[Now Released] New Masking Tools

I'm running into an issue that sometimes occurs when trying to edit an already tracked object mask. For example, If the track misses something and I try to add to the mask and re-track, it ignores the new selection and only follows its original track. Similarly if it starts tracking more than I want and I improve the selection, as soon as I hit the track button It will instantly revert back to the original mask. I can't figure out what the conditions are to reproduce the problem, sometimes it works no problem, sometimes it only works if I start at the beginning of the track, sometimes it doesn't work at all and I need to create a new mask from the point where I need to change it and hide the other one. I can have 2 videos in the same project, or even the same timeline, where one video is giving me this issue and the other video allows me to edit the mask's tracking no problem.

Finally a moment to do some testing with the new mask features. Here's my feedback after a quick spin.

As overall feature this is a great step forward. Allowing tools to be expanded in functionality by adding UI elements in the viewer (program monitor) is a good choice. Many other tools can potentially benefit from such mechanisms breaking out of the sometimes restrictive effects panel slider, checkbox, menu principles. Why not promote the tracker buttons to the Program Monitor as well? So you can keep your eyes around the same working area when tracking.

1. Individual mask tools cannot be cycled with a single assigned keystroke (like in Photoshop or AE) making cycling between them a pain. Assigning a key per tool is not a solution.
2. In addition to the above, what also helps is if the mask tool types are exposed in the program monitor UI so you can switch between them quickly after either of them was activated, without using keyboard shortcuts or holding down your mouse while selecting it in the toolbar. See this mockup for reference + the tracker tools.
3. When transforming, anchor point cannot be snapped to one of the 9 boundingbox positions. Would expect this to be possible via holding CTRL while moving it for example.
   
   
4. Transform controls for rect/elipse is confusing w.r.t their values. Anchor becomes 0,0 (top left canvas), size is the sequence resolution, shape returns to original drawn position. Why not make this function the same as AE's shapes where rect path size == absolute in pixels drawn and transform size(scale) = separate % scalar with 100%  == drawn size. Such a mechanism would also allow for drawing fixed resolution masks onto footage.
5. Would be useful if center positional data of a tracked mask could be used to drive other effects. For example you track a face and you copy paste it to transform of a text element. (See how BorisFX Mocha stores tracking data)
6. AI masking option is rough. There is severe lack of temporal stability or mask detail around edges and transparency. There are also no options to refine the matte with post effect other than feathering/blur. To make it more useful you'd need some user controlled tools like painting in gaps created on random frames by the model.
7. Editors likely use masking tools 99/100 times for opacity. This should be a default (or user preference) if no other destination is selected when drawing on a selected clip, instead of the unnassigned masks section.
   
   To conclude, what definitely a showstopper is atm is the fact that it takes way too much time getting from A to B if all you want to do is apply an elipse or rectangle mask onto a clip. If point 1, 2 and 7 are addressed this should already be greatly improved.
   
   
   

Step-by-Step Process:

Convert Tracked Mask to Opacity Mask
Right-click your tracked mask in the Effect Controls panel and select "Change to Opacity Mask" to activate mask-based transparency effects [2].

Duplicate Video Layer

Create a duplicate of your original video clip
Remove the tracked opacity mask from this duplicated layer

Layer Arrangement

Place the duplicated layer (without mask) on Video Track 1 (V1)
Position your masked layer (with opacity effects) on Video Track 3 (V3) or higher
Add your graphics/elements to Video Track 2 (V2)

This stacking order ensures proper visibility:

V1: Clean background video
V2: Overlay graphics
V3+: Masked effects layer

The graphics on V2 will now appear sandwiched between the base video and masked layer for controlled compositing.

The regular mask doesn't work in the beta version. It's impossible to change the position, size, or animate a regular, non-object mask. The path isn't created or moved; the mask stays in place, and its position and size can't be moved.

The new masking tools in Premiere Pro Beta are a big step forward  especially the AI-powered Object Mask and improved shape tracking. These updates make editing faster and reduce the need to switch to After Effects for simple masking tasks. I’ve been exploring similar creative tech enhancements on Touch Cric , where speed and precision also matter for delivering live visuals smoothly. Adobe’s direction here clearly focuses on smarter, more efficient workflows for editors.

First of all, I'm really glad to see features like this being explored in Premire. Resolve's AI masking has been something I wish I had in my toolbox for a while.

I'm mainly giving feedback on the object tracker here: it's amazingly quick, seems to find subjects in videos with no issue, and tracks them with 90% accuracy with one click. Amazing! BUT!
The model is too flickery/chattered/indecisive to be useful at all. For example: If I'd like to mask a subject, then invert it and apply color correction to the background with the subject cut out, I can see the flicker of the mask around the subject in a major way. Feathering, expanding, or modifying the mask with the Add or Subtract tools can't help fix it.
All in all, this is a useful feature that I'll be keeping an eye on, but in its current state: I'd like to see refinements to the model that improve its edge detection and consistency.

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How can users move the Mask Anchor Point? It is centered in the Mask when it is created, but does not update when you move individual mask points. So the Mask Shape scales and rotates from the wrong point. The Mask anchor point is not selectable with any mouse-based tools.

Just tried it.  The first thing I noticed: NO SIDE HANDLES in rectangular masks!  Why do you guys HATE your users to the point you wouldn't even put as simple a feature as side handles??????!!!!!!!!

Adobe = one step forward, two steps back

For the love of god FIX THIS!  Or are you going to make us beg for the simplest of features like you did years ago by withholding side handles in the crop tool for years?! 

Seeing the absolute calousness with which you treat your users, that's one step closer for me to jump ship to DaVinci Resolve.  I've absolutely had it with the way Adobe disrespects its paying users by refusing to provide the most basic functionality imaginable.  Inexcusable!

I was hoping I could use this to give a nice clean mask to head and shoulders footage, and drop the background image in, but the mask edges are way too pixely to be used, and not enough tools to tweak smoothness or the amount of points being tracked etc.
It also takes quite a while - 17 minutes for 1 minute of footage for similar results to what Teams or Zoom does in realtime.
As a back up I used Colour Key and that gave much better results.