Guide
How to add captions to a tattoo artist process or flash video on iPhone
Updated
To add captions to a tattoo artist process or flash video on iPhone, record a voiceover over the final cut or talk while the machine is stopped, open the clip in CaptionAddr, let it transcribe the English speech on the iPhone, fix style and technique terms and delete stray words in Edit Captions, place the captions clear of the piece and export a captioned copy to Photos. Videos up to 2 minutes are free; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes.
Why caption tattoo process videos
Tattoo process clips, such as a linework time-lapse, a stencil-to-finish piece, a flash sheet reveal or a walkthrough of a custom design, are watched in a feed with the sound off. Captions let viewers follow what you’re doing and why while the piece comes together, and they help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
This guide is for tattoo artists filming their process, with the machine running for much of the clip. For drawing and painting on paper or a tablet, see the art process guide; for cuts and color in the chair, the hair and barber guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.
Caption a tattoo process video on iPhone
- Add your voice without the buzz. The machine runs through most of a session and CaptionAddr doesn’t remove noise, so talk between passes with the machine stopped, or edit the footage first and record a voiceover over it in a quiet room. Save the finished video to Photos.
- Choose the video. Tap Select Video in CaptionAddr and pick the clip with Apple’s Photos picker. Vertical, square and landscape videos all work, and the video keeps its shape.
- Let the captions generate. Captions start as soon as the video opens; keep the app open; the English speech is transcribed on your iPhone, not on a server.
- Fix style and technique terms. Style names, shading and lining terms and design names are the words most likely to come out wrong, and anything said nearby in the studio is captioned too. Correct or delete those words in Edit Captions. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
- Keep the piece in view. Choose one of the 20 fonts and a size that reads on a phone, turn on the tinted background over a busy studio wall, and drag the captions to an edge of the frame where they don’t cover the lines or the finished design.
- Export and post. Tap Export Video to save the captioned copy to Photos, then upload it to TikTok, Reels, Shorts or any other app. The watermark is off unless you turn it on.
Tips for tattoo process captions
- Record the voiceover last. Speed up or trim the footage in your video editor first, then talk over the final cut, so each caption matches the stage on screen.
- Name the design out loud. Say the flash design or the style when it first appears, because captions come from your speech, not from the flash sheet or a caption you write in the post.
- Remove a client’s name. Delete a name from the captions in Edit Captions if you’d rather not show it; the name stays in the audio, so leave it unsaid if it shouldn’t be heard either.
- Keep studio music low. Speech over music is usually kept, but music under your voice can cause missed words. Delete any stray lyric that slips into the captions.
- Keep your original. CaptionAddr exports a new copy and leaves the original clip in your library.
Limits
- Speech only. CaptionAddr captions spoken English. It doesn’t caption the machine, music or sound effects, and it doesn’t read flash sheets, stencils or text shown on screen.
- Every voice is captioned. Your voice and your client’s voice both become captions, with no speaker labels to tell them apart.
- Captions only. The app doesn’t add design names, booking details, before-and-after labels or titles, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
- No audio changes. The app doesn’t remove machine buzz or change the audio; deleting a word removes it from the captions only.
- English only. CaptionAddr transcribes English speech and doesn’t translate.
- Single-word captions. Words appear one at a time, timed automatically, always in uppercase; there is no full-sentence layout or manual per-word timing.
- Length. Free covers videos up to 2 minutes; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes. CaptionAddr doesn’t speed up, trim or split video, so make the time-lapse in your video editor first. The App Store shows the current Pro price in your currency.
- Burned-in captions only. There is no SRT, VTT or text export, and the app doesn’t post to social platforms.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add captions to a tattoo process video on iPhone?
Record a voiceover over the edited footage or talk with the machine stopped, open the clip in CaptionAddr, generate captions on your iPhone, fix style terms in Edit Captions, drag the captions clear of the piece and export a captioned copy to Photos.
Will the tattoo machine noise affect the captions?
It can. CaptionAddr doesn’t remove background noise, so words said over a running machine may be missed or come out wrong. A voiceover recorded in a quiet room usually captions more reliably.
Will my client’s voice be captioned too?
Yes. CaptionAddr captions all the English speech it hears, without speaker labels. Delete any words you don’t want shown in Edit Captions.
Can I caption a flash time-lapse with only music?
No. CaptionAddr makes captions from speech, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words. Record yourself talking about the design over the footage, then caption that video.
Will there be a watermark on my video?
No watermark is required. A small CaptionAddr watermark is optional and off unless you turn it on.