Content creation

Speaker-Colored Captions: Show Who Is Talking

Give each speaker their own caption color so viewers follow a conversation with the sound off. How to set it up, fix speakers, pick colors and finish the captions.

Oct 27, 20267 min read

In a podcast or interview clip, the captions carry the conversation for everyone watching with the sound off. When every line is the same color, the viewer has to work out from lip movements who asked the question and who answered it. On a quick back-and-forth, they give up.

Coloring captions by speaker fixes that. This guide shows how speaker colors work in HypeNest, how to correct the speakers when detection gets one wrong, which colors stay readable, and the other caption details worth setting before you publish.

Quick answer

Turn on "Color per speaker" in your caption style. For clips with two or more speakers, the main speaker keeps the style's colors and each other speaker gets their own color: blue, amber, green, pink, yellow or a custom one. In the Clip Editor you can rename speakers, merge two that are really one person, and move a line to the person who actually said it.

Speaker colors work with every caption style. Everything else about the captions is on the Subtitles page.

See subtitles

When speaker colors help

Interviews and podcasts where the question matters as much as the answer.
Debates and disagreements, where the viewer needs to know whose side a line is on.
Clips with quick exchanges, where the shot doesn't always show who is talking.
Split-screen clips, where both people are on screen and the captions sit between them.
Not needed for a single speaker. Clips with one voice keep the normal style colors.

How to set it up

Open your caption style

Pick or edit the style you use for conversation clips and turn on "Color per speaker".

Keep the main speaker on the style colors

The host or main voice stays in the style's own colors, so the clip still looks like your brand.

Choose the other speakers' colors

Pick from blue, amber, green, pink and yellow, or set a custom color for a recurring guest.

Check one clip in the editor

Open a clip with a quick exchange and play it with the sound off. If you can follow who says what, the setup works.

Fixing speakers in the Clip Editor

HypeNest works out who says each word from the clip's audio. When two voices sound alike, or someone only says "yeah", detection can get a line wrong. The Speaker colors panel in the Clip Editor lists every detected speaker with how many words they have, and lets you fix it:

Rename a speaker so the list reads "Anna" and "Marc" instead of "Speaker 1" and "Speaker 2".
Merge two speakers into one when the same person was detected twice.
Choose who says a line when it was given to the wrong person.
Add a new speaker when a third voice joins and was folded into someone else.
Change a speaker's color in this clip.

Choosing colors that stay readable

Use enough contrast against the video. Yellow and amber read well over most footage; dark colors need an outline or a background box.
Keep the speaker colors different from the word highlight color, or the viewer can't tell a highlight from a change of speaker.
Give recurring people the same color in every episode. Viewers learn that the host is white and the co-host is blue.
Two or three colors are plenty. If a clip has five speakers, consider a tighter clip instead.
Check on a phone. Colors that look distinct on a monitor can blur together on a small screen in daylight.

Other caption details worth setting

AI emoji

Adds a fitting emoji to some lines. Tap any word in the editor to add, change or remove an emoji by hand.

Punctuation

Off by default for the clean social look. Turn it on to keep commas and dots, which helps longer sentences read clearly.

Sound tags

Show sounds like [laughs] or [applause] in the captions. Useful for comedy and podcasts, where a reaction is part of the moment.

Word fixes

Tap a word to correct it. Check names, brands and numbers before you publish.

FAQ

How do I make captions a different color for each speaker?

In HypeNest, turn on "Color per speaker" in your caption style. For clips with two or more speakers, each speaker other than the main one gets their own color.

How does HypeNest know who is speaking?

It works out who says each word from the clip's audio. You can correct it in the Clip Editor by renaming, merging or reassigning speakers.

Which colors can I use?

Blue, amber, green, pink and yellow, or any custom color. The main speaker keeps the caption style's own colors.

Do speaker colors work with any caption style?

Yes. Speaker colors are a setting on the style, so they work with presets and your own styles.

Can I add sound tags like [laughs]?

Yes. Turn on sound tags in the upload settings or for a single clip, and sounds like [laughs] appear in the captions.

Let viewers see who is talking

Turn on speaker colors once in your style and every conversation clip shows who says what.