- After Effects User Guide
- Beta releases
- Getting started
- Workspaces
- Projects and compositions
- Importing footage
- Text and Graphics
- Text
- Motion Graphics
- Work with Motion Graphics templates in After Effects
- Use expressions to create drop-down lists in Motion Graphics templates
- Work with Essential Properties to create Motion Graphics templates
- Replace images and videos in Motion Graphics templates and Essential Properties
- Animate faster and easier using the Properties panel
- Drawing, Painting, and Paths
- Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics
- Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser
- Taper shape strokes
- Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers
- Use Offset Paths shape effect to alter shapes
- Creating shapes
- Create masks
- Remove objects from your videos with the Content-Aware Fill panel
- Roto Brush and Refine Matte
- Layers, Markers, and Camera
- Animation, Keyframes, Motion Tracking, and Keying
- Animation
- Keyframe
- Motion tracking
- Keying
- Transparency and Compositing
- Adjusting color
- Effects and Animation Presets
- Effects and animation presets overview
- Effect list
- Effect Manager
- Simulation effects
- Stylize effects
- Audio effects
- Distort effects
- Perspective effects
- Channel effects
- Generate effects
- Time effects
- Transition effects
- The Rolling Shutter Repair effect
- Blur and Sharpen effects
- 3D Channel effects
- Utility effects
- Matte effects
- Noise and Grain effects
- Detail-preserving Upscale effect
- Obsolete effects
- Expressions and Automation
- Expressions
- Expression basics
- Understanding the expression language
- Using expression controls
- Syntax differences between the JavaScript and Legacy ExtendScript expression engines
- Editing expressions
- Expression errors
- Using the Expressions editor
- Use expressions to edit and access text properties
- Expression language reference
- Expression examples
- Automation
- Expressions
- Immersive video, VR, and 3D
- Construct VR environments in After Effects
- Apply immersive video effects
- Compositing tools for VR/360 videos
- Advanced 3D Renderer
- Import and add 3D models to your composition
- Import 3D models from Creative Cloud Libraries
- Image-Based Lighting
- Extract and animate lights and cameras from 3D models
- Tracking 3D camera movement
- Cast and accept shadows
- Embedded 3D model animations
- Shadow Catcher
- 3D depth data extraction
- Modify materials properties of a 3D layer
- Work in 3D Design Space
- 3D Transform Gizmos
- Do more with 3D animation
- Preview changes to 3D designs real time with the Mercury 3D engine
- Add responsive design to your graphics
- Views and Previews
- Rendering and Exporting
- Basics of rendering and exporting
- H.264 Encoding in After Effects
- Export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project
- Converting movies
- Multi-frame rendering
- Automated rendering and network rendering
- Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences
- Using the GoPro CineForm codec in After Effects
- Working with other applications
- Collaboration: Frame.io, and Team Projects
- Memory, storage, performance
- Knowledge Base
The mask tracker transforms a mask so that it follows the motion of an object (or objects) in a movie. You usually create and use masks to hide clips from the final output, select a part of the image or video to apply effects, or combine clips from different sequences.
To use the mask tracker, select a mask and click the Mask Path setting under the mask. Right-click the selected mask and select Track Mask to begin tracking a mask.
When a mask is selected, the Tracker panel switches to mask tracking mode, and displays the following controls:
- Track forward either one frame at a time or until the end of the layer.
- Track backward either one frame at a time or until the end of the layer.
- Different methods with which you can choose to modify position, scale, rotation, skew, and perspective of the mask.
If the Tracker panel is not displayed, select a mask and go to Animation > Track Mask to display the panel. You can also context-click a mask and choose Track Mask from the context menu.
The result of using the mask tracker can be seen in the application of keyframes for the Mask Path property; the mask shape matches the transformations tracked in the layer, depending on the type of method that is chosen.
Other considerations when using the mask tracker
- For effective tracking, the tracked object must maintain the same shape throughout the movie, though the position, scale, and perspective of the tracked object can change.
- You can select multiple masks before beginning the tracking operation, and keyframes are then added to the Mask Path property for each selected mask.
- The layer being tracked must be a track matte, an adjustment layer, or a layer with a source that can contain motion. This includes layers based on video footage and precompositions, but not solid-color layers or still images.
The mask tracking analysis searches for content inside the mask. Use the Mask Expansion property to expand or contract the area of the mask.
How to use the Track Mask effect (Learn tutorial)
Watch this tutorial to learn how to use the Track Mask effect in After Effects to add and shape mask elements that move accurately through your Premiere Pro sequence.
How to use the Mask Tracker (Learn tutorial)
See this tutorial to learn how to use the mask tracker in After Effects.