How do I add a white border in Premiere Pro?
Create a white Color Matte, put it on V1 under your clip, and scale the clip down to about 90% so an even white margin shows.
Free · runs in your browser
How to add a border to a video in Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere gives you three good ways to frame a clip. Here is each one, when to use it, and a quicker route for a single clip.
In Premiere the cleanest border is a Color Matte under your clip: put a solid colour on track V1, your video on V2, and scale the video down so the colour frames it. Version 26 also brings a Stroke effect (under Video Effects → Utility) for an outline round the picture, and shapes drawn with the Rectangle tool can carry their own stroke. Adobe now calls the app simply Adobe Premiere; these steps apply to version 26 and close relatives.
If the border is the only thing the clip needs, the tool at the top of this page is quicker: no project or sequence, just pick a look, a shape and Export video. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer.
Add a border with a colour matte
From Adobe’s help page on colour mattes (Premiere 26).
Create a colour matte
In the lower right of the Project panel, select the New Item icon and choose Color Matte. Match its width, height, timebase and pixel aspect ratio to your sequence, then select OK.
Pick the colour
Choose the border colour in the Color Picker, select OK, and give the matte a name.
Stack the tracks
Drag the matte to V1 and place your video on V2 above it, then trim the matte to the clip’s length.
Scale the video down
Select the clip and lower Scale under Motion in the Effect Controls panel (90% gives an even margin of about 5% on each side).
Export
Export the sequence as usual. The matte shows round the clip as a border.
Outline the clip with the Stroke effect
Premiere 26 added a Stroke effect in Video Effects → Utility, adapted from the former Film Impact plug-in, which outlines text, shapes or footage. Drag it onto the clip and set the colour and width in Effect Controls. An outline doesn’t add space round the picture, so pair it with a colour matte if you want both.
For rounded corners there is a Rounded Crop effect under Image Control. The older Crop effect now sits in the Legacy category.
Draw a frame with the Rectangle tool
- Choose the Rectangle tool and drag a rectangle on the Program Monitor, slightly larger than the clip.
- In the Properties panel under Appearance, turn off Fill and turn on Stroke, then set its colour and width. Stroke can sit inside, outside or on the edge, and you can add more than one.
- Keep the shape’s layer above the video for a frame, or below it with Fill on for a solid card.
Premiere or the browser tool?
Premiere is the right place when the border is part of a graded, titled edit. For one finished clip, a social-media shape or a look Premiere makes slow, such as a blurred background, a Polaroid edge with a caption or rounded corners, the browser tool takes a fraction of the time.
Premiere Pro border questions
Is there a border effect in Premiere?
Premiere 26 includes a Stroke effect under Video Effects → Utility for outlines. A colour matte is still the simplest way to add space round the picture.
Where did File → New → Color Matte go?
Adobe’s current help creates colour mattes from the New Item icon at the bottom right of the Project panel. Older menus may still show it under File → New.
How do I round the corners of a clip in Premiere?
Use the Rounded Crop effect under Image Control, or round them here with Corner radius under More options.
Can I add a border without re-exporting the whole project?
No: Premiere renders the border into the export. In the browser tool you also re-encode, but only that one clip.