Set clip opacity

Last updated on Jun 23, 2025

Learn how to set opacity for a video clip during your video editing workflow.

Adobe Premiere Pro deeplink

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Follow along with any project to learn how to specify a video clip's opacity.

  1. Expand the view of a track, if necessary, by selecting the triangle next to the track name to expand its options.

  2. If necessary, select the Show Keyframes   button and then Show Opacity Handles from the menu. A horizontal opacity control rubber band appears in all the clips of the track.

    Note:

    If no keyframes exist on the track, the rubber band appears as a straight horizontal line across the entire track.

  3. In the Timeline panel, do one of the following:

    • Select the Selection tool and drag the opacity control rubber band up or down.
    • Select the Pen tool and drag the opacity control rubber band up or down.

    The opacity value and current time appear as a tool tip as you drag.

  4. (Optional) To animate the Opacity effect over time, first set keyframes. Select the Pen tool. Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (macOS) on the opacity control rubber band with the Pen tool wherever you want to set a keyframe. Then drag each keyframe up or down to set its value.

    For example, to fade a clip in, create a keyframe at the beginning of the clip and another a few seconds later. Drag the first down to the bottom of the clip at 0 opacity. Drag the second up to 100%.

Tip:
  • Learn more about adjusting opacity in the Effect Controls tab in the Source panel.
  • You can use either the Selection tool or the Pen tool to move keyframes or Opacity handles. To adjust the smoothness of the animation, change the keyframe interpolation from linear to Bezier.