Word by word captions in Premiere Pro

Two looks go by this name: one word on screen at a time, or a full line where the spoken word lights up. Premiere's caption track can do a rough version of the first and none of the second. Both are quick with a plugin.

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One word at a time, natively

In the Create captions dialog, set max characters per line to something tiny, like 8. Premiere splits the transcript into very short captions, often single words. Timing follows the transcript, so it roughly matches speech. Styling is still one Track Style, and long words wrap awkwardly.

Spoken word highlighted in a full line

This is the karaoke look and the caption track can't do it. The manual route is Upgrade Caption to Graphic, then cut the graphic at each word and change that word's color in each piece. Accurate, and about an hour per minute of speech.

The automatic route

A caption plugin transcribes with word timestamps and generates caption graphics where each word activates on time. You choose whether the word changes color, grows, or gets a pill behind it, and whether it bounces. The captions stay editable graphics on the timeline.

How many words per caption

For vertical video, three to five words per caption reads best. One word at a time is punchy but tiring over a minute; a full line with a moving highlight keeps the rhythm without the strain.