17.6. Creating Short Videos for Social Networks: Inclusion of Subtitles and Texts

In an increasingly digital world, creating content for social media has become an essential skill for designers. Especially when it comes to short videos, which are an extremely popular content format. In this chapter, we will focus on including subtitles and texts in videos, using Adobe Illustrator software.

Why include subtitles and text in videos?

Subtitles are not just an accessibility tool for people with hearing impairments. They are also useful for those who are watching a video in a noisy environment or cannot hear the audio for any reason. Additionally, subtitles can help reinforce the video's message and attract the viewer's attention.

Similarly, including text in videos can make them more engaging and informative. Text can be used to highlight important points, add context, or simply make the video more visually interesting.

How to include subtitles and text in videos using Adobe Illustrator?

With Adobe Illustrator, you can create custom captions and text for your videos. Here's a basic step-by-step guide:

1. Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new document. Set the document size to match the video size.
2. Select the text tool (represented by a "T" icon) from the toolbar.
3. Click where in the document you want to add text or captions.
4. Enter text or captions. You can adjust the size, font, color, and other text attributes using the options bar at the top of the screen.
5. Once you are satisfied with the text, you can export it as a PNG file with a transparent background. This will allow you to overlay text over the video.
6. Finally, use a video editor to add the text file to the video. You can adjust the position and timing of the text as needed.

Tips for creating effective captions and texts

Here are some tips to help you create effective captions and text for your videos:

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• Make sure the text is readable. This may mean choosing a light font, using a large enough font size, and contrasting the text color with the background color.
• Be concise. People often watch short videos on social media, so try to keep the text and captions short and to the point.
• Use the text to complement the video, not to repeat exactly what is being said. Text can be used to emphasize important points, add additional information, or provide context.

In short, adding captions and text to videos is an effective way to make content more accessible, engaging, and informative. With Adobe Illustrator, you can completely customize the text to fit your video and your brand. We hope this chapter has given you a good insight into how you can start using captions and text in your own videos.