Install, activate, caption.

Requirements

• After Effects 2022 or newer on Windows 10/11 or macOS. Some per-word typography (second-line fonts) needs After Effects 2024 (24.3) or newer.
• About 1 GB of free disk space for the speech engine and one language model. Bigger "Best accuracy" models need up to 2 GB.
• Internet once for the first-run download and now and then for the license check. Captions are made offline.
• Optional: an NVIDIA GPU on Windows makes transcription several times faster.

Install on Windows

1. Download the Windows zip and unzip it (right-click → Extract All). Don't run it from inside the zip.
2. Close After Effects.
3. Double-click INSTALL (Windows).bat. It uses Adobe's own installer, removes older beta copies and installs the fonts.
4. Open After Effects → Window → Extensions → Creative Captions.

If Windows asks whether to run the file or allow changes, choose Run / Yes. The installer only adds the panel and its fonts. It refuses to run while After Effects is open.

Install on Mac

1. Download the Mac zip and double-click it to unzip.
2. Quit After Effects.
3. Right-click INSTALL (Mac).command → Open → Open. (Right-click is needed the first time because the file is downloaded.)
4. The speech engine on Mac comes from Homebrew. If you don't have it, install it from brew.sh, then run once in Terminal: brew install whisper-cpp ffmpeg
5. Open After Effects → Window → Extensions → Creative Captions.

First run

1. Select the footage layer with the voice in your comp.
2. Pick the language (English, Spanish, Hindi, Hinglish…) and Fast or Best accuracy.
3. The first time, press Download on the "One-time setup" banner. It fetches the speech engine and the model for that language (Hinglish Fast is 60 MB, English Fast 148 MB). Only the models you use are downloaded.
4. Choose a style, press Generate captions. Tap another style and Apply to comp to switch looks without transcribing again.
5. Fonts install automatically on first launch. Restart After Effects once if a style shows the wrong font.

Activate your license

1. After you buy, your license key is in the receipt email.
2. In the panel open License (or click the plan badge at the top), paste the key, press Activate.
3. The badge shows your plan: Basic, Pro or Lifetime. One key works on 2 computers at a time.
4. New computer? On the old one press Remove from this computer, then activate on the new one.

The panel re-checks the key every few days and keeps working offline for up to two weeks between checks.

Updating

When a new version is out, the panel shows "Version X is out · Get it". Download it, close After Effects and run the installer again. If the panel asks for your license afterwards, paste the key from your receipt again. See what changed in the changelog.

Troubleshooting

The panel isn't in Window → Extensions

Quit After Effects completely (check the system tray / Dock) and run the installer again. Use After Effects 2022 or newer.

I still see the old "Creative Cut Captions" panel

Quit After Effects and run the installer from the new unzipped folder; it removes old copies and Adobe's cached pages. The panel footer shows the version.

"Couldn't install fonts"

Run the installer once (it installs fonts for your user, no admin needed), then restart After Effects. You can also install the fonts from the fonts folder in the zip.

Transcription is slow

Use Fast, or on Windows with an NVIDIA card press Enable on the GPU banner. Very long clips: caption them in parts.

Words are wrong or out of sync

Try Best accuracy, check the language matches the speech, and fix single words in the Transcript list, then Apply to comp.

"This license key isn't valid"

Copy the key again from the receipt without extra spaces. If it says the key is used on too many computers, remove it from an old one first, or email us.

Contact

Email hello@creativecut.in with your After Effects version, Windows or Mac, and a screenshot of the panel. We reply within 2 working days. Refunds: see the refund policy.