User Guide Cancel

Select object

  1. Adobe Premiere Elements User Guide
  2. Introduction to Adobe Premiere Elements
    1. What's new in Premiere Elements
    2. System requirements | Adobe Premiere Elements
    3. Workspace basics
    4. Guided mode
    5. Use pan and zoom to create video-like effect
    6. GPU accelerated rendering
  3. Workspace and workflow
    1. Get to know the Home screen
    2. View and share auto-created collages, slideshows, and more
    3. Workspace basics
    4. Source Monitor and Program Monitor
    5. Preferences
    6. Tools
    7. Keyboard shortcuts
    8. Audio View
    9. Undoing changes
    10. Customizing shortcuts
    11. Working with scratch disks
  4. Working with projects
    1. Creating a project
    2. Adjust project settings and presets
    3. Save and back up projects
    4. Previewing movies
    5. Creating video collage
    6. Creating Highlight Reel
    7. Create a video story
    8. Creating Instant Movies
    9. Viewing clip properties
    10. Viewing a project's files
    11. Archiving projects
    12. GPU accelerated rendering
  5. Importing and adding media
    1. Add media
    2. Guidelines for adding files
    3. Set duration for imported still images
    4. 5.1 audio import
    5. Working with offline files
    6. Sharing files between Adobe Premiere Elements and Adobe Photoshop Elements
    7. Creating specialty clips
    8. Work with aspect ratios and field options
  6. Arranging clips
    1. Arrange clips in the Expert view timeline
    2. Group, link, and disable clips
    3. Arranging clips in the Quick view timeline
    4. Working with clip and timeline markers
    5. Sequence settings
  7. Editing clips
    1. Reduce noise
    2. Select object
    3. Candid Moments
    4. Color Match
    5. Smart Trim
    6. Change clip speed and duration
    7. Split clips
    8. Freeze and hold frames
    9. Adjusting Brightness, Contrast, and Color - Guided Edit
    10. Stabilize video footage with Shake Stabilizer
    11. Replace footage
    12. Working with source clips
    13. Trimming Unwanted Frames - Guided Edit
    14. Trim clips
    15. Editing frames with Auto Smart Tone
    16. Artistic effects
  8. Color Correction and Grading
    1. Color Correction and Grading (LUTs)
    2. Color Correction Panel
    3. Color Correction Settings
  9. Applying transitions
    1. Applying transitions to clips
    2. Transition basics
    3. Adjusting transitions
    4. Adding Transitions between video clips - Guided Edit
    5. Create special transitions
    6. Create a Luma Fade Transition effect - Guided Edit
  10. Special effects basics
    1. Effects reference
    2. Applying and removing effects
    3. Create a black and white video with a color pop - Guided Edit
    4. Time remapping - Guided edit
    5. Effects basics
    6. Working with effect presets
    7. Finding and organizing effects
    8. Editing frames with Auto Smart Tone
    9. Fill Frame - Guided edit
    10. Create a time-lapse - Guided edit
    11. Best practices to create a time-lapse video
  11. Applying special effects
    1. Use pan and zoom to create video-like effect
    2. Transparency and superimposing
    3. Reposition, scale, or rotate clips with the Motion effect
    4. Apply an Effects Mask to your video
    5. Adjust temperature and tint
    6. Create a Glass Pane effect - Guided Edit
    7. Create a picture-in-picture overlay
    8. Applying effects using Adjustment layers
    9. Adding Title to your movie
    10. Removing haze
    11. Creating a Picture in Picture - Guided Edit
    12. Create a Vignetting effect
    13. Add a Split Tone Effect
    14. Add FilmLooks effects
    15. Add an HSL Tuner effect
    16. Fill Frame - Guided edit
    17. Create a time-lapse - Guided edit
    18. Animated Sky - Guided edit
    19. Select object
    20. Animated Mattes - Guided Edit
    21. Double exposure- Guided Edit
  12. Special audio effects
    1. Mix audio and adjust volume with Adobe Premiere Elements
    2. Audio effects
    3. Adding sound effects to a video
    4. Adding music to video clips
    5. Create narrations
    6. Using soundtracks
    7. Music Remix
    8. Adding Narration to your movie - Guided Edit
    9. Adding Scores to your movie - Guided edit
  13. Movie titles
    1. Creating titles
    2. Adding shapes and images to titles
    3. Adding color and shadows to titles
    4. Apply Gradients
    5. Create Titles and MOGRTs
    6. Add responsive design
    7. Editing and formatting text
    8. Align and transform objects
    9. Motion Titles
    10. Appearance of text and shapes
    11. Exporting and importing titles
    12. Arranging objects in titles
    13. Designing titles for TV
    14. Applying styles to text and graphics
    15. Adding a video in the title
  14. Disc menus
    1. Creating disc menus
    2. Working with menu markers
    3. Types of discs and menu options
    4. Previewing menus
  15. Sharing and exporting your movies
    1. Export and share your videos
    2. Export settings
    3. Sharing for PC playback
    4. Compression and data-rate basics
    5. Common settings for sharing

Use this feature to select a specific object or area of your video and easily apply an effect that tracks throughout the video.

Use this feature to select a specific object or area of your video and easily apply an effect that tracks throughout the video, like brightening the subject or blurring the background. You can also apply this effect to your photos.

How will my videos look with this feature?

Here are a few examples of select object applied to videos.

How to select object?

Get started

Start by bringing your photos and videos into Premiere Elements. Drag them to the timeline.

Apply Effects

From the Right Panel, choose the effect you wish to add. Drag the effect and drop it on your media file. Here, I have chosen Black & White effect.

Select object to apply effect

Next, select the object or the part of your video/ photo that you want to apply the effect to. From the Draw drop-down, select the appropriate tool.

Pen: The simplest path that you can draw with the Pen tool is a straight line with two vertex points. By continuing to click, you create a path made of straight-line segments connected by vertex points.
Circle: Use this tool to create a circular or ellipse-shaped selection.
Rectangle: Use this tool to create a to create a four-sided polygon.

 

Track your selection

At this point, it is important to track your selection. Click on Track button to start the tracking. Tracking will ensure the object is selected even as the frames change and the object moves.

Use the drop-down under Selection 1 to chosse from:

Track from this frame: Tracks from the frame at playhead postion till the end of the clip.
Track till this frame: Tracks from the beginning of the clip till the frame at playhead postion.

Use the left and right arrow keys to track the selection one frame forward and backward at a time. This allows you to track frame by frame for more accurate results. Use this feature for better tracking of fast moving objects.

You can also copy your selection by hovering over the More option (three dots on the right side of Track option) and selecting Copy.

If you have readjusted the selection in any frame, select Re-track to track again from the playhead position till the end of the clip.

Note:

Select object tracking technology might not give expected results with fast-moving objects (lots of motion blur), when the object goes off screen, or when the object is occluded (some other object passes in front of it). In these scenarios, try frame by frame tracking by dragging the CTI to that frame and adjusting the selection.

Invert selection

If you wish to apply the effect to the background instead of the selection, hover over the More option (three dots on the right side of Track option) and select Invert.

Adjust settings

Use the sliders to adjust Feather, Opacity, and Expansion.

Feather:  Feathering softens the borders of the selected area so that it blends into the area outside the selection, and provides an aesthetically pleasing result.

Opacity: This allows you to adjust the transparency of the image/ video. At a value of 100, the effect is opaque and blocks out any underlying area of the layer.

Expansion: Expansion lets you expand or contract the area of the applied effect.

 

Click play to see the final result. To export the final output, select File > Export and Share. For information about various exports and share options available, see Export and share your videos.

Here's the result of the project with Black & White effect applied to a video.

 Adobe

Get help faster and easier

New user?

Adobe MAX 2024

Adobe MAX

The Creativity Conference

Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online

Adobe MAX 2024

Adobe MAX

The Creativity Conference

Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online