Text & Captions
Add professional titles, captions, and animated text overlays to your videos.
Animation System
Text animations in Cameo follow a three-phase system: Entry, Emphasis, and Exit. This gives you precise control over how text appears, behaves, and disappears.
Entry
How text appears on screen. Plays once at the start.
Emphasis
Looping animation while text is visible. Draws attention.
Exit
How text leaves the screen. Plays once at the end.
Entry Animations
Choose how your text appears on screen.
Fade In
Simple opacity fade
Slide Up
Rise from below
Slide Down
Drop from above
Slide Left
Enter from right
Slide Right
Enter from left
Scale Up
Grow from small
Typewriter
Letter by letter typing
Word by Word
Each word appears
Bounce
Bouncy entrance
Elastic
Spring effect
Blur
Blur to sharp
Wave
Wave motion
Emphasis Animations
These loop continuously while the text is visible, adding subtle motion.
Pulse
Gentle size pulsing
Shake
Side to side shake
Float
Up and down floating
Neon Flicker
Neon sign effect
Wobble
Rotation wobble
Breathe
Slow, calm pulsing
Jitter
Subtle trembling
Wave
Flowing wave motion
Spin
360° rotation
Tip:Use "Breathe" for subtle attention without distraction. Use "Pulse" or "Neon Flicker" for more energetic content.
Exit Animations
Choose how your text leaves the screen.
Fade Out
Simple opacity fade
Slide Up
Exit upward
Slide Down
Exit downward
Scale Down
Shrink to nothing
Dissolve
Dissolve effect
Blur
Sharp to blur
Text Styling
Basic Styling
Background
Effects
Transform Animation
Independent from Entry/Emphasis/Exit, transform animations smoothly change text properties over the entire duration.
What You Can Animate
Position
Move text from point A to B
Font Size
Grow or shrink over time
Opacity
Fade in or out gradually
Rotation
Rotate during playback
Auto-Captions (Whisper AI)
Automatically generate captions from your video's audio using OpenAI's Whisper speech recognition. Perfect for accessibility and social media engagement.
Generate Captions
Click "Generate Captions" in the Text panel. Cameo will analyze your audio using Whisper AI.
Choose Caption Style
Select from pre-designed caption presets with different fonts, colors, and animations.
Review & Edit
Captions appear on the timeline. Edit text, adjust timing, or change styles as needed.
Caption Presets
Multiple pre-designed styles optimized for readability and visual appeal.
Apply to All
Change one caption's style and apply it to all captions with one click.
Caption Guidelines
Visual guides help you position captions consistently across your video.
SRT Import
Import existing subtitle files (.srt) if you have pre-made captions.
Whisper Hallucination Warning
Whisper AI may occasionally "hallucinate" - generating text that wasn't actually spoken. This can happen with:
- Background music or sound effects
- Silent sections in the video
- Unclear or mumbled speech
- Non-speech audio (typing, clicking, etc.)
Always review generated captions before exporting to ensure accuracy.
Adding Text Manually
Add Text Overlay
Click the + button on the Text track in the timeline.
Enter Your Text
Type your text content in the properties panel.
Position the Text
Drag the text in the preview window to place it. Coordinates are normalized (0-1).
Choose Style & Animation
Select font, colors, and Entry/Emphasis/Exit animations from the Animation panel.
Adjust Timing
Drag the text clip edges on the timeline to set when it appears and how long it stays.
Animation Easing
Easing controls the acceleration of animations, making them feel more natural.
Linear
Constant speed
Ease In
Start slow, end fast
Ease Out
Start fast, end slow (recommended)
Ease In Out
Slow at both ends
Ease Out Back
Overshoot effect
Elastic Out
Springy elastic
Bounce Out
Bouncing effect
Design Tips
Match Entry & Exit
Use complementary animations (e.g., Slide Up entry with Slide Up exit) for visual consistency.
Use Subtle Emphasis
"Breathe" or low-intensity "Float" keeps text alive without being distracting.
Background for Readability
Add a semi-transparent background when text appears over busy video content.
Typewriter for Tutorials
The typewriter entry animation works great for step-by-step instructions and code snippets.
Spotlight Effects
Draw attention to specific areas of your video with spotlight effects. Perfect for highlighting UI elements, important details, or creating focus during tutorials.
Spotlight Shapes
Choose from three shape options to match your content style.
Rectangle
Classic rectangular spotlight with rounded corners
Circle
Perfect circular spotlight for buttons and icons
Ellipse
Oval shape for wider UI elements
Spotlight Modes
Control where the effect is applied for different visual styles.
Darkens everything outside the spotlight area, creating a classic spotlight effect that highlights the target.
Applies the effect inside the spotlight area, creating a vignette or dim background for text overlays.
Effect Types
Vignette
Darken with adjustable edge softness
Blur
Gaussian blur effect with feathering
Frosted Glass
Blur with white tint overlay
💡 Combine with Annotations
Add text overlays on top of spotlight effects to create professional-looking callouts and explanations. The text stays perfectly positioned even when using video layer zoom.
🎬 Preview Matches Export
Spotlight effects render identically in preview and final export, ensuring what you see is exactly what you get.