# Captions

> On-screen text of the spoken words — essential because most short-form is watched on mute.

*Editing*

*Also known as: subtitles, burned-in captions*

Canonical: https://novaclipper.com/glossary/captions

Captions are the synchronized on-screen text of a video's audio. The majority of short-form is watched without sound, so captions are not an accessibility afterthought — they are how most viewers consume the content at all, and animated styles add motion that holds attention.

Burned-in captions (rendered into the video) beat platform auto-captions because you control timing, styling, and emphasis. Highlighting the key word in each phrase, sized large and centered, reliably lifts retention.

## Related

- [Browse caption templates](https://novaclipper.com/templates)
- [Add captions automatically](https://novaclipper.com/blog/how-to-add-captions-to-videos-automatically)
- [Free Subtitle Downloader](https://novaclipper.com/tools/subtitle-downloader)

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Nova turns long-form video into vertical short-form clips with AI moment detection, face-aware 9:16 reframing, and word-by-word captions — and makes faceless videos from a script or a Reddit thread. Free tier: 30 minutes/month, no card. [Start free](https://novaclipper.com/signup) · [All use cases](https://novaclipper.com/for) · [Free tools](https://novaclipper.com/tools)