CapCut Masking Tutorial: Mobile, PC & Keyframes

CapCut masking becomes much easier once one rule is fixed in your head: the mask belongs to the selected layer. It doesn't cut a hole in the whole project. It controls which part of one photo or video remains visible, letting the layer below show through everywhere else.

That distinction is the difference between a clean split screen and ten minutes spent moving the wrong clip. This tutorial covers masks on Mobile, Desktop and Web, then moves into feathering, invert, reveals, moving masks, keyframes and the failures that make a mask snap back or disappear.

Quick answer: stack two visuals, select the upper clip, open Mask, choose a shape, and adjust its size, position, rotation and feather. To animate it, add keyframes to the mask—not only to the clip's position.

What a CapCut Mask Does

A mask divides one selected layer into visible and hidden areas. The unmasked result below is not empty: it reveals whatever sits on lower tracks. That is why most masking edits need at least two layers.

• Linear or split masks reveal one side of a layer and work for comparisons, wipes and split screens.
• Circle or rectangle masks create picture-in-picture, spotlights and shaped reveals.
• Mirror or filmstrip-style masks can create repeated or banded compositions when available.
• Invert swaps which side of the mask is visible.
• Feather softens the boundary between visible and hidden areas.

Mask inventories and names can change by platform. CapCut's mask-video material confirms the core controls: shape, feather, size, position, rotation and inversion. Those concepts matter more than memorizing one toolbar order.

Prepare the Two Layers Before Masking

1. Put the background or base shot on the lower track.
2. Place the shot you want to mask on a track above it.
3. Align the two clips in time and trim them to the needed range.
4. Scale and position the upper clip before fine mask work if its subject is far from the final framing.
5. Save a project copy before building a complex moving mask.

The morning lesson on adding overlays in CapCut explains track order and picture-in-picture. Masking starts after that upper layer exists. Use the cut, trim and split guide if the two layers don't cover the same time range.

How to Mask Video in CapCut Mobile

1. Open the project and add the second photo or video through Overlay → Add overlay.
2. Tap the upper overlay clip on its timeline row.
3. Scroll the clip tools and open Mask.
4. Choose a shape that matches the boundary you need.
5. Move, resize and rotate the mask in the preview.
6. Adjust Feather only enough to remove a distracting hard edge.
7. Use Invert when the correct area is hidden instead of shown.
8. Play the full masked section before adding keyframes.

Mobile may show Mask only after an overlay or visual clip is selected. A running community question — where did Mask go on Mobile vs Desktop? — captures the problem well. Menu placement moves with versions; having to select the clip first is the part that stays.

How to Mask Video in CapCut Desktop

1. Import both visuals and place the clip to be masked on a timeline track above the base.
2. Select that upper clip—not its media-bin thumbnail and not the base track.
3. Open the clip's Video controls and choose Mask.
4. Select Circle, Linear, Rectangle or another available shape.
5. Adjust the mask in the preview or with position, size, rotation and feather fields.
6. Toggle Invert if you need the outside instead of the inside.
7. Scrub the full range to confirm both clips remain aligned.

CapCut's overlay-video guide describes selecting a timeline clip and opening Mask. If the panel is absent, reselect the visual track and check the Video controls. CapCut's keyframe help for PC makes the same broader point: property controls don't appear when nothing relevant is selected.

Mask Video in CapCut Web

Upload both visuals, place the masked clip above the base and select the upper layer. Open the available mask or clip-compositing controls, choose a shape, then adjust it in the canvas. CapCut promotes the same size, position, rotation, feather and invert ideas in its online mask tool.

Feature inventory can differ from Desktop and Mobile. Save before refreshing, wait for cloud media to finish, and test the real browser account rather than assuming a control shown in a Desktop video exists under the same name. Use the CapCut Web Editor guide when uploads or preview rendering fail.

Size, Position, Rotation, Feather and Invert

Size changes the revealed area

Make the mask large enough to include the intended subject, then inspect the opposite side for unwanted background. A larger mask is not a softer mask.

Position moves the mask, not the source clip

Drag the mask's center or use its position controls. If the entire image moves, you are editing the clip transform instead. Undo, reopen Mask and reselect the mask control.

Rotation changes the boundary direction

A Linear mask can become a vertical, horizontal or diagonal split. Match the rotation to a real line in the shot—a wall edge, horizon, doorway or object boundary—when you want the composite to feel motivated.

Feather softens only the edge

Use a hard or nearly hard edge for a deliberate split screen. Use moderate feather for light, blur or exposure blends. Excessive feather creates a foggy band and can expose details you meant to hide.

Invert swaps inside and outside

Invert is not a new mask shape. It reverses the visible side. CapCut's current face-blur workflow uses a circular mask and Invert as part of isolating the intended region.

Build a Split Screen With a Linear Mask

1. Stack the two shots and align the action in time.
2. Select the upper shot and apply a Linear or Split mask.
3. Rotate and position the boundary to divide the frame.
4. Reposition the upper clip inside its half without moving the mask by mistake.
5. Adjust the lower clip so both subjects have room.
6. Choose a hard boundary or a small feather based on the design.

CapCut's side-by-side guide covers multi-frame layouts. For a comparison, keep scale, eye line and color reasonably balanced. A diagonal split adds energy, but it should not cut through a face, product label or caption.

Create a Circle Reveal or Spotlight

Place the detail shot above the wide shot and add a Circle mask to the upper layer. Resize it around the detail, feather the edge lightly and position it where it doesn't cover essential content. A border graphic can separate the inset, but it should be another deliberate overlay rather than a random effect.

For a spotlight, duplicate the same shot on two tracks, adjust the upper copy, and mask the changed version to the important area. That can brighten, sharpen or color a region while the rest remains stable. If the goal is privacy, use the tested workflows in the CapCut face-blur guide or partial-blur guide; a soft spotlight is not a reliable privacy mask.

Clone Yourself or Build a Mask Reveal

Clone-yourself shot

Lock the camera before recording. Keep focus, exposure and lighting stable, then perform one action on one side of the frame and a second action on the other without crossing the planned boundary. Record enough empty time before and after both takes.

Place one take on the base track and align the second take above it. Apply a Linear mask to the upper clip and position the boundary in an area that stays visually quiet. A wall, doorway or open floor is easier to hide than moving leaves, reflections or shifting shadows. Use little or no feather when the two recordings match cleanly; increase it only enough to hide a seam.

Play the full overlap and watch hands, clothing, shadows and props near the boundary. If either performance crosses it, keyframe the mask around that moment or choose a different take. Mute one duplicate audio track unless both recordings are intentionally part of the sound design.

Animated mask reveal

For a wipe-style reveal, put the incoming shot above the outgoing shot and give the upper clip a Linear mask. At the first frame, position the visible area outside the canvas or at the starting edge and add a mask keyframe. Move later, drag the mask across the frame and create the end keyframe.

Match the reveal direction to movement in the shot—a passing object, camera pan or person crossing frame can hide the boundary. Feather enough to prevent a brittle digital edge, but not so much that both scenes become muddy. A mask reveal is built inside one upper clip; a standard transition joins adjacent clips. The CapCut transitions guide explains when the simpler adjacent-clip method is the better choice.

Animate a CapCut Mask With Keyframes

1. Select the clip that owns the mask and reopen its Mask controls.
2. Place the playhead at the first frame and add a keyframe to the mask property or confirm one is created.
3. Move the playhead forward.
4. Move, resize or rotate the mask itself to the new position, then add or confirm the next mask keyframe.
5. Play the frames between the points and add corrections when the subject changes direction.

The general CapCut keyframe guide explains interpolation and playhead order. A moving subject rarely follows one perfectly straight path, so two keyframes may not be enough. Add the fewest correction points that keep the mask aligned; too many make later fixes harder.

Don't promise yourself automatic tracking when your version only exposes mask keyframes. At least one user has watched a mask snap back mid-keyframing, so verify each mask keyframe as you set it and save a copy before a long manual track.

Mask vs Crop, Chroma Key and Background Removal

• Mask: hides or shows an area using a controllable shape.
• Crop: removes outer frame area and usually keeps a simple rectangular boundary.
• Chroma key: removes pixels around a selected color, such as a green background.
• Background removal: attempts to separate a subject from its background.
• Opacity: changes transparency across the whole selected layer.

Use the green-screen tutorial for a clean chroma background and the background-removal guide when the subject needs an irregular outline. A preset circle mask can't follow hair or fingers just because its feather is high.

Why a CapCut Mask Is Not Working

1. Selection: select the layer that should be hidden or revealed.
2. Timing: put the playhead inside that clip and inside the section where it overlaps the base.
3. Position: reset or recenter a mask dragged beyond the canvas.
4. Visibility: check layer order, opacity and track visibility.
5. Invert and feather: return to a hard, non-inverted mask to diagnose the boundary.
6. Keyframes: confirm the diamonds belong to Mask rather than Basic position, scale or opacity.
7. State: save a copy, restart or refresh, and export a short test before reinstalling.

The classic confusion — the mask moves when you meant to move the clip, or the other way around — comes up constantly. The fix starts with identifying which control is active. Undo first; random additional keyframes make the timeline harder to recover.

Inspect Every Masked Edge Before Export

View the composite at full frame and at phone size. Scrub slowly through entrances, direction changes and the end. Look for exposed corners, a subject leaving the mask, a feathered halo, one-frame flashes and captions crossing the boundary.

Export a short masked section and play it outside CapCut. If it matches, render the full project with the CapCut export settings for the destination. Keep the editable project because a flattened export can't restore the two layers or their mask keyframes.

CapCut Masking FAQ

How do I use a mask in CapCut Mobile?

Add the second visual as an overlay, select that upper clip, open Mask, choose a shape, and adjust its position, size, rotation and feather. The mask affects the selected layer, not every layer in the project.

Where is Mask in CapCut on PC?

Select the visual clip you want to mask, then open its Video controls and find Mask. If no clip is selected, clip-specific mask and keyframe controls may not appear.

What does Invert do on a CapCut mask?

Invert swaps the visible and hidden sides of the mask. A circle that normally shows the inside will show the outside after inversion, revealing the layer beneath through the center.

How do I feather a mask in CapCut?

Select the masked clip and increase Feather until the edge blends naturally. Feather softens the boundary; it doesn't move the mask or repair a badly aligned subject.

Can I animate a mask in CapCut?

Yes. Add a mask keyframe at the starting position, move the playhead, move or resize the mask, and add or confirm the next mask keyframe. Inspect the frames between them and add correction points when needed.

Why does my mask move the video instead?

The transform box for the clip and the mask control can overlap. Re-select the clip, reopen Mask, and drag the mask's own center or edge handles. Confirm the active keyframe belongs to Mask rather than Basic position or scale.

Is a CapCut mask the same as background removal?

No. A mask hides or reveals an area defined by a shape. Background removal tries to isolate a subject, while chroma key removes a selected color. Use the tool that matches the edge you need.

This is the masking lesson in the CapCut tutorial learning path. Once the composite survives a test export, move on to troubleshooting connection and template issues without changing a finished mask.