Word-by-word captions on Final Cut's Build In/Out titles

9 October 2026 · 6 min read

Final Cut Pro has a whole family of titles that build text in piece by piece, under Titles, Build In/Out. Set one to build by word and it does exactly what animated captions do: the words of a line arrive one after another. The catch is the same as every stock title: it has no idea when the words are spoken.

The word-build export writes one of those titles per caption line, sets it to build by word, switches its exit animation off, and sets how long the build takes so the last word arrives as it is spoken. Nothing to install, because the titles are already in Final Cut.

How the words arrive

• Fade: each word fades up in place.
• Blur: each word comes into focus.
• Slide: each word slides into place.
• Scale: each word scales up.
• Track: each word tracks into place.
• Drop, Lift, Approach and Land: each word moves into place along its own path, on Final Cut's Move title.

Then the line

Once the line is built you can leave it still, or add an emphasis. A single emphasis plays across the finished line once: Boost, Fidget, Glow Through, Nudge, Pirouette, Rubber Band, Scale Through, Shine, Shiver, Stretch or Squish. A looping one keeps the line moving until it leaves: Celebrate, Frightened, Kookie, Quiver, Shock, Sketchy or Wacky. Drop, Lift, Approach and Land come from a different title that has no emphasis, so those four arrive on their own.

How the timing works

These titles build at an even pace, and the one control is how long the build takes, from 0.167 to 2.002 seconds after the title starts. We measured that in Final Cut: the build length does not depend on how long the title is on screen. The export aims each line at the frame its last spoken word ends on.

• A line whose last word ends more than about two seconds in finishes building early and holds. Shorter lines, three to six words, are the sweet spot.
• The words in between arrive evenly, not each on its own spoken frame. Word reveal is the export that puts every word on its exact frame, without the motion.
• Japanese and Chinese have no spaces to build on, so those lines build by character instead.

Limits worth knowing

• Final Cut Pro only. The titles ship inside Final Cut, so DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro cannot run them.
• Font, size, colour and position stay editable in the inspector after import, like any title, and so does the arrival if you change your mind.