Text layers allow you to add visual text elements to your projects in Descript. You can use them to add titles, captions of your transcript, timers, or even display speaker labels, markers, and the composition name. Once you have created a text clip that fits your needs, you can customize the text to fit the overall aesthetic of your content.

Creating text

To add text, click Elements on the right-hand sidebar and choose one of the text options from the list. Alternatively, highlight a section of your script and add a text layer using the selection toolbar. 

These three choices are preset. They're all text layers that you can adjust later from the Layer pannel.

By default, added text will be applied to a scene. If you want to play the clip over a section or your entire video, you can highlight a section or the whole script and then add the text.

Adding emojis

There are a couple of ways you can add emojis to your content in Descript:

• Start by creating a text layer. Then copy and paste your desired emoji it into the newly created text layer from the Canvas.
• If you'd like an emoji to appear in your captions, you'll have to add it to your transcript:
  1. Highlight the specific area of your transcript where you want to place an emoji.
  2. Press the C key.
  3. Copy and paste emoji you want to add in the correction box.
  4. Select Correct or press Enter. The words in your script will be underlined briefly while the audio realigns with the new text.
  5. When you proceed to add captions to your content, the emoji will now be visible within them.

Text properties

Select a text layer from the Canvas or Timeline and click Layer to view its properties. You can adjust the font, position, and function of your text clip from the Layer Panel.

Set text layer content

Text layers allow you to display a variety of information in your video content. Text layers can be set to display:

• Freeform text
• Captions
• Active speaker labels
• The composition's name
• Active marker
• A countdown timer

You can choose the content type from the dropdown menu at the top of the Layer panel.

Adding and Customizing Backgrounds for Text

Enhance your text by adding a background, making important information pop and giving your design a polished look. Here’s what you can do with this feature:

Why Add a Background?

• Highlight Key Information: A background helps your text stand out, drawing attention to important details.
• Improve Readability: Adding a contrasting background can make your text easier to read, especially against busy images or colorful layouts.

Customization Options

Once you’ve added your text, you’ll find several ways to customize the background:

• Border Radius: Softens the corners of your background, giving it a more rounded and approachable look.

• Background Color: Choose a color to make your text stand out or blend seamlessly with your design.

• Hug Lines: This option tightly wraps the background around your text, eliminating any extra space. Ideal for a clean, concise presentation. When your text spans multiple lines, this option ensures the background stays close without adding unnecessary spacing.

• Box: For a bolder effect, place your text within a solid box, making it more prominent. If your text spans multiple lines, this option ensures the background encompasses all the text, with the box being as wide as the widest line of text.
  

Captions

Text layers set to captions will display your composition's script during playback. If a text layer already exists and you want it to show captions, adjust its content to Captions in the Layer panel. To add a new captions layer, select Captions from the sidebar. 

Creating clear and accurate captions for each speaker in your video or audio content can be crucial for accessibility and comprehension. When you have multiple speakers, Descript allows you to assign different caption layers to each. Follow these steps to manage multiple caption layers for different speakers.

Create an Additional Caption Layer for Another Speaker

To add captions for another speaker, select Captions and add a new layer. You will now have multiple caption layers in your timeline. After creating multiple caption layers, assign each layer to the corresponding speaker.

1. Click on a caption layer and open the Layer pannel on the right, select the three horizontal dots to the right of the layer type, then select the correct speaker's name from the drop-down menu. Repeat this for all speakers.

You can then style and position each caption layer individually to distinguish between speakers and maintain your content's aesthetic.

How to Adjust Captions Across Multiple Scenes

When you add captions to your project using the "All scenes" option, Descript creates a separate layer for each scene. This allows you to customize caption styles for different scenes.

If you want to change the caption style across all scenes at once, here's a quick tip:

1. Select "This scene" when adding captions.
2. After adding the captions, click and drag the edge of the caption layer to stretch it across all scenes.
   

By doing this, you'll have one continuous caption layer, making it easy to adjust the style for your entire project in one go.

Style

The Style section allows you to customize the properties for past, active, and future caption text, allowing you to create more dynamic captions during playback. Remember that you can customize the color, background, border, and color fill for captions.