Marking the subtitle area yourself: drawing boxes and choosing how each is erased

Updated October 26, 2026 · Peelframe

When auto removal misses a subtitle, or the frame also holds text that must stay (a shop sign, say), marking the area yourself is the surest way. Here is how to draw areas in Select an area and how the two ways of erasing each area differ.

When to mark the area yourself

• You want to keep text on signs, clothes or products and remove only the subtitles
• Auto removal misses faint text or an unusual font
• You want to remove a band, graphic or sticker without text, which text recognition cannot find
• The subtitles always appear in a known place and time, and you want to narrow the work

If the subtitles jump around from scene to scene and there is little other text on screen, Remove subtitles automatically is easier.

Step 1. Draw the box

1. Open the video in the workspace and choose Select an area at the top.
2. Go to a moment where the subtitle shows and drag over the picture to draw a box. Leave room on every side so the outline and shadow of the letters are inside.
3. Common positions are one click away with Top area, Middle area and Bottom area.
4. For small text, zoom in with the ＋/− buttons or Ctrl+mouse wheel. For exact values, open Adjust position and size and type X, Y, width and height in pixels.

Use ＋ Add area for up to four boxes; undo and redo fix a wrong drag straight away.

Step 2. Give each box its time

Each box has its own start and end time in seconds. Pause where you want and press Set start to current position or Set end to current position. The −0.01 s and ＋0.01 s buttons next to the position nudge it so you can catch the exact moment a subtitle appears and disappears. Times are minutes:seconds.hundredths, not frame numbers.

Outside its time range a box changes nothing. For text that only shows briefly, such as an opening title, set just that range and the rest of the video is left alone.

Step 3. Choose how the area is erased

With a box selected, How to erase this area offers two choices.

The default leaves frames without text, and the parts of the box without text, exactly as they were. That is why a generous box costs little.

Whole fixed overlay fills in the whole box for the chosen time, including frames where the overlay is absent. Match the start and end to when the overlay really shows, and draw the box tightly around it. It does not follow moving graphics, so split a moving graphic into several boxes with their own times.

Shape it with the precision mask

A Whole fixed overlay box does not have to be rectangular. Open Precision mask · fixed mode and use Paint mask to add what should be erased or Erase mask to take away what should stay. Red marks what will be erased, and the edge is blended softly into its surroundings. Reset to rectangle starts over.

This helps most with round stickers or slanted bands, where a rectangle would erase too much of the picture around them. Preview current removal mask shows exactly what will be erased in the frame on screen.

Step 4. Test one frame, then process

Before processing everything, pause where the subtitle shows and press Test current frame. Drag across the picture to compare original and result. If it looks right, press Process full video. If a few letters are left, you do not need to start over: Leftover subtitle check redoes just that range (see tip 6 in removing subtitles without a trace).

Common mistakes

• A box that hugs the letters — the outline and shadow stay outside and show as a faint rim. Leave room.
• Whole fixed overlay for the entire video — scenes without the overlay get filled in too and can look soft there. Match the time to when it shows.
• One box over most of the frame — slower, and text that should stay may be erased. Use one box per place where subtitles appear.