Automatic OBJECT MASK in Premiere Pro BETA 🚀

Kyler Holland
Oct 5
4 min read

Imagine isolating a subject in your video with a single click — no painstaking rotoscoping, no manual keyframes. That’s exactly what my new tutorial teaches: how to use Premiere Pro’s automatic object mask feature (in Beta) to separate, animate, and creatively control any object in your footage. In just a few minutes, you’ll go from “what’s that feature?” to “wow, I can blur everything behind this person or slide text behind them seamlessly.” Let’s dive in.

What This Tutorial Covers & Why It Matters

What You’ll Learn

How to invoke the Object Mask Tool in Premiere Pro Beta
How to track your object forward and backward
How to add or subtract from the mask for precision
How to unassign the mask, copy it to opacity, and reuse it
How to use the mask in creative workflows (blur background, text behind subject, custom transitions)

The Problem It Solves for Editors & Creators

Many editors struggle with tedious masking workflows — frame-by-frame adjustments, manual keyframes, or relying on After Effects or third-party tools. This new feature dramatically reduces that friction. You can isolate and animate a subject right inside Premiere, letting you:

Speed up effects workflows
Create cinematic transitions easily
Layer text or graphics behind people or objects
Blur or stylize backgrounds without extra masking software

In short: it brings powerful object-based masking into your standard Premiere workflow.

Key Takeaways & Use Cases

Key Takeaway	Use Case / Real-World Example
One-click object mask tool	Instantly isolate a runner in your B-roll
Forward/backward tracking	Keep subject masked across motion
Add/subtract mask control	Exclude unwanted objects or re-include details
Copy mask to opacity	Make the subject transparent or “cut out”
Creative effects layering	Blur background, place text behind, stylize scene
Transition trick with mask	Blend two video clips by cutting masked subject over background

Example scenario: You have a person walking in a scene, and want to put a title behind them (so the title appears “behind” their body). Use object mask, unassign → opacity, then place the text layer below. Voilà — the title seamlessly sits behind the subject.

Another example: You want to blur everything but your subject. Use the object mask, copy to opacity, and apply Gaussian or directional blur to the background layer. This is perfect for talking-head B-roll or cinematic portraits.

Mini Step-by-Step Workflow (Based on the Tutorial)

Here’s a simplified breakdown you (or your readers) can follow quickly:

Select your clip in the timeline.
Click the new Object Mask Tool button.
Click the object in the video you want to isolate.
In Effects Controls, click “Track Selected Mask Forward” (and backward if needed).
If parts are missing, use Add to Mask / Subtract from Mask tools and retrack.
Once the mask is solid, click Unassign Mask (so it’s free).
Copy the mask and paste onto Opacity (makes subject transparent).
Stack a duplicate of the clip above (transparent) and the original beneath.
On the bottom clip, apply an effect (like Directional Blur or Gaussian Blur) — the mask “travels” with it.
For transitions: overlay your second clip, copy mask to opacity, and animate scale + position to ease things in.

As you play around, you’ll discover more creative tweaks like animating mask feathering, combining masks, or layering adjustments.

Who Should Watch This Tutorial (Beginners → Advanced)

Beginners / aspiring editors: If you’ve used Premiere Pro before but haven’t yet explored masking, this is a powerful new tool to unlock.
Intermediate editors: You’ll appreciate how much time this saves vs. manual masking or sending to After Effects.
Advanced users / motion designers: Use it as a fast base before refining in compositing tools, or integrate it into complex effects stacks.

If you already do heavy masking and rotoscoping daily, this won’t replace your advanced workflows, but it augments them, often speeding up work that used to take minutes per shot.

Why You Should Watch the Video Now

The blog gives you the overview—and the video shows exactly how it works: you’ll see the buttons, mouse clicks, timing, mask edge behavior, and real examples. Watching speeds up your ability to replicate the effect.

👉 Watch the tutorial on YouTube now

While you're there:

Subscribe to the channel (so you don’t miss new features)
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Leave a comment letting me know what you tried

Final Thoughts & Call to Action

Automatic object mask in Premiere Pro Beta is a game-changer. It slashes time spent masking, lets you bring 3D creative effects into 2D editing, and gives you the flexibility to treat subjects like cutouts in your timeline.

Don’t just read ▶️ Watch the tutorial above, try it on your own footage, and experiment with transitions, blur, text layering, or stylized effects.

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