How to Use Motion Tracking in Premiere Elements

Liza Brown

Sep 30, 2024• Proven solutions

Many people love to use Premiere Elements for editing their videos. The truth is that this is a great software to add different elements and make them stand out. One of the most used features is the motion tracking in Premiere Elements. But how can you exactly do a motion track in Premiere Elements? Just keep reading this article.

You may also like: How to Use Motion Tracking in Adobe Premiere Pro Easily

How to Apply Motion Tracking in Video Clips in Premiere Elements

Motion tracking in Premiere Elements has become a lot easier. This feature allows you to track moving objects in a specific video clip. One of the best things about the motion track feature is that you have the ability to attach still images, graphics, or even video clips to these objects. Here are the steps that you need to follow to track an object in a video clip:

Step #1: The first thing you need to do is to import your video clip to the timeline.

Step #2: Make sure that you have your video clip selected. Then, just select Motion Tracking. You can find it in the Action bar, on Tools tab.

Step #3: Click on Select Object. At this point, you should be seeing a resizable frame that you can easily resize by simply dragging on the corner circles.

Step #4: Click on Track Object. Please notice that this step may take a few moments to apply on the video clip.

Step #5: Now, it's time to view the clip with the motion tracking that you applied. In order to do it just press the spacebar or click the Play button.

How to Use Motion Track to Spotlight the Moving Objects with Graphics

When you want to enhance even more your videos, there's nothing like adding a graphic or two that move with it using Motion Tracking. Here is what you need to do:

Step #1: Add the video clip that you want to use to your timeline and select it.

Step #2: Move the current time indicator to the point where you want to start tracking the object.

Step #3: Go to the Tools button, and choose Motion Tracking. A few instructions appear telling you to first select the object that you want to track. Click the Select Object button, and a box appears. You should use this box to define the object that you want to track. You can move it along the screen as well as you can use the handles to resize the box. When completed, click on the Track Object button.

Step #4: You should now be able to see a yellow rectangle or square around the object, adjust it to define the object that will be tracked.

Step #5: Now, it's time to see how Premiere Elements was able to track the object with the video on play. So, just click on the Play button to see it.

Step #6: Just place the current time indicator in the place where you started tracking the object so that you can finally attach a graphic to it.

Step #7: Click on the Graphics button and choose the graphic that you want to use. Just drag and drop it to your main window.

Step #8: Reposition and resize it as you want and click Done.

Step #9: To see how the video clip is, just click on the Play button.

How to Use Motion Track to Spotlight the Moving Objects with Videos

When you want to motion track an object with a video instead of with a graphic, the process is pretty much the same. You will need to do exactly what you did in the previous instructions up until the Step #6 and then:

Step #1: Open the Project Assets to choose the video that you want to use. Just drag and drop it to the preview window of Premiere Elements. You will now have the video you selected inside a resizable box, just like when you had the graphic. A blue rectangle indicates that the footage is attached to the tracked objects.

Step #2: Resize the video size and adjust the video position. When you are done with the adjustment, just click on the Play button to see it in action.

Alternative: Tracking Moving Objects with Filmora Motion Tracking

Motion Tracking in Premiere Elements is quite straightforward. But the lack of numerous advanced and modern editing features may leave you wanting. This is where Filmora comes to the rescue. 

Wondershare Filmora comes with an incredible automatic Motion Tracking tool. This tool is lightweight, almost instantaneous and as easy to use as it gets. Even if your clip is hours long, with Filmora, you can track objects with just a few clicks. You can also move the tracked data to another part of the video or transfer it onto another clip.

The best thing about Filmora is that it is a complete package. You get cinema-grade editing capability on an interface that even amateurs can navigate through. Trendy filters & effects are available for social media enthusiasts. Moreover, there is an Action Cam tool for handling all the action camera editing. For gamers, however, Filmora comes with a featureful screen recorder built-in. Download the free trial version below and inspire your creativity.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown