Track masks

Last updated on Jun 23, 2025

Learn how to use Mask Tracking to automatically track the movement of a mask over time within a video clip.

Adobe Premiere Pro deeplink

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Follow along with any project to learn how to automatically track a mask’s movement.

This is especially useful when you need to isolate and follow a moving object or subject in your footage. Mask tracking saves you time and ensures that your masks stay aligned with the tracked object throughout the clip.

Use mask tracking for tasks like blurring faces, adding text or graphics to moving objects, isolating specific elements, or applying color corrections to a tracked area. For accurate tracking, a well-defined and high-contrast object or feature within the mask area is important.

Before you begin:

Create a mask and position it over the area or object you want to track.

  1. Open the Effect Controls panel, and then select the mask and expand its properties.

  2. In the Mask Path option, select the Track Selected Mask Forward button (right-pointing arrow) to start tracking the mask as the object moves. You can also track backward if needed.

  3. Select the Tracking Method

    • Position: Tracks just the mask position from frame to frame.
    • Position & Rotation: Tracks the mask position while changing the rotation as required per frame.
    • Position, Scale, & Rotation: Tracks the mask position while automatically scaling and rotating as the frame moves.

    Premiere Pro analyzes the video clip to detect motion and track the movement of the mask. This process may take some time, depending on the complexity of the tracking.

  4. (Optional) Mask tracking is faster when Preview is disabled. While this is the default state, if it is enabled, you can disable it by selecting the mask’s Tracking Method icon and deselecting Preview.

  5. Play the video on your timeline to preview the tracked mask and make adjustments as needed to ensure the mask stays aligned with the object's movement.

Tip:

Premiere Pro uses its built-in tracking technology for mask tracking, but for more advanced tracking tasks, send your sequence to After Effects using Dynamic Link.