Features

Captions

The Captions tab is where words and timing live, and how text gets into MotionCaption.

MotionCaption in After Effects

Get text and timing

1. Transcription: Choose a language, run local and/or cloud transcription (per plan). Local transcription can work offline. Cloud needs internet and uses AI credits on your plan, but it is more accurate.

2. Import files: Bring in SRT, TXT, or CSV caption files when you already have a script or subtitles. TXT and CSV arrive without timing, so you retime them in the panel.

3. Manual editing: Type or paste lines directly in the panel and adjust start/end times without a file or transcript.

Format, edit, and timing

1. Edit caption text, and format all captions to a target lines per caption and max characters per line. Search and replace across every caption, with full undo and redo on any change.

2. Open the Retime timeline (R) to fix timing word by word, snapped to frames.

Export

1. From the Captions workflow you can export captions as SRT or plain text.

Timeline output (After Effects)

In After Effects, most presets let you choose how the caption layers are structured. Pick the one that matches the look you want and the animation control you need. The panel calls this Layer Distribution, and its options are Separate Captions, Separate Lines, Separate Words, and One Text Layer. Some presets are built for one layout, so they offer fewer options.

1. One layer. All captions on a single text layer. Fewest layers to manage. You edit the text in the panel and MotionCaption updates the keyframes for you.

2. Per caption. One layer per caption block. The usual starting point. Most presets work here, including the synced animations, which need Separate Captions or One Text Layer.

3. Per line. One layer per line within a caption. This is the layout the Rounded Box style needs in After Effects, so each line carries its own rounded background.

4. Per word.Every word becomes its own text layer, with a marker at that word's end time so the animation follows the speech. Animate or restyle a single word and the rest of the caption stays as it is.

These four modes are After Effects only. In Premiere, captions come in as a MoGRT, and you choose one MoGRT for all captions or one MoGRT per caption. The Premiere rounded box works with any caption layout, up to 7 lines per caption, so it does not need a per-line mode.

Edit and enhance

Once the captions are in, a row of tools acts on your captions right in this tab. On Pro the AI can do the work for you.

1. Format: Auto-clean line breaks and lengths (lines per caption, characters per line, where to split on pauses or punctuation).

2. Transcript: Flip from the caption-by-caption grid to a full transcript view for fast bulk editing.

3. Text Transformation: Reshape text in one click (uppercase, lowercase, capitalize, add or strip punctuation, end captions with ..., ?, or !), merge words with a drag, delete a word with a click, and Supersize the key words. AI can suggest which words to size up.

4. Highlight: Color-emphasize key words, type a word to highlight every match, or let AI suggest highlights with an intensity dial.

5. Emojis: Add emojis by hand or from AI suggestions, with optional intro, attention, and outro animation.

6. Retime: Drag a caption or a single word on the timeline to re-sync it to the speech. Start and end times snap to your comp or sequence frame rate. Type an exact start and end timecode in the header, or press R to open it.

7. Translate: Translate captions into another language with AI, and toggle between the original and the translation.

8. Chapters: Auto-generate or hand-build chapter markers, then copy them, add them as timeline markers, or apply a chapter template.

9. B-roll and Auto Zoom: Both live in the Captions tab too. See B-roll and Auto Zoom below.

Clean Up (silences, repetitions, and filler words)

The Clean Up tool tightens pacing by cutting dead air, repeated takes, or filler words from the timeline, so the talking stays tight. Pick a mode, review the cuts, then remove them in one pass. Nothing is cut until you confirm.

MotionCaption: Clean Up

1. Silences: Detect the quiet gaps in your timeline audio, then review them on a waveform with a threshold line you drag to taste. Set the minimum gap length and the Padding left around each cut, choose which audio tracks to read, and toggle Cut audio only or Duplicate sequence first in Premiere.

2. Repetitions: Catch repeated words (stutters like “I I”) and whole repeated takes when you redo a line. Detect from your captions, or transcribe the timeline audio with cloud AI. Review and adjust the cuts in a transcript view or on the waveform, then remove them. The redundant take is ripple-cut from the timeline, and from your captions when you detected from them.

3. Filler words: Cut um, uh, and other filler sounds from an editable, language-aware list. Detect from your captions to clean the caption text, or transcribe the timeline audio with cloud AI to cut the filler from the video. Add your own words and phrases too.

4. Order with captions: A common flow is to remove silences first, then transcribe, so caption timing matches the trimmed audio. If you already have captions, review timing after a large trim.

Auto Zoom

Auto Zoom adds automatic punch-in zooms, the zoom-in-on-emphasis look common in talking-head and social videos. Open the Auto Zoom dialog, build a list of zooms, adjust them, then apply them to the timeline. It works in both After Effects and Premiere.

1. Generate the list: Build zooms from AI suggest (it reads your captions and picks the most impactful moments, with a Calm, Balanced, or Energetic dial for how many), from markers (one per marker), or from cuts (one per shot). AI suggest spends AI credits. Markers and cuts do not.

2. Add and edit zooms: Add a zoom by picking a span of transcript words, then review the list, edit each span, set a zoom amount (110% to 150%) per zoom or for all at once, and remove any you do not want.

3. Motion and anchor point: Set the zoom-in and zoom-out speed separately (Snap, Fast, Medium, Slow, Very slow), and use the visual anchor-point picker to set exactly where each zoom centers, with a live framing preview.

4. Hosts: Auto Zoom works in both After Effects and Premiere. MotionCaption applies the zooms for you, so you never place manual keyframes.

B-roll

B-roll reads your transcript and proposes B-roll for each caption line, so you can preview options and drop the right one onto your timeline. AI B-roll suggestions are a Pro feature and need internet.

1. Caption first: Generate or import captions so there is a transcript to read. The suggestions follow your caption lines and their timing.

2. Get matches: Open AI B-roll suggestions. MotionCaption returns clip matches for each line, pulled from the same stock libraries as the Media tab.

3. Preview and refine: Play a suggested clip, switch to another match, or change the search keyword if a line needs a different visual.

4. Insert: Add the clip you want to the timeline at that line. Edit it like any other media after it lands.

Presets

The Presets area is where you pick the overall animated caption look (layout, motion, and baseline styling), then generate it on the timeline.

1. Library size: After Effects ships the full gallery of 330+ animated caption presets. Premiere ships a smaller, MoGRT-compatible set (80+ presets). Every caption rides on one clip, so the timeline stays light and generation is fast, and the clip splits whenever you want a caption styled on its own.

2. Custom presets: Start from any preset, or duplicate an existing one and right-click it to edit its Styles, then save. When you choose that preset again, your saved parameters can apply in one click. There is no cap on duplicates, and each copy keeps its own settings, so one preset can become a whole family of looks. Copies also work in Split Presets, so two versions of the same preset can style two different speakers.

Preset Settings

Every preset opens its own settings so you can tailor the look (colors, stroke, shadow, highlight, boxes, font, alignment) and save named variants to reuse.

1. A full tabbed editor (Preset, Text, Box, Add-ons) with granular, live controls.

2. Save your variants: Save named variants by category, then load, override, export, import, or reset to default. A generator can also roll a random style for you.

Split Presets

1. Assign a different preset to different captions or speakers in one pass, so each speaker or key moment can carry its own look. Select captions (by speaker, drag to paint across rows, or jump to a number), apply a preset to just those, then generate them all at once.

Styles

The Styles tab is where you edit how the caption looks in the timeline: font, color, stroke, spacing, alignment, and the built-in style library. In After Effects the Styles tab can batch-apply text styles and gives you align options. In Premiere it shows a properties panel that exposes all the MoGRT properties (text styles, effects, boxes, and transitions). Both hosts control transform properties and text styles.

1. Fonts: Pick any font installed on your computer or synced from Adobe Fonts, from a searchable list, with recent and favorite fonts remembered, or roll a random font.

2. Color and stroke: Set the text fill, and add a stroke with its own color and width.

3. Spacing and paragraph: Control leading (line height), and set paragraph alignment.

4. Style library: Apply ready-made styles from the gallery, and save your own to User Styles (After Effects).

5. Transform: Set position and scale for the caption text from the same tab.

Motion

The Motion tab is where you add ready-made animations or design custom animation. In Premiere you get the animation preset library to browse and apply, and the deeper builders stay in After Effects.

After Effects

1. Animation presets: Browse, search, and apply saved animation presets, with categories for captions, highlight, your own custom set, and your user presets.

2. User presets: Save the current animation settings as a named preset, then reuse it in any project. You can also add your own folders of .ffx presets and apply them from the same place.

3. Animator: Animate any text property (position, scale, rotation, opacity, tracking, skew, fill, or blur) with per-character control, a configurable anchor point, and separate In and Out values.

4. Transform: Motion in two ways. Controller mode builds complex animations without keyframes (ping-pong, pulse, bounce). Keys mode animates with keyframes.

5. Typewriter: Reveal text by character, word, or line, with an optional animated cursor and pacing options.

6. Wiggle: Add lively random motion, with control over speed and amount.

7. Scroll (cascade): Cascading captions, horizontal or vertical, with adjustable gap and duration.

8. Randomize: Controlled randomness across captions (per layer, line, caption, or all), with min and max ranges and optional per-character font and color variation.

9. 3D: Turn captions into 3D extruded text with bevel styles, surfaces, per-face color, and HDR environment lighting.

Premiere

1. Premiere gets the animation preset library, a categorized set (Captions, Highlight, and Custom) you search, apply, and pace with a speed control. The deeper builders (Animator, Transform, Typewriter, Wiggle, Scroll, Randomize, 3D) are After Effects only.

Effects

The Effects tab is a browsable, searchable library of effects, transitions, and filters you apply to your captions and clips with one click. Search by name and apply to the selected layers.

After Effects

1. Effects library: One-click visual effects for caption text/video, in categories like Shadow (shadow, faux 3D, gradient box), Distortion (wiggle, warp, glass, chrome), Light (glow, flicker, vignette, shine), Particles (sparkles, hearts, grunge), and Textures (pop art, stone dust, glow lines).

2. Captions transitions:A full transition system for captions (fade, glitch, distortion, wipe, particles, simulation). Set the length in frames (1 to 80, default 10), applied within each caption's own time range. Includes entrance and exit transitions (glow, light cut, light sweep, light burst).

3. B-roll Transitions: Add B-roll transitions (fade, rotate, zoom, slide, glitch, liquid), and fine-tune them with an edit mode and work-area controls.

4. Filters: Color-grading and LUT-style looks grouped by use case (cinematic, black and white, creative, photo repair, landscape, portraits, urban, and more).

5. Add on Top: Stack a new effect or filter on top of the existing ones instead of replacing them.

6. User Presets: Save any FFX file as a reusable preset with an auto-generated preview, organize it by category, then apply with one click. Export your whole set as a single .mcfx file and import it elsewhere.

Premiere

1. Premiere gets a smaller effects and transitions library, applied to selected MotionCaption MoGRTs. The deeper system (filters, the full transition and effect set, Add on Top, and User Presets) is After Effects only.

Media

The Media tab is where you add visuals and sound: your own footage, built-in icons and emojis, optional stock images, video, and audio, and built-in Grab Media link import.

Stock and project media

1. Project media and icons: Browse the footage in your project, folders you configure, and a built-in icon library.

2. Stock search: Search stock images and video from Pexels and Pixabay, preview them, and drop a clip onto your timeline. Stock search is a Pro feature and needs internet.

3. Paste Image From Clipboard: Paste an image straight from your clipboard into the timeline.

Emojis

1. Add emojis to your captions from a searchable library, with optional intro, attention, and outro animation. In the Captions tab the AI can also suggest emojis that fit each caption.

Audio

1. Search royalty-free audio from Openverse and add it to your project. Audio search is a Pro feature and needs internet.

Grab Media

Grab Mediabrings media into the MotionCaption panel from a link. Paste a URL from a supported site, then pull video or audio into your After Effects or Premiere project without a separate app. Only use media you own or have the rights to use, and follow each site's terms. Grab Media is part of the standard panel, not a separate subscription tier.

1. Download: Paste a URL, choose Video (mp4) or Audio (mp3), pick quality (up to 1080p), optionally set a clip range with start and end times, then click Download.

2. Auto-import: Files insert at the playhead after download, automatically.

3. Download → Transcribe: Download the media, then run it through MotionCaption AI transcription in one click.

4. Chapters: If the source video has chapters, pick which ones to download as separate clips.

5. History: Past downloads appear in a history list.

Tools

The Tools tab is a set of batch helpers to solve repetitive tasks. The tools differ by host.

After Effects

1. Timing: Batch-adjust caption layer timing in the comp. Trim layers to markers (in point, out point, both, or auto), extend layers to fill the gaps between captions, overlap adjacent layers by a set number of frames, or fill time gaps so captions run continuously.

2. Texts: Restructure and prep the caption text layers. Pre-compose selected layers, separate text into layers by character, word, or line for per-word or per-letter animation, add or remove a responsive-width rig (works best on line-separated text), or reverse the stacking order of selected layers.

3. Keyframes: Batch keyframe operations. Offset keyframes to a layer's in or out point (with an option to adjust duration), scale keyframe duration to a target frame length, or duplicate keyframes to the caption start point or the layer in point.

4. Selection: Speed up selecting across many layers. Select the same property on every selected layer as the first one you pick, or select keyframes by index (for example 3 and 4) across selected layers.

5. Animation:Sticky Layer to Highlight Box syncs a layer's movement to the Highlight Box animation, with a button to remove it.

Premiere

1. Render tracks: Render your caption tracks and other clips in one click.

Settings

Settings controls the position and size of your captions in the current composition or sequence.

1. Preset: Save and load named position-and-scale setups. Center, Landscape, and Portrait ship built in, and you can save your own. Custom presets are stored per host.

2. Align and scale (both): Set horizontal and vertical placement and the caption box scale as percentages, or drag right in the preview with snapping to edges and center.

3. Composition size (After Effects): Sync to the active comp, or set a Custom Size with your own width, height, and frame rate, with a lock-aspect-ratio option and a preview-only background color. Turn on Update MotionCaption Layer to push alignment and scale changes to the selected layer.

4. Update Selected Layers/Clips: In After Effects, alignment and scale changes apply to the MotionCaption composition layer in the comp. In Premiere, they apply to the selected MoGRT clips in the sequence.

Sidebar

The slim vertical icon bar down the left edge of the panel holds quick, one-click tools that speed up an existing workflow (selecting, styling, cleanup, show panels).

After Effects

1. Show Controls in Effect Controls: Reveal the caption master control in the After Effects Effect Controls panel for quick tweaking.

2. Select Texts: Select every caption at once. Expand it for smart selections: select oddly or evenly (every other caption), select randomly, or select all captions for Speaker 1 or Speaker 2. The same menu holds Select Lines for line-level selection (solo word, shortest, longest, or tallest caption, or a specific line).

3. Palette: Open the color palette.

4. Remove Latest Composition: Delete the most recent MotionCaption composition.

5. Easing panel: A dedicated easing window opens for advanced curve editing.

6. Paste Image From Clipboard.

7. Purge All Caches: Clear After Effects caches to free memory and increase performance.

Premiere

1. Edit Caption Properties: Open the properties of the MotionCaption MoGRT so you can adjust the captions on the timeline.

2. Select Texts: Select every caption at once. Expand it for smart selections: select oddly or evenly (every other caption), select randomly, or select all captions for Speaker 1 or Speaker 2.

3. Disable / Enable Captions: Toggle the caption track on or off.

4. Remove Captions: Remove the latest captions from the timeline. An expand option also offers Remove Captions From Project to delete the source items too.

5. Easing panel: A dedicated easing window opens for advanced curve editing.

After Effects vs Premiere

The Styles, Effects, and Transitions libraries are smaller in Premiere, and a MoGRT exposes a fixed set of controls. If something looks different in Premiere, that is usually the platform, not a bug. The Styles Generator still grows the library with you: it produces new looks from any preset's settings, in both hosts.