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Putting text captions on videos
DJGM
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I have some short HD1080p digital camcorder videos that I've recorded in the city centre and I want to send them to
a friend overseas, but before I do, I want to put simple but relatively professional looking text captions on them.
I've tried using Windows Live Movie Maker, but that was unstable as hell when saving the finished video. I would try
something much more professional, but video production software from the likes of Adobe is expensive overkill.
Something similar to the Annotations on YouTube videos, but less restrictive and a bit more customisable.
Any suggestions ... ?
a friend overseas, but before I do, I want to put simple but relatively professional looking text captions on them.
I've tried using Windows Live Movie Maker, but that was unstable as hell when saving the finished video. I would try
something much more professional, but video production software from the likes of Adobe is expensive overkill.
Something similar to the Annotations on YouTube videos, but less restrictive and a bit more customisable.
Any suggestions ... ?
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simple text caption, keep it on screen for about 5-10 seconds, then fade out. Something like this screengrab.
VLC Screengrab with example caption added.
but also my full name and home address. I'm not submitting all that personal data just to download a 30 day trial!
I might have to, uhhmmm, go elsewhere, for a copy of that particular program if need be!
What's vega and premier? Did you mean Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere Pro?
You surely don't have to give them your 'real' name and address just to download a trial - just a thought ? Email it will need for the licence key I presume
A Google search only brings up methods such as Windows Live Movie Maker ... which is an unstable pile of crap,
and/or using the annotations feature on YouTube, which is too limited, and requires uploading the videos first.
I can't recommend any particular one, because I've not used them but I have read several articles which are generally positive about them.
standalone software, rather than wait x number of hours for each video to upload before I can do anything with it.
I looked at the sites you did mention . . .
Magisto doesn't say whether it supports full HD or not, and they charge you download your completed work ... not good.
WeVideo requires a monthly $5 or $10 subscription for HD support, and it appears to be limited to 720p ... not good.
VideoToolbox looks professional to some extent, and while it does appear to support a wide range of video formats,
the option to add the text caption does not include the actual font I want to use, namely Segoe UI ... not good.
FileLab didn't even work from the outset, the home page threw up a huge server error:
Server Error in '/' Application.
Could not load file or assembly 'System.Web.Mvc' or one of its dependencies.
There is not enough space on the disk. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070070)
Looks like their server has run out of hard drive space ... definitely not good!
Judging by these examples, online video editiors are out of the question.
There's no functional difference between a caption and a subtitle.
Shouldn't be hard to do what you want in Aegisub, even the fading in/out seems to be supported.
I just downloaded it and tested. Took a couple of seconds to add a simple 5-second-long subtitle part-way in to an existing video using a .ass file. This can be muxed with the video into a .mkv container to allow subs/captions to be toggled on or off.
If you want them to be hardcoded into the video that's a bit more complicated and i'm unsure what software will do it for you.
Then you're picking that "it's a subtitle not a caption" or "they don't have my font" and even "I'm not going to give them my address in order to use their software for free". Threads like this annoy me, because nothing is right and you can't even manage a "Thank you for your help, that's looks interesting". Nor do you seem particularly capable of working your way through the comprehensive wikipedia page about every single piece of video editing software available.
You're getting video editing software for nothing. Either compromise or pay for it. Video editing is a high-end product and there simply aren't many teenage bedroom coders throwing out open source versions that'll handle 1080p and Pixar-like effects.
If you just want some text to appear on the screen, then use Aegisub or VideoToolbox with a different font. If you want the perfect font, faded in at just the right time, in a lovely colour and size, with a nice transition effect then you're going to have put your hand in your pocket.
If you want FREE, the best efforts in this field seem to be on the Linux platform. If you can manage downloading a large file, a little simple program to put that large file on a spare USB stick, and boot from it.... you can be up and running a temporary version of Linux on your PC with few complications. The you have the excellent OpenShot and Kdenlive to play with, which will edit video from your normal Windows harddisk and save back to it, even though you're not running Windows at the time.
I agree that people shouldn't expect something for nothing - I've always held the belief that if something is genuinely useful, it is worth paying for.
I realise also this is not what the OP wants to hear, but worth mentioning nevertheless that the facility the he/she requires exists in iMovie and that comes free with every Mac.
amount for, has a 30 day trial with no functiality limitations, and made by a reasonably reputable developer/company
then I'll get me credit/debit card out and buy it. I did say in my opening post that professional video editing programs
from the likes of Adobe et al, are expensive overkill, nothing specifically about completely free software.
I'm aware iMovie is included with Mac OS X on every Apple Mac as standard, much like Windows Movie Maker used
to come bundled with Windows XP, and it would very possibly be the ideal solution, except for one crucial detail.
I don't have an Apple Mac, nor can I actually afford one, even if I wanted one ... which TBH, I don't!
Actually, that's not strictly true ... I do own two Apple Macs. One is a 15 yr old 1st gen Blue & White PowerMac G3.
It's rather battered, has no RAM or hard drive, and only gets used as a footstool! The other Mac I currently own is
an even older system. It's a beige Power Macintosh G3, and that doesn't have any RAM or hard drive either!
I suspect, even in working order, your G3 Mac would struggle with HD video. Or any video
of Movie Maker ... now Movie Maker isn't an unstable POS that hangs when saving a completed video anymore.
I'll keep some of the suggestions in mind though, for future reference . . .