Add captions by selecting text, choosing a style, and positioning it on your timeline

iMovie's caption tool lets you add text directly over your video without needing a separate program. You type the words, pick when they appear and disappear, and choose from built-in styles that match your project. The captions stay locked to your video, so if you move a clip, the caption moves with it.

The process takes about two minutes per caption once you know where the button is. iMovie calls captions "titles" in the interface, which confuses some people at first — they work the same way whether you're labeling a speaker, translating dialogue, or adding context between scenes.

Key Takeaways

  • Open the Titles browser from the toolbar, drag a title style into your timeline at the exact frame where you want text to appear, then double-click to type your words.
  • Adjust how long the caption stays on screen by dragging the edges of the title clip in the timeline — shorter clips mean faster text, longer clips give viewers more time to read.
  • Change the text color, font, and shadow by selecting the title and using the inspector panel on the right side of the screen.
  • Preview your captions by pressing the spacebar to play — if text appears too fast or too slow, lengthen or shorten the title clip in the timeline.

Find and insert the titles browser

Open your iMovie project and look at the toolbar above your timeline. You'll see buttons for Photos, Audio, and Titles — click the Titles button (it looks like the letter "T"). A panel slides open on the left showing different caption styles: Basic, Elegant, Fun, Neon, and others.

Each style is just a visual template. Basic is plain white text on a transparent background. Elegant adds a subtle shadow. Fun uses rounded letters and bright colors. Pick whichever matches the mood of your video — you can change colors and fonts later, so the style choice is not permanent.

Scroll through the styles to see all options. iMovie comes with about 20 built-in styles, and you cannot add custom ones unless you buy additional packs from the Mac App Store.

Drag a title into your timeline at the right moment

Click and hold on the style you want, then drag it down into your timeline. Drop it directly onto the clip where you want the caption to start. iMovie will place the title at that exact spot, and a text box will appear on your video preview asking you to type.

If you drop the title between two clips instead of on top of one, iMovie creates a separate title clip that sits by itself — this is useful for chapter breaks or scene transitions, but not for captions that should sit over footage. Drag it onto the actual video clip if you want the caption to move with that clip.

The title will appear for about three seconds by default. You'll adjust this length in the next step.

Type your caption and set how long it stays visible

A text box appears on your video as soon as you drop the title. Type your caption — keep it short enough to read in one glance, usually one or two lines. Press Enter when you're done typing, then click elsewhere to close the text box.

Now look at the timeline. Your title appears as a separate clip with a colored bar. The length of that bar controls how long the caption stays on screen. If the text disappears too fast, click and drag the right edge of the title clip to the right — this makes it longer. Drag it left to make the caption disappear sooner.

A good rule: the caption should stay visible long enough for someone reading at a normal pace to finish. Three to five seconds works for most short captions. Test by pressing the spacebar to play and watch how long you naturally read the text.

Change the text color, font, and appearance

Click the title clip in your timeline to select it. On the right side of the screen, the inspector panel appears showing options for that title. You'll see buttons to change the font, text color, background color, and shadow effect.

Click the text color button (usually showing a colored square) to open a color picker. Choose any color from the wheel. If your video has a bright background, pick a dark text color so the words stand out. If the background is dark, use light text.

The font dropdown lets you switch from the style's default typeface to something else — Arial, Helvetica, and Georgia are always available. Some styles offer more font choices than others. The shadow slider adds a dark outline behind the text, which makes it readable even if the video behind it is busy or colorful.

Position and resize captions on your screen

Click the title in your video preview (not in the timeline) to select it for moving. A box with handles appears around the text. Drag the text anywhere on the screen — left, right, top, bottom, or center. Drag the corner handles to make the text box bigger or smaller.

Most captions sit at the bottom of the screen so they don't block the action, but you can place them anywhere. If you're labeling a person's face, you might put the caption near their head. If you're translating dialogue, center it at the bottom.

The text will automatically wrap to fit inside the box you create. If the box is too narrow, the words stack into many lines. Make it wider to fit more words on each line.

Copy a caption style to use it again

If you've customized a caption with a specific color, font, and size, you can copy those settings to your next caption instead of starting over. Right-click the title clip in your timeline and select "Copy Style" (or "Copy" on some versions). Then drag a new title into your timeline, right-click it, and select "Paste Style".

This saves time when you're adding many captions to the same video and want them all to look the same. You only have to set up the colors and fonts once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add captions to multiple clips at once?

No, you add one caption at a time. Each title is a separate clip in your timeline. If you want the same caption on multiple clips, add it once, copy its style, then paste that style onto new titles you add to the other clips.

What if my caption text is too small to read?

Drag the corner handles of the text box to make it bigger. You can also select the title in the timeline and look for a font size slider in the inspector panel on the right — drag it to the right to enlarge the text.

How do I make a caption fade in or out instead of appearing suddenly?

Select the title in your timeline, then look for the transition options in the inspector. Click the transition button and choose a fade effect. This makes the text gradually appear at the start and disappear at the end.

Can I export my video with captions burned in?

Yes. When you export your finished video, the captions are part of the file — they're not separate. Go to File, then Export, choose your format, and iMovie includes the captions in the final video.

What's the difference between titles and captions in iMovie?

iMovie uses the word "titles" for all text overlays, whether they're chapter headings, speaker labels, or dialogue translation. There's no separate "captions" tool. The Titles browser is where you find everything.