How to Remove Black Background in Premiere Pro CC (2022)

Assets like explosions, smoke, fire, falling snow, and particle effects are a great way to add production value to your edits. The problem is most of these assets come with a black background because the video format does not support transparency. When you drop them onto your timeline, the black background blocks your footage underneath.

Removing that black background is quick once you know the technique. Premiere Pro gives you two methods: a fast one for clean assets and an advanced one for trickier footage. Today I am going to show you both.

Method 1: Screen Blend Mode (Quick)

This works when the asset has a pure black background with bright foreground elements.

1. Import the asset and place it on a track above your footage on the timeline.
2. Click on the asset clip.
3. In Effect Controls, scroll down to the Opacity section.
4. Change the Blend Mode from Normal to Screen.
5. The black background disappears instantly. Screen mode makes black pixels fully transparent.
6. Adjust the clip’s Opacity if the effect is too intense.

Method 2: Luma Key + Screen (Advanced)

Sometimes the background is not perfectly black. There might be gray shading or texture.

1. Import the asset and place it above your footage.
2. Go to Effects and search for Luma Key (under Video Effects > Keying). Drag it onto the asset.
3. In Effect Controls, adjust the Luma Key Threshold and Cutoff to push the dark grays to full black.
4. Now change the Blend Mode to Screen under Opacity.
5. The combination of Luma Key and Screen gives a much cleaner result.

Common Assets This Works With

• Explosions and muzzle flashes
• Smoke and fog
• Falling snow or rain
• Sparks and embers
• Light leaks and bokeh overlays
• Text and logo graphics rendered on black

Tips

• Screen only works with black backgrounds. For green or blue backgrounds, use Ultra Key instead.
• Color correct the asset to match your footage. Apply Lumetri Color to match temperature and tone.
• Loop shorter assets by duplicating on the timeline with cross dissolves at the seams.
• For removing black backgrounds from images in Photoshop, check out how to remove a black background in Photoshop.

That is how you remove a black background from video assets in Premiere Pro. Screen mode handles 90% of cases, and Luma Key covers the rest.