Caption Asset

`CaptionAsset` vs `TextAsset`

Feature	TextAsset	CaptionAsset
Timeline Sync	No	Yes (word-level timestamps)
Data Source	Manual text input	Auto-generated from speech
Animation	Static only	reveal, karaoke, supersize, box_highlight
Format	Font/Border/Shadow objects	ASS (Advanced SubStation Alpha)

CaptionAsset uses ASS format for subtitle rendering, which enables time-synchronized animations and professional subtitle styling.

Timed Caption Assets

Create current caption assets from a base64-encoded SRT payload with the timings you want to render. The Track Layering guide shows how to build timed SRT from a spoken-words artifact.

import base64
from videodb.editor import CaptionAsset, Clip, Track

srt = """1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000
Hello from a timed caption asset.
"""
srt_src = base64.b64encode(srt.encode()).decode()

caption_clip = Clip(asset=CaptionAsset(src=srt_src), duration=2)
track = Track()
track.add_clip(0, caption_clip)

Auto-Caption Compatibility

CaptionAsset(src="auto") and its index_spoken_words() prerequisite below are a current compatibility path. They do not make an Understand artifact alone a source for src="auto".

Compatibility Usage

from videodb.editor import CaptionAsset, Clip, Track

video.index_spoken_words()

caption_clip = Clip(
    asset=CaptionAsset(src="auto"),
    duration=float(video.length)
)

track = Track()
track.add_clip(0, caption_clip)

import { CaptionAsset, Clip, Track } from 'videodb';

await video.indexSpokenWords();

const captionClip = new Clip({
    asset: new CaptionAsset({ src: "auto" }),
    duration: parseFloat(video.length)
});

const track = new Track();
track.addClip(0, captionClip);

Example:

The caption clip duration should match or exceed the video duration to ensure all words display.

The animation examples below continue the src="auto" compatibility path. Use the timed SRT source above for current caption assets.

Animation Types

CaptionAsset supports six animation modes that make your subtitles more dynamic:

Animation	Effect
reveal	Words appear one-by-one as they’re spoken
karaoke	Active word changes color (primary → secondary) while speaking
supersize	Active word scales up in size for emphasis
box_highlight	Active word is highlighted with a background box
impact	Only the active word appears on the screen
color_highlight	Active word highlights with a distinct color for emphasis

Code Example

from videodb.editor import CaptionAnimation

caption_asset = CaptionAsset(
    src="auto",
    animation=CaptionAnimation.karaoke,
    primary_color="&H00FFFFFF",    # White
    secondary_color="&H0000FFFF"   # Yellow highlight
)

import { CaptionAsset, CaptionAnimation } from 'videodb';

const captionAsset = new CaptionAsset({
    src: "auto",
    animation: CaptionAnimation.karaoke,
    primaryColor: "&H00FFFFFF",    // White
    secondaryColor: "&H0000FFFF"   // Yellow highlight
});

Example with CaptionAnimation.karaoke

ASS Color Format

ASS (Advanced SubStation Alpha) is a professional subtitle format that’s been used in video production for years. It uses BGR (Blue-Green-Red) byte order with an alpha channel - which is backwards from the RGB format you might be used to from web colors. This quirk exists for historical reasons in subtitle rendering systems.

Format Structure

&HAABBGGRR or &H00BBGGRR

AA = Alpha (00 = opaque, FF = transparent)
BB = Blue channel
GG = Green channel
RR = Red channel

HTML to ASS Conversion

To convert HTML colors to ASS format:

HTML #RRGGBB → Extract RGB bytes
Reverse to BGR order
Add prefix &H00 (opaque) or &HAA (with transparency)

Example: HTML #FF6600 (orange)

RGB: Red=FF, Green=66, Blue=00
BGR: 00-66-FF
ASS: &H000066FF

Common Colors

HTML	ASS	Color
`#FFFFFF`	`&H00FFFFFF`	White
`#000000`	`&H00000000`	Black
`#FF0000`	`&H000000FF`	Red
`#FFFF00`	`&H0000FFFF`	Yellow
`#00FF00`	`&H0000FF00`	Green

Styling Parameters

CaptionAsset styling is organized into three parameter groups: FontStyling, Positioning, and BorderAndShadow.

`FontStyling`

Controls how your subtitle text looks - the font face, size, and whether it’s bold or italic. Think of this as the basic typography settings for making your captions readable and on-brand.

from videodb.editor import FontStyling

FontStyling(
    size=36,          # Font size in points
    bold=True,        # Bold weight
    italic=False,     # Italic style
    name="Arial"      # Font family
)

import { FontStyling } from 'videodb';

new FontStyling({
    size: 36,          // Font size in points
    bold: true,        // Bold weight
    italic: false,     // Italic style
    name: "Arial"      // Font family
});

Parameter	Type	Description
size	int	Font size in points (not pixels)
bold	bool	Bold weight (True) or normal (False)
italic	bool	Italic style
name	str	Font family name (must be available on server)

Chart showing all supported fonts for text and caption assets

`Positioning`

Controls where on the screen your captions appear and how much spacing you want from the edges. You can place captions at the bottom like traditional subtitles, or anywhere else on screen with precise margin control.

Positioning(
    alignment=CaptionAlignment.bottom_center,
    margin_v=100,     # Vertical margin in pixels
    margin_l=20,      # Left margin in pixels
    margin_r=20       # Right margin in pixels
)

import { Positioning, CaptionAlignment } from 'videodb';

new Positioning({
    alignment: CaptionAlignment.bottomCenter,
    marginV: 100,     // Vertical margin in pixels
    marginL: 20,      // Left margin in pixels
    marginR: 20       // Right margin in pixels
});

Parameter	Type	Description
alignment	CaptionAlignment	Where on screen the captions appear (see alignment options below)
margin_v	int	Vertical margin in pixels from top or bottom edge
margin_l	int	Left margin in pixels from left edge
margin_r	int	Right margin in pixels from right edge

# Corners
CaptionAlignment.top_left
CaptionAlignment.top_right
CaptionAlignment.bottom_left
CaptionAlignment.bottom_right

# Edges
CaptionAlignment.top
CaptionAlignment.top_center
CaptionAlignment.bottom
CaptionAlignment.left
CaptionAlignment.right

# Center positions
CaptionAlignment.middle_center
CaptionAlignment.bottom_center

// Corners
CaptionAlignment.topLeft
CaptionAlignment.topRight
CaptionAlignment.bottomLeft
CaptionAlignment.bottomRight

// Edges
CaptionAlignment.top
CaptionAlignment.topCenter
CaptionAlignment.bottom
CaptionAlignment.left
CaptionAlignment.right

// Center positions
CaptionAlignment.middleCenter
CaptionAlignment.bottomCenter

Example:

position=Positioning(
            alignment=CaptionAlignment.bottom_center,
            margin_v=50  # 50px from bottom
),
font=FontStyling(
    size=48,
    bold=True,
    name = "Clear Sans",
)

const captionOptions = {
  position: new Positioning({
    alignment: CaptionAlignment.bottomCenter,
    marginV: 50,  // 50px from bottom
  }),
  font: new FontStyling({
    size: 48,
    bold: true,
    name: "Clear Sans",
  }),
};

`BorderAndShadow`

Controls outlines and shadows that make your text readable over any background. These parameters are crucial because subtitles need to be legible whether they’re over bright skies, dark scenes, or complex imagery - borders and shadows ensure the text always stands out.

from videodb.editor import BorderAndShadow, CaptionBorderStyle

BorderAndShadow(
    style=CaptionBorderStyle.outline_and_shadow,
    outline=3.0,                # Outline width in pixels
    shadow=2.0,                 # Shadow depth in pixels
    outline_color="&H00000000" # Black outline (ASS format)
)

import { BorderAndShadow, CaptionBorderStyle } from 'videodb';

new BorderAndShadow({
    style: CaptionBorderStyle.outlineAndShadow,
    outline: 3.0,                // Outline width in pixels
    shadow: 2.0,                 // Shadow depth in pixels
    outlineColor: "&H00000000"  // Black outline (ASS format)
});

Parameter	Type	Description
style	CaptionBorderStyle	How the border/background is rendered
outline	float	Outline width in pixels around each letter
shadow	float	Shadow depth in pixels for drop shadow effect
outline_color	str	Outline color in ASS format

CaptionBorderStyle Options:

CaptionBorderStyle.outline_and_shadow - Outline + drop shadow
CaptionBorderStyle.opaque_box - Solid background box

Example:

border=BorderAndShadow(
            style=CaptionBorderStyle.outline_and_shadow,
            outline=5,
            outline_color="&H00000000",  # Black outline
            shadow=3
        )

const captionBorder = new BorderAndShadow({
  style: CaptionBorderStyle.outlineAndShadow,
  outline: 5,
  outlineColor: "&H00000000",  // Black outline
  shadow: 3,
});

Complete Example

From the notebook, here’s a complete CaptionAsset with all styling parameters:

from videodb.editor import CaptionAsset, CaptionAnimation, Positioning, CaptionAlignment, FontStyling, BorderAndShadow

caption_asset = CaptionAsset(
    src="auto",
    animation=CaptionAnimation.supersize,
    primary_color="&H00FFFFFF",      # White text
    secondary_color="&H0000FFFF",    # Yellow highlight for animations
    position=Positioning(
        alignment=CaptionAlignment.middle_center,
        margin_v=100
    ),
    font=FontStyling(
        size=44,
        bold=True
    )
)

caption_clip = Clip(
  asset=caption_asset,
  duration=100
)

import { CaptionAsset, CaptionAnimation, Positioning, CaptionAlignment, FontStyling, Clip } from 'videodb';

const captionAsset = new CaptionAsset({
    src: "auto",
    animation: CaptionAnimation.supersize,
    primaryColor: "&H00FFFFFF",      // White text
    secondaryColor: "&H0000FFFF",    // Yellow highlight for animations
    position: new Positioning({
        alignment: CaptionAlignment.middleCenter,
        marginV: 100
    }),
    font: new FontStyling({
        size: 44,
        bold: true
    })
});

const captionClip = new Clip({
  asset: captionAsset,
  duration: 100
});

Parameter Reference

Parameter	Type	Description
src	str	Set to `"auto"` for auto-generation from speech or add manually in `.srt` or `.ass` format converted to `base64`
animation	CaptionAnimation	Animation mode: `reveal`, `karaoke`, `supersize`, `box_highlight`, `impact`, `color_highlight`
primary_color	str	Main text color (ASS format: `&H00BBGGRR`)
secondary_color	str	Highlight color for animations (ASS format)
position	Positioning	Spatial placement and margins
font	FontStyling	Typography settings
border_and_shadow	BorderAndShadow	Outline and shadow styling

Next Steps

Caption Asset & Auto Subtitles

Hands-on experimentation with styling options, animations, and color formatting.

Start Here

Core Concepts

Ingest

Understand

Act

Automate

MCP Server

Open Source Frameworks

`CaptionAsset` vs `TextAsset`

Timed Caption Assets

Auto-Caption Compatibility

Compatibility Usage

Animation Types

ASS Color Format

Format Structure

HTML to ASS Conversion

Common Colors

Styling Parameters

`FontStyling`

`Positioning`

`BorderAndShadow`

Complete Example

Parameter Reference

Next Steps

Caption Asset & Auto Subtitles

​CaptionAsset vs TextAsset

​Timed Caption Assets

​Auto-Caption Compatibility

​Compatibility Usage

​Animation Types

​ASS Color Format

​Format Structure

​HTML to ASS Conversion

​Common Colors

​Styling Parameters

​FontStyling

​Positioning

​BorderAndShadow

​Complete Example

​Parameter Reference

​Next Steps

Caption Asset & Auto Subtitles

`CaptionAsset` vs `TextAsset`

Timed Caption Assets

Auto-Caption Compatibility

Compatibility Usage

Animation Types

ASS Color Format

Format Structure

HTML to ASS Conversion

Common Colors

Styling Parameters

`FontStyling`

`Positioning`

`BorderAndShadow`

Complete Example

Parameter Reference

Next Steps