Stacked Captions C05
0.0s
Previews are illustrative demonstrations of the technique — not your footage. Your real edit is produced later by Claude Code.
C05 · Captions · intermediate · 5–120s
Each phrase is set as a tight stack of two or three short lines that rise into view one after another, the key line set larger.
Phrases are broken into two or three balanced short lines and stacked like a magazine pull-quote. Lines enter in a controlled stagger, each sliding up from behind its own mask, and the most important line can be set larger in the accent colour. The block reads in one glance and gives captions a designed, typographic presence suited to statement-led content.
Try the parameters
Set the key line larger and in the accent colour.
Distance from the platform UI edge, as % of frame height.
Best used for
- — Opinion and commentary
- — Motivational content
- — Brand storytelling
- — Statement-led reels
Assets
- ● Source video required
- ○ Transcript with timing optional
- ○ Brand fonts optional
Pairs well with
If assets are missing
If word timing is missing, phrase-level SRT timing is enough for this style — animate each stack on the cue start. Without any transcript, transcribe locally first rather than writing condensed copy.
Accessibility
Stacks hold more text than single-word styles: keep each stack on screen at ≥ 3 words per second of reading time. Keep the stagger short so the full phrase is readable within 0.5s of its start.
Individual prompt
updates with the parameters above# CES style instruction — C05 Stacked Captions You are an experienced motion designer and video editor working in Claude Code. Apply the **C05 Stacked Captions** technique to the supplied footage as specified below. **B. Project configuration:** 1080×1920, 9:16, 30 fps · Source video: not provided — ask the user for the path before starting · Video language (on-screen text & captions): English **Captions** — Phrases are broken into two or three balanced short lines and stacked like a magazine pull-quote. Lines enter in a controlled stagger, each sliding up from behind its own mask, and the most important line can be set larger in the accent colour. The block reads in one glance and gives captions a designed, typographic presence suited to statement-led content. ### C05 Stacked Captions - **When:** Applies to the whole video - **Layer / track:** Captions layer (topmost text) - **What it does:** Each phrase is set as a tight stack of two or three short lines that rise into view one after another, the key line set larger. - **Parameters:** Lines per stack: 3 lines; Line stagger: 0.12 s; Alignment: Left; Size contrast: on; Characters per line: 14; Accent colour: #D7FF5F; Caption typeface: Bold sans (Space Grotesk / Inter Black); Safe-zone offset: 20% - **Steps:** 1. Add a stacked caption layer across every spoken section of the video on the top track (1080×1920 @ 30fps). 2. Timing source: use the supplied transcript's word-level (grouped into phrases) timestamps for the English dialogue. If it only has line/sentence timing, or no transcript was supplied, transcribe the source audio locally with Whisper word timestamps (e.g. `whisper source.mp4 --word_timestamps True --output_format json`, or WhisperX for tighter forced alignment) and save the result as captions.json. Caption text is the speaker's words verbatim — never paraphrase, "correct", summarise or invent wording; list any low-confidence words for the user to confirm. 3. Build stacks of 3 lines with at most 14 characters per line, balancing line lengths (no orphan single words, no line under 40% of the longest). A stack covers one phrase; start a new stack at punctuation or a pause ≥ 300ms. 4. Entrance: each line sits in its own mask and slides up from 100% of its line height to rest over 11 frames using a fast expo-out curve (cubic-bezier(0.16, 1, 0.3, 1)); line n starts 4 frames after line n−1, and the first line starts on the phrase's first word. Exit the whole stack upward through the same masks in 6 frames as the next stack begins. 5. Hierarchy: set the line containing the phrase's key word (as spoken) at 1.35× size in #D7FF5F; other lines in #F4F2EB at cap height ≈ 7% of frame width. 6. Typeset in Space Grotesk at Black/ExtraBold weight (fallback: Inter Black), line-height 0.95, left-aligned to an 8% margin, with a soft shadow for contrast. 7. Placement: anchor the stack's bottom edge 20% of frame height (384px at 1080×1920) above the bottom of the frame, horizontally centered with ≥ 8% side margins, so it stays clear of the TikTok / Reels / Shorts interface (description text and action buttons occupy roughly the bottom 20% and the right-hand 12% of the frame). Never cover the speaker's eyes or mouth; if the face sits unusually low in a shot, lift the block above it for that shot only. 8. Implement as a Remotion <StackedCaptions /> component reading captions.json; precompute stacks and line splits once, then drive each line's translateY with interpolate() on its staggered local frame. - **Assets:** Source video (⚠ MISSING) · optional: Transcript with timing, Brand fonts - **Fallback:** If word timing is missing, phrase-level SRT timing is enough for this style — animate each stack on the cue start. Without any transcript, transcribe locally first rather than writing condensed copy. **G. Asset integrity and restrictions:** - Do not create or present invented testimonials, comments, quotes, reviews or endorsements. - Do not fabricate numbers, metrics, charts or results. Data visualisations use only the supplied data. - Do not create fake screenshots or UI and present them as real. Illustrative graphics must be clearly illustrative. - Do not attempt unsupported 3D reconstructions or perfect subject separation without a mask; use the documented 2D fallbacks instead. **I. Quality verification:** - Check output dimensions and aspect ratio with ffprobe — they must match the configuration exactly. - Check the output frame rate and that the duration is within ±0.5 s of the target. - Check audio/video synchronisation at the start, middle and end (lip-sync and SFX hits within 1 frame). - Inspect frames at every beat boundary for text clipping, overflow and safe-zone violations. - Confirm the output file exists and plays — never claim a render is complete without an actual output file. - Report any missing asset or unimplemented effect explicitly.
More captions styles
Choose one primary caption style per video. It usually runs across all spoken sections as a global layer.
- C01Karaoke FollowShort caption pages sit over the speaker and each word fills with the accent colour at the exact moment it is spoken.
- C02Pop Word CaptionsOne to three words at a time pop onto the speaker's chest with a small scale overshoot and a short upward drift, then hand off to the next.
- C03Typewriter SubtitlesEach subtitle types itself on character by character with a blinking caret, paced so the phrase completes as the speaker finishes it.
- C04Highlight SweepFull caption lines stay steady while an accent-coloured block sweeps in behind one key word per line exactly as it is spoken.
- C06Editorial Lower ThirdsCalm sentence-case subtitles sit low-left in a refined typeface under a thin accent rule, crossfading softly between sentences.
- C07Explosive KeywordsA regular caption line runs until a key word bursts out of it, filling the frame at several times its size for a beat before snapping back.
- C08Subtitle CapsulesEach short phrase appears inside a rounded label capsule that stretches, pops or slides to fit the next phrase as the speaker talks.
- C09Monospace Terminal CaptionsDialogue prints word by word in a monospace terminal block with a prompt and blinking cursor, older lines scrolling up and dimming.
- C10Bilingual Caption FlowA bold primary caption in the spoken language is paired with a smaller, differently coloured translation line, both kept inside the safe zone.