Adjust masks at the clip or frame level in Premiere (beta)

Last updated on Nov 24, 2025

Learn how to control whether your mask adjustments apply across an entire clip or only to the current frame.

When adjusting a mask, you can choose between clip-level and frame-level adjustments. Clip adjustments change the mask’s position or size across the entire clip. Frame adjustments affect only the frame you’re currently on and create keyframes automatically. This provides flexibility when refining a tracked mask or manually animating a mask.

Use clip-level adjustments

Clip-level adjustments update the mask across the whole clip. Use this mode when you want broad, consistent changes without affecting individual keyframes.

Example: Adjusting a tracked mask during color grading

Draw a mask, such as an ellipse, around a face.

Track the mask to follow the person’s movement.

After tracking, you notice that the ellipse is too small.

Ensure you are in Clip mode, and make the ellipse bigger.

The ellipse is made bigger across the entire clip while still following the motion of the person according to the original motion tracking.

Use frame-level adjustments

Frame-level adjustments let you reposition or reshape the mask on specific frames, creating keyframes automatically. This is helpful when adjusting masks manually or refining complex motion.

Example: Tracking by hand

Draw a mask around the object.

Ensure you are in Frame mode. Move the play head forward a few frames.

Move the mask to follow the object.

Repeat until you have completed the whole clip.

Notice that keyframes are placed in the Effect Controls panel each time.

When adjusting the mask they will appear in the Transform section of the Effect Controls panel. In this way, the tracker data is separate from the Transform. Tracker and transform add together to create the final mask position.

Note

In previous versions of Premiere Pro, the tracker just adjusted Position, Scale, and Rotation keyframes directly. Because of this, it was very difficult to adjust masks after tracking. This new way is much more flexible.