subtitles.
By using these closed captioning tools, you can effectively edit and modify closed captioned content in the Blackbird Editor, ensuring accurate and visually appropriate captions for your videos.