Social video
Subtitle a video for social media
Social feeds autoplay muted, crop aggressively, and mostly ignore subtitle files. That combination changes what a good subtitle looks like, in ways that have nothing to do with translation quality.
Why social video needs the text in the picture
Most feeds start playing with the sound off, and the viewer decides whether to stay within a second or two. If your words are in a subtitle file the feed does not read, that decision gets made in silence. Burning the text into the picture is the only approach that behaves consistently across every feed, every re-upload, and every download.
What changes in a vertical frame
- The bottom of the frame is contested. Captions, usernames, buttons, and progress bars all live there, and they differ per platform. Text placed too low gets covered on at least one of them.
- Lines have less horizontal room. A line that fits a widescreen frame wraps awkwardly in a vertical one, so the same words need different breaks.
- Viewing distance is short and screens are small, which pushes toward larger text and fewer words on screen at once.
- Clips are short and dense. There is less time per line, so reading speed becomes the binding constraint rather than line length.
Practical rules that survive every platform
- Keep lines short enough to read in the time they are on screen. See subtitle timing and reading speed for how to judge that.
- Two lines at most, and one wherever possible.
- Leave clearance at the bottom of the frame for interface overlays.
- Check the result on an actual phone before posting, not in a desktop preview.
Reaching past your own language
Feeds distribute by engagement, not by language, so a clip can surface in front of people who do not speak yours. Translated subtitles are the cheapest way to keep those viewers, and running the same clip in two or three languages costs a fraction of reshooting it. The language pages cover what to expect from each.
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Do social platforms read SRT files?
Support is inconsistent and often limited to longer-form uploads. Burned-in text is the only approach that behaves the same on every feed, which is why it is the default here.
Do burned-in subtitles survive being re-uploaded or downloaded?
Yes. The text is part of the picture, so it survives re-encoding, downloading, and reposting. A sidecar SRT does not travel with the file.
Can I subtitle vertical video?
Yes. Vertical, square, and widescreen all work. Leaving clearance at the bottom of the frame matters most in vertical, where platform overlays take up the most room.
Should I translate or just caption?
Caption in the original language for silent autoplay, which is most of your existing audience. Translate when you want the clip to work for people who do not speak your language at all.