coloredcaps

Convert a video into colored YouTube XML captions (.ytt) made from block characters.

Demo (Turn YouTube Captions (CC) on to See the Effect)

Watch the demo on YouTube!

Installation

Install coloredcaps from PyPI:

pip install coloredcaps

To install a local copy while developing:

pip install -e .

coloredcaps requires Python 3.10 or newer.

Usage

coloredcaps input.mp4

This creates output.ytt in the current folder.

Choose another output folder:

coloredcaps input.mp4 --output captions

Control the caption resolution and frame rate:

coloredcaps input.mp4 --cols 30 --fps 8

You can specify --cols, --rows, or let coloredcaps calculate both. The maximum frame rate is 10 FPS.

To also create a black video containing the original audio:

coloredcaps input.mp4 --create-video

The --create-video option requires FFmpeg to be installed and available on your PATH.

Uploading to YouTube

1. Upload a video to YouTube, preferably the black video created with --create-video.
2. On the Details tab, scroll down and select a video language.
3. Open the Video elements tab at the top.
4. Under subtitles, select Add and then Upload file.
5. Select the generated output.ytt file.

Run the following command to see every option:

coloredcaps --help

License

MIT