Mask animation does not work

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •The masked element has no mask-related property tracks
• •Animating the target moves the content but not the reveal
• •The mask jumps rather than sweeping
• •The animation works in preview and not after a reload

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The masked element is being keyframed instead of the mask shape.

   Select the clip shape itself and keyframe its position, scale or vertices. Animating the clip shape is what produces reveal and wipe effects.

2. 2

   Record Mode is off, so property changes are not creating keyframes.

   Toggle Record Mode with Ctrl+Alt+R, or click the red record button in the transport controls, before changing properties.

3. 3

   The mask shape is inside a group and out of scope.

   Double-click into the group to select the clip shape directly, or animate the group if the whole mask should move as a unit.

4. 4

   Hold keyframes are producing a jump rather than a sweep.

   Hold keyframes maintain a value with no interpolation. Right-click and toggle them back to standard keyframes for a smooth reveal.

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