Premiere Pro how-to
How to use keyframes in Premiere Pro (add, ease, copy)
Short answer
Select the clip, open Effect Controls, and click the stopwatch (Toggle Animation) next to the property you want to animate, such as Scale or Opacity. That sets the first keyframe. Move the playhead and change the value: Premiere adds a second keyframe and animates between the two. Right-click a keyframe to make the motion ease in or out.
Checked against: Adobe Premiere (formerly Premiere Pro), 2026 releases, Windows and Mac.
Method 1: Effect Controls panel
Select the clip
In the Timeline, select the clip that has the property you want to animate. Motion (Position, Scale, Rotation) and Opacity are on every clip; other effects have to be applied first.
Turn on animation for the property
In Effect Controls, expand the effect and click the Toggle Animation stopwatch next to the property. Premiere sets a keyframe at the playhead with the current value.
Effect ControlsMotionToggle Animation
Move the playhead and change the value
Move to the frame where the change should end and change the value, or click Add/Remove Keyframe. Premiere fills in every frame between the two keyframes; that in-between change is called interpolation.
Smooth the motion
Right-click a keyframe and choose Temporal Interpolation > Ease In or Ease Out so the move starts and stops gently. Hold freezes the value until the next keyframe, which is useful for jumps.
Review and adjust
Play the clip. Drag keyframes left or right in Effect Controls to change timing, or expand the property to see its Value and Velocity graphs.
Method 2: In the Timeline
Show keyframes on the track
Click the wrench icon in the Timeline and choose Show Video Keyframes. Pick the property from the menu next to the clip name.
Timeline settings (wrench)Show Video Keyframes
Add keyframes on the line
Ctrl-click (Windows) or Cmd-click (Mac) the line on the clip to add a keyframe, then drag it up or down to change the value. This is the quickest way to keyframe audio volume too.
Common keyframe animations
| Effect | Property | Typical values |
|---|---|---|
| Slow zoom (Ken Burns) | Motion > Scale | 100 to 110 over the clip |
| Fade a title in | Opacity | 0% to 100% over 10 to 15 frames |
| Slide in from the side | Motion > Position | X off-frame to centre |
| Music dip under a line | Volume > Level | -12 dB for the line, back after |
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Changing a value moves the whole clip instead of animating | Toggle Animation is off for that property, so you are changing a fixed value. Turn the stopwatch on first. |
| Clicking the stopwatch deleted my keyframes | Turning Toggle Animation off removes all keyframes for that property. Undo with Ctrl-Z (Cmd-Z). |
| The animation looks robotic | Use Ease In and Ease Out, or drag the Bezier handles in the Velocity graph. |
| No keyframes visible on the Timeline | Turn on Show Video Keyframes (or Show Audio Keyframes) in the Timeline settings and make the track taller. |
Questions people ask
How many keyframes do I need?
At least two: one for the starting value and one for the end. Premiere creates the frames in between.
Can I copy keyframes to another clip?
Yes. Select the keyframes in Effect Controls, copy them, select the other clip, put the playhead where they should start and paste.
Can I keyframe audio?
Yes. Volume > Level in Effect Controls has the same stopwatch, and you can add keyframes on the audio clip's volume line in the Timeline.
More Premiere Pro guides
Sources and how we checked
- Adobe Help: Add keyframes (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 23 Sep 2026)
- Adobe Help: About keyframes (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 5 Jan 2026)
Adobe documents adding keyframes; the Temporal Interpolation menu and Ctrl-click on the Timeline line follow Premiere's current menus as described by several current guides.
Reviewed October 5, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Each step is compared with Premiere Pro's own documentation (linked above) and with the top search results for this task; where they disagree, the maker's documentation wins. Steps without a source link follow the menu names that several current guides agree on.