How to Add Subtitles in iMovie: A Complete Guide

Subtitles are great. Just ask legendary director Bong Joon Ho, who famously marked his Oscar Award acceptance speed by telling English audiences to open themselves to subtitled films.

In the years since, subtitles have only grown more important. They’re crucial for enhancing video content. 

There are three main ways subtitles boost content:

• Accessibility: ensure everyone can enjoy your content, including people with hearing difficulties.

• Engagement: they keep viewers engaged, even when they can’t listen to audio.

• SEO: improve video discoverability by making content more searchable.

In iMovie, adding subtitles to your video content is a simple matter of typing. Or copy-pasting, if you already have a transcription of your audio. 

Your best friend is the Titles menu, which should be located at the top of your screen. Click on that and then select your desired option. 

If adding each subtitle manually sounds like a bit of pain, that’s because it is. The longer or more complex your video, the more time-consuming this subtitling process will be.

Additionally, iMovie doesn’t have more complex subtitle editing features, only basic formatting and timing adjustments.

Over the last few years, various AI tools have been released to automate this subtitling process. These often require some kind of payment, so if you’re on a strict budget they might not be viable.

However, the time you save could make up for the cost. And most AI tools have some kind of free trial, so you can give them a go and see whether they’re worth the price.

iMovie does not have a tool to automatically generate subtitles. Instead, you have to manually add them, either with iMovie’s own text tool or via a third-party transcription tool.

When you manually add subtitles in iMovie using the “Titles” tool, the text is permanently overlaid on your video. In other words, anyone viewing your exported video will be forced to have the subtitles present, even if they’d rather not have them.

That style of subtitles is called “open captions.” It contrasts with “closed captions.”

• Open captions: these are always visible on the screen and cannot be turned off. They are "burned" into the video itself.

• Closed captions: these can be turned on or off by the viewer, making them more flexible for various platforms.

There are plenty of AI-powered subtitle tools. They’re often called transcription tools, too.

• Descript

• Rev

• Otter.ai

• Veed

• Headliner

• Kapwing

• SubtitleBee

• Flixier

The process of adding subtitles in iMovie might be time-consuming, but it’s certainly straightforward. The only tool you need to master is the text tool, also called the “Titles” tool.

One of the best things about iMovie is that it’s available on mobile devices as well as computers. 

In fact, the iMovie app is widely considered one of the best for editing. It offers the same options to add subtitles and captions as the desktop app. That is, manual entry.

To adjust the duration of a subtitle, click on the text box in the timeline. You’ll notice handles at both ends of the text box. 

To change how long the subtitle stays on screen, click and drag these handles. If you’re using the mobile app, tap and drag. 

For more precise timing, move the entire title box left or right in the timeline to match the exact moment when the dialogue or action occurs.

To modify the placement of the subtitles on the screen, click on the title text in the preview window. You can drag the text box to position it wherever you prefer. 

Usually, subtitles or captions are kept at the bottom of the screen. But if placing subtitles at the bottom would ruin your video, put them somewhere else!

To change the font style or size when creating subtitles, double-click the subtitle text in the preview window. A text editor will appear, allowing you to choose from various font options.

Select a font that’s easy to read and complements your video’s style. You can also change the font color by clicking on the color swatch in the text editor. This is especially useful if you need the text to stand out from the background. 

For visibility, white or yellow text with a black outline or background works well.

If you'd like to bold or italicize your text, these options are available in the text editor. 

Additionally, consider adjusting the text size to ensure it’s large enough to be legible without overpowering the video content.

As you can probably guess, iMovie’s manual subtitle entry has its limitations. We’ve discussed a few of them, like the relative lack of advanced formatting options.

However, another major limitation to iMovie is the fact it doesn’t support SRT files. But why is this such an issue?

SRT files are a popular subtitle format that contains time codes and corresponding text. They allow subtitles to be synchronized automatically with the video. Just imagine how much time this saves!

Unfortunately, iMovie does not have a built-in feature for importing subtitle files like SRT. That means you’ll have to add subtitles manually.

If you have a video with an SRT subtitle file and want to use it in iMovie, you’ll need to use a workaround:

1. Convert the SRT file. Convert the SRT file into a format compatible with iMovie, such as a text file. There are plenty of online tools that can do this, many for free.

2. Add subtitles manually. After converting the SRT file, open iMovie and add subtitles using the Titles tool, as discussed above. 

Sometimes, even after adding subtitles manually, you may face issues with their appearance or timing. 

Here are some common subtitle problems and fixes to help you troubleshoot:

Ensuring your movie is accessible means more people can enjoy it. And the bigger the audience, the better! 

Individuals with hearing impairments, for example, often require subtitles to interpret the audio of a movie.

Two popular sets of regulations or standards for ensuring accessibility are the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. We’ll cover what they recommend below.

• For clarity, use sans-serif fonts like Arial or Helvetica. These are generally easier to read on screens. 

• Avoid decorative fonts that may be difficult to read. Of course, you can make an exception if a specific font is just perfect for the aesthetic of your film.

• Make sure the font size is large enough to be easily legible, even on smaller devices like smartphones. A font size of around 24-30px is typically a good starting point, but adjust depending on your video’s resolution.

• Ensure your subtitle text has a high contrast against the background for readability. 
  
  White or yellow text with a black outline is a common choice. Alternatively, try white text with a semi-transparent black background. 
• If your video has a bright or light background, opt for a darker font color like yellow or black to maintain visibility.

• Position your captions towards the bottom of the screen. This is generally where viewers expect them to appear without obstructing important visual content. 

• Ensure there’s enough margin between the text and the edges of the screen to prevent text from being cut off on smaller devices.

• Remember, the key is to ensure your subtitles don’t obstruct or distract from the visuals. If you need to move them somewhere else on the screen to achieve this, do so.

To comply with ADA and WCAG, your captions should be:

• Synchronized with the audio

• Legible with clear contrast

• Available for all spoken words, including non-speech elements like sound effects

By following these practices, your video will be more inclusive and accessible, reaching a broader audience while complying with accessibility standards. This isn’t just about following rules. It’s about giving as many people the chance to properly enjoy your video content.

As we’ve discussed, manually adding subtitles in iMovie is a time-consuming process. For better or worse, movies are usually created with a deadline. Some deadlines are more flexible than others, but your time is limited.

There are plenty of AI tools out there that can help save you time when adding subtitles to your video content. Let’s discuss a few. 

Descript is an AI-powered tool that automates the subtitle generation process by transcribing your audio or video files. 

After uploading your video, Descript automatically generates subtitles, which you can then edit and refine. 

Once finished, you can export the captions as an SRT file or manually add them to iMovie.

Verbit offers high-accuracy captioning services. It combines AI with human editors to ensure accuracy and compliance with accessibility standards. That makes it a great choice for businesses.

After generating captions, you can download them in various file formats like SRT.

Notta is another AI-based tool that provides simple, fast speech-to-text features for easy transcription. With Notta, you can automatically generate subtitles from your video and audio files. 

It’s particularly useful for content creators who need to quickly add captions without complex features. 

When it comes to adding subtitles in iMovie, you’ll have to do some manual work. But just how much manual work is up to you. 

If you prefer to stay in a single app, add each subtitle with the Titles tool. Alternatively, use an AI tool to automate some of the process.