Adjust mask properties

Last updated on Mar 9, 2026

Learn how to refine and control the settings of a shape mask applied to a clip in Adobe Premiere.

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Follow along with any project to learn how to adjust the masks applied to your video.

After creating a mask and assigning an effect to the clip, you can change its feathering, expansion, opacity, inversion, and other key properties in the Effect Controls panel to control how it affects your video.

The editable properties of a mask depend on the type of effect used. In this example, the Gaussian Blur effect is used.

Create a mask and apply an effect to it.

Select the clip with the mask applied in the Timeline and open the Effect Controls panel.

In the Effect Controls panel, the properties are displayed when the mask is selected in the Program Monitor.
When you select a mask in the Program Monitor, the Effect Controls panel displays the associated effect properties for adjustment.

Under the mask name, adjust the following settings:

  • Feather: Softens the edges of the mask. The feathering guide appears around the mask as a dashed line. Drag the handle away from the feathering guide to increase the feathering or toward the feathering guide to decrease it.
  • Expansion: Increases or decreases the size of the mask area. Positive values move the borders outward, and negative values move them inward.
  • Opacity: Controls the transparency of the mask’s effect. At a value of 100, the mask is opaque and blocks out any underlying area of the layer. As you lower the opacity, more of the area under the mask becomes visible.
  • Invert: Flips the masked and unmasked areas.

As you edit these properties, you can see the changes to your video in the Program Monitor.