Scroll through any aesthetic edit or lyric video and you'll notice the text is doing as much work as the footage. The typeface, where the words sit, how long they hang on screen — it all sets the mood. And timing every line by hand, frame by frame, is the part that makes beginners give up.

A subtitle file does the timing for you. Here's the workflow.

First, check you're allowed to

Song lyrics and music are copyrighted. Before you publish, make sure you have the rights — your own music, a licensed track, or a platform's built-in music library, which usually covers lyric display within that platform. The same goes for dialogue from films and shows. This workflow is about the craft; the rights are on you.

Step 1: get a timed subtitle file

If you're working with your own spoken video, or a video you have permission to use, the fastest route to timing is to download its subtitles as an SRT file. Paste the link into a subtitle downloader and export SRT — it's the format every editor reads. (Not sure why SRT rather than VTT? See SRT vs VTT vs TXT.)

If the source has no subtitles, most editors — CapCut included — can auto-caption your audio, and you can export that as SRT to refine elsewhere.

Step 2: import into your editor

  • CapCut: import the SRT from the Text or Captions panel.
  • Premiere Pro: drag the SRT into the project and onto a captions track.
  • DaVinci Resolve: import it into the media pool and drop it on a subtitle track.

Each line lands at the right time. Now the fun part.

Step 3: style it to match the edit

  • One typeface, used consistently. A soft serif for dreamy edits, a condensed sans for hype, a monospace for lo-fi. Mixing looks accidental.
  • Contrast first. White text disappears on pale skies. Add a subtle shadow or a translucent box, and check it with the Contrast Checker if you're unsure.
  • Pull colours from the footage. Grab a frame, run it through the Palette Extractor, and use one of those colours for the text or its highlight.
  • Keep lines short. For lyric videos, one lyric line per subtitle. Split long lines in the editor rather than shrinking the font.

Step 4: fix the timing

Downloaded or auto-generated timing is close, not perfect — especially for sung lyrics, which stretch words. Nudge each subtitle so it lands on the beat. If everything is off by the same amount, shift the whole track at once instead of editing lines one by one.

Step 5: the background

Lyric videos often run over a still or a slow loop rather than footage. A good aesthetic wallpaper makes a strong base, and the Live Wallpaper Maker can add gentle motion so the frame doesn't feel frozen. Size it for vertical with the Aspect Ratio Converter before you import.

Step 6: export

Burn the subtitles in if the text is part of the design — it'll look identical on every platform. Keep them as a separate caption file if they're there for accessibility and you want viewers to be able to switch them off.