Amara is a free online caption and subtitle editor for public YouTube and Vimeo videos.

Before captioning long videos in Amara, it is recommended that you first practice with a short video (<1 minute).

The following guide walks you through captioning in Amara. There are two parts: Part 1 will need to be completed for every video you caption in Amara. Depending on your results from Part 1, you will navigate to the corresponding Part 2.

Contents
Part 1: Add Video to Amara Public Workspace
  1. Sign in to your Amara account.
  2. From the Amara homepage, click Public Workspace in the top menu.
    The Amara homepage. An arrow points to the Public Workspace option in the top menu.
  3. On the Public Workspace page, click the Add videos button.
    The Amara Public Workspace page. An arrow points to the Add videos button in the center of the page.
  4. In the pop-up:
    The Add Video to Amara Public menu with three areas numbered from top to bottom. Area 1 is the Video URL box, Area 2 is the Language spoken in the video dropdown box, and Area 3 is the Add to Amara Public button.
    1. Paste the URL of the YouTube or Vimeo video you would like to caption.
    2. Choose the language of the video.
    3. Click the Add to Amara Public button.
  5. You will be taken to a new page for your video. This page contains all the original information from the video source and a list of caption files that have been created for the video. 
    • If the video is new to Amara, the right column will be empty. You will need to create new captions for the video.
      The video page in Amara. This page contains the video player, the title and information pulled from YouTube, and a column of subtitles to the right. The column is empty in this example.
    • For videos that were previously added to Amara, a list of the created caption files will appear on the right side under the Add/Edit subtitles button. Skip to Edit Existing Captions in Amara for next steps.
      The Amara video page for a video that has already been captioned. A subtitle file for English subtitles/captions is in the column on the right side of the page.
Part 2a: Create New Captions in Amara
  1. On the video's page in the Public Workspace, click the Add/Edit subtitles button.
    The Amara video page for a video without existing subtitles in Amara. An arrow points to the Add/Edit subtitles button in the right column.
  2. In the Add new subtitles pop-up, choose the language in which you will be captioning. Then click Add.
    A pop-up that appears in Amara to Add/Edit subtitles. An arrow points to a drop-down menu in the lower right corner that prompts the user to choose a language for the new subtitle track.
  3. You are now in the Amara Caption Editor, which has four main areas:
    The Amara Caption Editor page. Several areas are labeled. Area 1 in the top left corner is the Subtitling Steps area. Area 2 is the video player in the center top of the screen. Area 3 is the caption editor, which is below the video player in the center of the screen. Area 4 contains keyboard shortcut information and a notes section.
    1. Subtitling Steps.
      • You will complete these steps sequentially and navigate to the next step in this area.
    2. Video player.
      • You can play/pause the video here or by using the keyboard shortcuts from Area 4.
    3. Caption editor.
      • This is where you will be typing and editing captions.
    4. Keyboard shortcuts and Notes.
  4. Begin captioning in the caption editor area. This is Step 1 of the subtitling steps workflow in Amara. For this step, you are transcribing one caption cell at a time:
    • To add a new caption cell, either press the Enter key or click the Add a new subtitle text at the bottom of the caption editor column.
    • Fine-tuning controls you may find useful:
      • Subtitle Tools and Timing Tools in the upper right of the editor area.
      • Hover your cursor over a caption cell in the editor to reveal a wrench icon for more options.
        A caption cell in the caption editor section of Amara. An arrow points to a small wrench icon that appears on hover.
    • Be sure to follow our transcription guidelines and caption editing guidelines.
    • If there are issues (e.g., too many characters in a line), an orange exclamation mark will appear in the caption cell with an explanation of the issue(s).
  5. Once you are satisfied with the text of your captions, click the Start syncing button in the Subtitling steps area. This will move you into the next step of the subtitling steps workflow.
    The subtitling steps area of the Amara Caption Editor. An arrow points to the Start syncing button next to step one.
    • A timeline will appear between the video player and the caption editor. This will display captions as you sync them. Grayed-out captions to the far right of the timeline indicate the next caption to be synced.
      The Amara caption editor page during the syncing process. A timeline has appeared between the video area and the caption editing area.
    • To match the captions with the video:
      • Play the video.
      • Press the down arrow key when a caption starts.
      • Press the up arrow key when a caption ends.
    • This is the trickiest part. Don’t worry too much about making it perfect the first time. If you mess up one caption, keep going. You will have an opportunity to correct everything in the next step.
  6. Once you have finished the first pass at syncing your captions, navigate to the Subtitling steps area again and click the Start review button. This will move you into the final step of the subtitling steps workflow.
    The subtitling steps area of the Amara Caption Editor. An arrow points to the Start review button next to step two.
    • During the review step, you can make edits to caption text and fine tune the caption timings by dragging the ends of the captions on the timeline to make sure they align with the audio.
  7. Once you are satisfied with your captions, navigate to the Subtitling steps area and press the Publish button.
    The subtitling steps area of the Amara Caption Editor. An arrow points to the Publish button next to step three.
  8. You will be taken back to the video’s page in the Public Workspace. The captions that you just created have populated in the right column. To download the caption file, click the download button.
    The video page in Amara. The Subtitles column on the right of the page has an English subtitle track. An arrow points to the download button next to the Subtitles heading.
  9. In the pop-up, select the format of the caption file. The most common formats are SRT & VTT. Then click Download.
    The download subtitles pop-up in Amara. There are two dropdown menus: one for the language and another for the caption file format. An arrow points to the download button.
Part 2b: Edit Existing Captions in Amara
  1. If a video already exists in Amara with captions, first review the existing captions from other users by watching the video with the Amara captions on.
  2. Then, choose one of the following options:
    • Download the caption file as is (step 3 below).
    • Edit the captions (steps 4-8 below).
  3. To download the caption file as is, return to the video’s page in the Public Workspace and follow steps 8 & 9 above. This will download the latest revision of the existing captions.
  4. To edit the existing captions:
    1. From the video’s page in the Public Workspace, navigate to the Subtitles column on the right.
    2. Click on the language of the captions you would like to edit. The video page in Amara. The Subtitles column on the right is populated with an English captioning track. An arrow points to the hyperlinked language name in that column.
    3. On the next page, click the Edit Subtitles button. A page detailing the captions available for the chosen language, English. An arrow points to the Edit Subtitles button in the upper right of the English subtitles column.
  5. You are now in the Amara Caption Editor for that video. There are five main areas: The Amara Caption Editor page. Several areas are labeled. Area 1 in the top left corner is the Subtitling Steps area. Area 2 is the video player in the center top of the screen. Area 3 is in the lower left corner and displays the existing captions. Area 4 is the caption editor, which is below the video player in the center of the screen. Area 5 is on the right side of the screen and contains keyboard shortcut information and a notes section.
    1. Subtitling Steps.
      • You will complete these steps sequentially and navigate to the next step in this area.
    2. Video player.
      • You can play/pause the video here or by using the keyboard shortcuts from Area 4.
    3. Existing Captions.
      • This area shows you the existing captions. You cannot make changes in this area. It is only for your reference.
    4. Caption editor.
      • This is where you will be typing and editing captions.
    5. Keyboard shortcuts and Notes.
  6. Make your edits. There are no sequential steps to follow when editing in this way. You can add new captions and set timings as needed.
    • To insert a caption between two existing captions:
      1. In the Editing area, hover your cursor over the caption cell that comes before or after the new caption. This will reveal a wrench icon for more options. A caption cell in the caption editor section of Amara. An arrow points to a small wrench icon that appears on hover.
      2. Choose either Insert subtitle above or Insert subtitle below.
  7. Once you are finished making edits, click the Publish button in the Subtitling steps area. The subtitling steps area of the Amara Caption Editor. An arrow points to the Publish button next to step three.
  8. To download your revised captions, return to the video’s page in the Public Workspace and follow steps 8 & 9 above.

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