A ripped paper transition tears the screen open with white paper strips and reveals the next clip behind it. You can make one in Premiere Pro with two paper PNG images, a handful of position and rotation keyframes, Hold interpolation and an animated mask.
Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Set up your clips and the first paper layer
Place the clip you want to transition to on the track above the first clip, overlapping them slightly where the transition should happen. Then drag a ripped paper PNG from your project onto the timeline, above both clips. Select it, open Effect Controls, untick Uniform Scale and adjust the Scale Width until the paper covers your whole video.

Faster with QuickPaste: copy the image and paste it straight into your timeline with one shortcut, without saving and importing a file first. See QuickPaste
Step 2: Add the second paper strip
Drag the second ripped paper PNG onto the track below the first paper layer, so it sits on V3 above your clips. Select it and set Rotation to 90 in Effect Controls so the paper runs the other direction.
Step 3: Keyframe Position and Rotation
With the second paper layer selected, click the stopwatches for Position and Rotation. At the first keyframe, change the Position so the paper starts off screen. Move forward a few frames and change the Position so the paper slides in over the start of the clip, then adjust the Rotation a little. Repeat: jump a few frames, shift the position and rotate slightly, and carry on through the length of the clip. When the paper has moved all the way across, move it off screen at the end.

Step 4: Cut the paper clips and switch to Hold
Make a cut on both paper clips where the animation ends and delete the leftover parts. At this point the paper moves very smoothly, which looks odd, so select the clip with the keyframes, select all the keyframes, right-click one and go to Temporal Interpolation > Hold. The paper now jumps from one position to the next, like a stop motion tear.

Step 5: Mask the top video
Now make the clip underneath appear through the tear. Select the clip with the keyframes and use the arrow in Effect Controls to jump to the second keyframe. Select the top video clip, and under Opacity click the Free draw Bezier tool. Zoom the Program Monitor out to around 10 percent so you can draw outside the frame, then draw a mask around the whole frame.
Step 6: Keyframe the mask path along the paper
Click the stopwatch next to Mask Path in Effect Controls and move that first keyframe to the start of the transition. Move one frame back and click the circle next to Mask Path to add a keyframe, then go one frame forward and reshape the mask so its edge follows the torn edge of the paper. Jump to the next keyframe of the paper clip, step one frame back, add a Mask Path keyframe, move one frame forward and adjust the mask again. Repeat this all the way through, and on the last mask make sure the shape lines up with the paper.


Step 7: Clean up the ends
Cut and delete any leftover clip parts. If a black border flashes during playback, find the frame where it appears, place the playhead there and align the start of the second clip with the playhead.
Tips
- Zoom out to 10 percent. It lets you draw and move the mask outside the picture, so no edge shows.
- Use Hold, not smooth motion. The stepped movement is what makes it feel like real torn paper. Another cut-out style to try is the paper effect.
FAQ
How do I make a ripped paper transition in Premiere Pro?
Animate paper PNGs with position and rotation keyframes, set them to Hold, and use an animated mask on the top clip so the next clip shows through the tear.
Where do I get the ripped paper image?
You need a ripped paper texture as a transparent PNG. The tutorial's description links to the asset used in the video.
Why does the paper animation look too smooth?
Smooth interpolation makes the paper glide. Select the keyframes and change the Temporal Interpolation to Hold for a choppy paper look.
Prefer a ready-made version? Get the paper animation template.








