Glowing subtitles
A glow lights the word being spoken from behind, like a neon sign. On dark footage it pulls the eye to the right word without a box; on bright footage the halo has nothing to stand out against. Try both below.
Last updated
Colour emphasis against glow emphasis
Both captions mark the second word in yellow. The left one only changes its colour; the right one adds a halo in the same colour. Switch to the bright sky to see the halo fade into the footage.
Glow settings in the editor
| Setting | Editor range | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emphasis on the spoken word | None · Colour · Scale · Pill · Underline · Glow | Glow | Glow is one of six emphasis options, so it applies to the word being spoken rather than the whole line. |
| Active colour | Any solid colour | Saturated yellow or cyan | The glowing word and its halo both take this colour. Bright, saturated colours glow; dark or greyish ones just look smudged. |
| Shadow, for a whole-line glow | Blur 0–40 px, offsets −30 to 30 px | Blur 12–20 px, offsets 0 | There is no separate line glow. A shadow with no offset and a bright colour gives the whole caption a soft halo instead. |
Use it when
The footage is dark
Night shots, stage lighting and dark interiors give the halo something to shine against. That is where glow reads as light rather than blur.
You want emphasis without a box
Glow marks the spoken word while the footage stays visible around it, which suits music, gaming and nightlife clips.
Captions follow speech word by word
Glow is a word-timing effect, so it fits [word-by-word captions](/features/word-by-word-captions) where the highlight moves with the voice.
Skip it when
The footage is bright
On a sky, a white wall or daylight, a yellow halo blends into the picture and the word looks blurred rather than lit.
The text is small or thin
A halo spreads out from each letter. On small or light type it fills the gaps between strokes and the word gets harder to read.
Every word glows
If the whole line glows all the time, nothing stands out. Keep glow for the spoken word and leave the rest of the line plain.
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What the glow actually draws
On the spoken word, the renderer swaps the line's outline and shadow for three layers: a thin dark shadow just below the letters, then two halos in the active colour, the outer one twice the size of the inner. Because the outline is swapped out on that word, a glow over bright footage loses the edge that was keeping it readable.
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A soft glow behind the whole line
To light the whole caption rather than one word, turn on Shadow, set both offsets to 0, raise the blur to 12–20 px and pick a bright colour. Keep the outline on so the letters keep a hard edge inside the halo.
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Pick the glow colour against the footage
A glow needs a darker background than the glow colour. If the brightest part of the shot is lighter than your active colour, use colour or pill emphasis there instead. The effect mixer lets you compare them on one caption.
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Glow does not replace contrast
The halo is decoration; the letters still need contrast with what is behind them. Check the text colour against your footage with the subtitle contrast checker.
Questions about this effect
How do I make glowing subtitles?+
Choose Glow under emphasis on the spoken word, then set the active colour to a bright, saturated colour. The word being spoken glows as the video plays.
Can the whole caption glow, not just one word?+
Not as its own setting. Turn on Shadow with zero offsets, a 12–20 px blur and a bright colour to put a soft halo behind the whole line.
Why does my glow look blurry?+
Usually the footage behind it is bright, or the text is thin. Glow needs dark footage and bold type; on bright scenes, use colour or pill emphasis instead.
Does the glow show in an SRT or VTT download?+
No. Glow is drawn into the video when you export an MP4. Subtitle files carry text and timing only.