Premiere Pro how-to
How to mask in Premiere Pro (shape, pen and object masks)
Short answer
Masks limit an effect to part of the frame. Select the clip, choose the Ellipse, Rectangle or Pen Mask tool (hold the Object Mask Tool in the toolbar), draw the mask in the Program Monitor, then in Effect Controls drag it from Unassigned Masks onto the effect it should control, such as a blur or colour correction. Track the mask to follow a moving subject.
Checked against: Adobe Premiere (formerly Premiere Pro), 2026 releases, Windows and Mac.
Method 1: Shape or pen mask
Select the clip
Select the clip in the Timeline.
Pick a mask tool
In the Toolbar, press and hold the Object Mask Tool, then choose the Ellipse Mask Tool, Rectangle Mask Tool or Pen Mask Tool.
Draw the mask
Draw the shape over the area in the Program Monitor.
Assign it to an effect
Open Effect Controls. Under Unassigned Masks, drag the mask onto the effect it should limit, then refine the mask controls under that effect.
Track it
Under the mask, click Track selected mask forward and backward so the mask follows the subject. Masks track best on well-defined, high-contrast subjects.
Method 2: Object Masking
Select an object instead of drawing
Object Masking selects a person or object for you and follows it through the clip. Check the result frame by frame on fast motion.
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Effect applies to the whole frame | The mask is still under Unassigned Masks; drag it onto the effect. |
| Tracking slips off the subject | Track in shorter sections, adjust the mask, and continue tracking from that frame. |
| Hard visible edge | Raise Mask Feather under the mask. |
Questions people ask
How do I invert a mask in Premiere Pro?
Tick Inverted under the mask in Effect Controls to apply the effect outside the shape.
Can Premiere track a mask automatically?
Yes. Use the tracking buttons under the mask; Premiere follows the subject across frames.
What is Object Masking?
A mask that selects a person or object for you instead of a drawn shape.
More Premiere Pro guides
Sources and how we checked
- Adobe Help: Create masks using shapes (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 18 Apr 2026)
- Adobe Help: Track masks (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 29 Sep 2026)
- Adobe Help: Object Masking (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 28 Sep 2026)
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.