Edit the appearance of a mask

Last updated on Jun 23, 2025

Learn to adjust a mask’s shape, size, position, or rotation to control exactly how effects are applied.

Adobe Premiere Pro deeplink

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

When applying effects, corrections, or adjustments within a mask, you can modify the mask to ensure the effect is applied exactly how you want it. There are multiple ways to modify the shape, size, position, or orientation of a mask

  1. To change the shape of a mask, press Alt on Windows or Option on macOS and click and drag the vertices of the shape.

  2. To resize a mask, place your cursor just outside a vertex and use Shift. When the cursor becomes a double-sided arrow  icon, drag it to your desired size.

  3. To rotate a mask, place your cursor just outside a vertex. When your cursor becomes a curved double-sided arrow  icon,drag it to the desired angle.

  4. To change the shape of the mask, move, add, or remove vertex points and then drag them till you get your desired mask shape.

    • Move: Drag a vertex using the Selection tool.
    • Add: Place your cursor over a mask edge while holding down Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (macOS). When the cursor changes to a pen shape with a plus icon, select the spot you want to add the vertex.
    • Remove: Place your cursor over the point you want to remove while holding down Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (macOS). When the cursor changes to a pen shape with a minus  icon, select the point.
  5. To move a mask:

    • To move the mask by one unit, select a control point, and then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to nudge the point.
    • To move the mask by five units, select a control point, and then hold down Shift while using the arrow keys to nudge the point.
  6. To delete a mask, select the mask in the Effect Controls panel and use Delete on your keyboard.