How to Write Subtitles with Sora

Subtitles are essential to make your videos accessible and engaging. With Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool, you can create videos with relevant and synchronized subtitles. Whether you want to produce content for social media, tutorials, or professional presentations, mastering subtitle writing with Sora will allow you to optimize the impact of your creations. This tutorial guides you step by step to write clear, concise subtitles perfectly adapted to your AI-generated videos. You will learn how to formulate your prompts to integrate readable text, structure your subtitles for maximum comprehension, and avoid common mistakes that detract from the quality of your video productions.

Prerequisites

1.Have an OpenAI account with access to Sora
2.Have a script or a clear idea of the video content to produce
3.Know the basics of writing prompts for generative AI

Steps

Prepare Your Video Script

Before generating your video with Sora, write a complete script detailing each scene. Identify key moments where subtitles will be needed: dialogues, narrations, contextual information, or calls to action. Break your text into short segments of 5 to 10 words maximum per subtitle line to ensure smooth reading on screen.

Generate a 15-second video showing a person presenting a product to the camera. The following text must appear as white subtitles on a semi-transparent background at the bottom of the screen: 'Discover our new solution' then 'Simple, fast, and effective'.

Tip: Limit each subtitle line to a maximum of 42 characters for optimal readability on mobile.

Formulate a Precise Prompt for Subtitle Integration

In Sora, the quality of subtitles directly depends on the precision of your prompt. Explicitly specify the text to display, its position on screen, color, size, and the exact timing of appearance. The more detailed your description, the closer the result will be to your expectations. Also indicate the desired typographic style and contrast with the background.

Create a 10-second video of an urban landscape at sunset. Display the subtitle 'The city never sleeps' in white sans-serif font with a drop shadow, centered at the bottom of the image, appearing at second 3 and disappearing at second 8.

Tip: Always specify the contrast between the text and the background to prevent subtitles from being unreadable on certain scenes.

Synchronize Subtitles with Visual Content

Synchronization is crucial for your subtitles to naturally accompany the on-screen action. Indicate in your prompt the exact appearance and disappearance times for each text segment. Associate each subtitle with a specific visual action to create coherence between image and text. Allow sufficient reading time, about 150 to 180 words per minute.

Generate a 20-second video showing three steps of coffee preparation. Subtitle 1 (seconds 1-6): 'Step 1: Grind the beans'. Subtitle 2 (seconds 7-13): 'Step 2: Pour hot water'. Subtitle 3 (seconds 14-20): 'Step 3: Savor the result'.

Tip: Leave at least 1.5 seconds of display per subtitle, even for very short texts.

Adapt the Tone and Style of Subtitles to Your Audience

The writing style of your subtitles should match your target audience and the distribution context. For professional content, favor a formal tone and complete sentences. For social media, opt for a direct and impactful style with action verbs. Also consider accessibility by including sound descriptions in brackets for the hearing impaired.

Create a 15-second promotional video for a fitness app. Use dynamic and motivating subtitles: '[Energetic music]' at second 0, 'Transform your routine' at second 3, 'In just 10 minutes a day' at second 7, 'Download now' at second 11. Style: bold, uppercase, bright yellow color.

Tip: Use emojis sparingly in your subtitles for social media, but avoid them for corporate content.

Review and Iterate on the Generated Result

Once the video is generated by Sora, carefully examine the rendering of the subtitles. Check readability on different screen sizes, synchronization with audio and visual transitions, and the absence of spelling errors. If the result is not satisfactory, adjust your prompt by rephrasing problematic passages. Do not hesitate to generate multiple versions to compare and select the best one.

Regenerate the previous video by adjusting the subtitles: increase the font size by 20%, add a semi-transparent black background behind the text, and shift the appearance of the first subtitle by 1 second to allow the scene to settle.

Tip: Always test the rendering of your subtitles on mobile, as it is the most common viewing format for short videos.

Common mistakes to avoid

✗Writing subtitles that are too long, overflowing the screen or impossible to read within the allotted time
✗Not specifying the position and style of the text in the prompt, leaving Sora to decide with unpredictable results
✗Forgetting to check the contrast between subtitles and the video background, making text unreadable on light scenes

FAQ

Can Sora automatically generate subtitles from audio?

Sora is primarily a text-to-video generation tool. For automatic audio transcription into subtitles, it is best to use a complementary tool like OpenAI's Whisper, then integrate the resulting subtitles into your Sora prompt for visual generation.

What is the maximum recommended length for a subtitle?

It is recommended not to exceed 42 characters per line and a maximum of 2 lines per subtitle. This ensures comfortable reading on all devices, including smartphones. For a 60-second video, plan between 8 and 15 subtitle segments.

How do I add multilingual subtitles with Sora?

You can generate multiple versions of your video by modifying the subtitles in your prompt for each target language. First write your subtitles in the main language, then translate them while adapting the length to the display format. Remember to adjust the reading time as some languages require more space than others.

How to use this prompt

Copy the prompt with the button above.
Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or your favorite AI assistant.
Replace the bracketed variables with your details, then refine the result.

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