How to Create X-Ray Effect in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2020)

Creating an X-ray effect is a fun way to give your footage a futuristic, sci-fi vibe. Now to be clear, this is not a literal X-ray. For something like that you would need proper VFX work in After Effects with 3D renders. But what we can do in Premiere Pro is create a really cool inverted color scan effect that sweeps across the screen. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie and it is surprisingly easy to pull off.

The technique uses the Invert effect with an animated mask on an adjustment layer. Let’s walk through it.

How to Create an X-Ray Effect in Premiere Pro

Setting Up the Layers

1. Create a new sequence and drag your footage into the timeline.
2. Go to File > New > Adjustment Layer and click OK.
3. Drag the adjustment layer from the Project panel onto the timeline, placing it on a track above your footage. This keeps the effect separate from your clip so you can easily adjust or remove it.

Applying the Invert Effect

4. Go to the Effects panel and search for Invert (under Video Effects > Channel).
5. Drag the Invert effect onto the adjustment layer, not the footage.
6. At this point your entire image will look inverted. That is expected. We are going to mask it next so it only affects a portion of the screen.

Creating the Scanning Mask

7. In Effect Controls, find the Invert effect. Click the 4-point polygon mask icon (the small square button next to the effect name).
8. In the Program Monitor, drag the mask points to form a thin horizontal line stretching across the full width of the footage. Hold the Shift key while dragging to keep the lines straight.
9. Click the stopwatch next to Mask Path to enable keyframe animation.
10. Position the mask line above the top edge of the frame so it is completely off screen. This is your starting position.
11. Move forward about 2 to 3 seconds in the timeline.
12. Drag the mask line down past the bottom edge of the frame so it sweeps all the way across.

When you play it back, the inverted color band will scan from top to bottom across the footage, creating that X-ray scanning look.

Making It Better

• Adjust the mask feather to soften the edges of the scan line. A feather of about 20-30 pixels creates a smoother transition.
• Change the speed by adjusting how far apart your keyframes are. Closer together creates a faster scan, further apart creates a slower one.
• Add a tint. Apply a Tint effect to the adjustment layer and shift the inverted colors toward green or blue for a more classic X-ray look.
• Repeat the scan. Copy the adjustment layer and offset it to create multiple scan passes for a more dramatic effect.
• Combine with sound design. A subtle electronic sweep sound effect paired with the visual scan really sells it.

That is how you create an X-ray scanning effect in Premiere Pro. It is a simple trick that can add a lot of visual interest to your edits.