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Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Add the Show Guides button to your Program Monitor
You need a crosshair to line up the face. Click the + (Button Editor) at the bottom right of the Program Monitor, then drag the Show Guides button onto the toolbar and click OK. Its shortcut is Ctrl + ; (Cmd + ; on Mac). Turn it on and a cyan crosshair appears over your video.
Step 2: Zoom the monitor in and place the guides on the face
Put your clip on the timeline and set the Program Monitor zoom to 200%. Scroll or drag in the monitor until the dancer's face is visible, and place the guide lines so their crossing point sits right on the face, for example between the eyes. This point is where the face must stay for the whole clip.
Step 3: Apply the Transform effect
Open the Effects panel, search for Transform and drag Video Effects > Distort > Transform onto your clip. We use this one instead of the built-in Motion controls because it lets you move the whole picture without cropping it away.
Faster with BetterFX: skip the Effects panel. Press your BetterFX shortcut, type the first letters of Transform and press Enter to apply it to the selected clip. Get BetterFX
Step 4: Keyframe Position frame by frame
Select the clip, open Effect Controls and turn on the stopwatch next to Position under Transform. Now move forward one frame with the Right Arrow key. The face has moved away from the crosshair, so change the Position values (or drag the picture in the monitor) until the face is back on the guides. Premiere Pro adds a new keyframe each time you change the value.
Repeat this for every frame, or every couple of frames if the movement is slow. It takes a little patience, but this is the whole trick: you are the tracker. When the face drifts only a little between frames, the keyframes stay small and the motion looks smooth.
Step 5: Scale up to hide the edges
When you finish, set the Program Monitor zoom back to Fit and play your clip. The background now slides around and may reveal black borders at the edges, because the picture was moved to follow the face. Increase Scale under Transform a little, until the borders disappear, and check the whole clip again.
Tips
- Pick a still part of the face. The space between the eyes moves less than the mouth, so it makes a steadier anchor point.
- Work on short clips. A two to four second moment is enough for a TikTok-style effect, and it keeps the number of keyframes manageable.
- Check at full speed. Play back often, and fix any frame where the face jumps off the crosshair.
FAQ
Is there an automatic face tracker in Premiere Pro?
Premiere Pro can track masks automatically, for example when you blur a face, but it has no one-click effect that keeps a face centered. Keyframing the Transform position gives you full control of the result.
Why do I see black edges after tracking?
Moving the picture to follow the face pushes the edges of the video into view. Increase the Scale value in the Transform effect until the borders are gone.
Does this work on any video?
Yes, but it works best when the face stays visible and the shot is sharp. Fast spins or heavy motion blur make it harder to line up each frame.
Want more ready-made looks for your edits? Browse the free Premiere Pro presets.
