# Captions

A timeline's captions download as **SRT** (`.srt`) or **WebVTT** (`.vtt`), the two files YouTube, most players and every editor read. Find them under **Captions** in the timeline's export form, in Edit.

## Where the words come from

Captions follow the timeline as it plays, story beat by story beat:

- **What each take says**, where its media file is transcribed: the take's own words, trimmed to its in and out points and placed where its slot plays. Where several takes play sound at once, the one on the first track speaks.
- **Otherwise, the story panel's words:** a story beat no transcribed take speaks over is captioned with the text of its story panel on a track that carries sound.

So captions work before you film, from your script, and get truer as you transcribe your takes.

## Transcribe your takes

The Captions section says how many of the timeline's takes are transcribed, with a **Transcribe** button for each media file that isn't. Transcribing runs on your computer, in your browser: your footage isn't uploaded. It needs the media file on this device, and takes a while for a long file.

## Use them

- **YouTube:** in YouTube Studio, open the video's **Subtitles** and upload the SRT file.
- **Your editor:** import the SRT or WebVTT file as a captions track.
- **The web:** a WebVTT file plays with an HTML `<video>` element's `<track>`.

Captions are timed to the timeline, so they line up with a video exported from it as it is. Re-download them after you change the edit in your editor.