Getting started with text-based editing
To get started, open the editor and click the “Transcript” icon in the left-hand menu.
You have two distinct ways to scrub the timeline and find moments in your media for precise edits. When you play your media, the playhead moves along the timeline and can be dragged as needed. The text in the Transcript panel will be highlighted as the speaker talks, and you can jump to different parts of the media by clicking individual words.
Tip
Search for keywords in the transcript search bar, and we'll highlight all instances in which the keyword appears.
Where the editor transcript comes from
Each clip on your editor timeline brings its own transcript from its source media. If your timeline has clips from three different videos, the transcript panel shows three transcripts, one per clip, in the order they appear on your timeline. The transcript in the editor, as well as burnt-in captions, will change based on what edits you make to your video(s):
Trimming, splitting, or deleting in the editor changes which words play in your edit. It doesn't change the transcript on the source media.
When you save, the transcript from your timeline is saved with the edited video. Burnt-in captions come from that saved transcript.
Editing via transcript
The entire transcript container in the editor is interactive. You can click on individual words to scrub to that portion of your content, highlight words and sections to keep or delete, or generally scroll through the transcript.
Tip
Found a small typo in the transcript? Double-click the word to correct it. Editing the transcript doesn't update captions that were already burnt into an exported video, however single-word corrections (double-click → Correct word) do reflect in burnt-in captions. Larger edits require re-exporting. You can learn more about making corrections to the transcript within the editor here.
As a user of text-based editing, you can take all current timeline-based actions. You can:
Delete via Keyboard shortcut
Split, which will create a paragraph break in the transcript text as well
Undo or Redo
If you edit the transcript (i.e., delete/split), the changes will be reflected on the timeline. If you edit directly on the timeline (i.e., split, delete, rearrange clips), those changes will be reflected visually in the transcript.
When you delete text in the transcript, the words don't disappear—they show up with strikethrough text in the transcript and a grayed-out section on the timeline, and playback automatically skips them.
The original clip stays intact (it isn't split into separate clips). In addition to using the undo option, (above the timeline) you can select the struck-through text and click "Restore." You can restore a fully or partially deleted segment.
Tip
Text-based editing is best for scrubbing, correcting single-word typos, and deleting/splitting. It is not a way to rewrite transcript text in bulk. You can't paste a fully revised transcript back in to replace the words, as deleting the existing text and pasting new text in won't preserve the original timing. For heavy caption/transcript rewrites, edit the transcript on the media's manage page or re-upload captions instead.
Speaker labels in the editor
The Transcript panel shows the speaker labels from each clip's source media.
To show or hide speaker labels:
In the editor, click the "Transcript" icon in the left-hand menu
Click the Transcript menu (sliders icon) at the top of the panel
Under "Visibility," check or uncheck "Show speakers labels"
If you'd like to change who's speaking, you can do so on the source media's manage page.
Open the source media's page and open the transcript editor
Highlight the exact words you want to reassign
Click the speaker label and choose an existing speaker, or add a new one
Learn more in Speaker Identification for Transcripts.
Tip
Speaker labels only appear in the transcript. They aren't added to captions, so they won't show up in burnt-in captions.
Text-based Editing Troubleshooting
A clip isn't showing a transcript
Each clip shows its own status in the Transcript panel:
Loading transcript: The transcript is still processing. Give it a moment.
This video has no transcript: Click "Generate transcript" to order one for that clip.
No speech detected in this video: Wistia didn't detect speech in the clip, so it has no transcript or captions.
Transcript order failed: Click "Go to media" to order the transcript again from the media page.
Note
Burnt-in captions only cover clips that have a transcript. Before you save, check that every clip on your timeline shows a transcript in the Transcript panel.