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GildishChambino
GildishChambino
Participant
February 10, 2026
Open for Voting

Revert back to the previous premiere version where gaussian blur had a mask feature.

  • February 10, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 50 views

I upgraded to premiere 26.0 which removed the feature where you could create a circular or rectangular mask within the gaussian blur effect. Now you have to manually add a mask to the effect which is so time consuming and not suitable for the kind of work I do with premiere. Please bring back that feature!

      2 replies

      R Neil Haugen
      R Neil Haugen
      Legend
      February 12, 2026

      So they’ve already changed the way the new masking works … in the 26.01(3) build just released. So it’s now different enough again that to use it, you will need to go to their help.

       

      Hover over the masking tool in the Toolbar, it pops up a dialog with a ‘Learn more’ option, and I do suggest everyone try that.

      Takes you here …

      https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere/desktop/add-video-effects/create-masks-and-composites/object-masking.html

      Everyone's mileage always varies ...
      braydon
      braydon
      Inspiring
      February 10, 2026

      I guess I won’t be upgrading to the 2026 version for a while then. I use the in-effect mask on gaussian blur all the time, too. Why take away completely functional tools?

      R Neil Haugen
      R Neil Haugen
      Legend
      February 11, 2026

      Because the new masking function is vastly improved over the old very limited masking. For example, most of the rotoscoping we used to have to go to AfterEffects for, can now be done as good if not better, and faster, in Premiere itself.

      It’s different … but also does a ton more than before.

      Start a mask from the mask tool in the tool palette or keyboard shortcut … select something on screen, and click for either Clip (automated) or Frame (manual) mode in the Program monitor … then you assign the mask to any and all effects you want to use it on.

      If you take someone used to all the capabilities of the new masking process, and took it away, you would get screams of horror … at the removal of capabilities.

      Everyone's mileage always varies ...
      braydon
      braydon
      Inspiring
      February 11, 2026

      I take you point. Honestly, this is the first I’ve heard about any of it, but the idea of losing a functional tool raises immediate alarm. I’m not sure why the two masking systems have to be mutually exclusive. Masks have always been copyable, pastable, stackable, moveable - they’re already extremely flexible.
      I also don’t know if other effects have lost their old-school masking abilities, or if it’s just gaussian blur, but I’m not in a hurry to upgrade and find out. Speed is of the essence to me, and I know I can do what I need to in a matter of two or three clicks with the old masks. Rotoscoping, etc, is cool, but not always necessary. Why do I need to go through additional steps when I literally just want a quick ellipse specific to one effect on one clip?

      Back to this being the first I’ve heard of it… it actually took a bit of digging just now to find out anything official from Adobe, and what information they have made available is pathetically minimal (it doesn’t even mention the rotoscoping abilities!). So, it’s hard not to jump to the conclusion that Adobe are en****tifiying their products when they don’t even provide basic contextual information. Without spending all my time on forums or YouTube, how do they expect me to understand and embrace such changes???

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