It’s important to keep the shooting style consistent when making a video. Ideally, you should ensure you check everything is at the angle you need for the edit when you shoot. But sometimes, you might be editing several different video clips at different angles, and you’ll need to rotate them the right way around. Or perhaps there was an error in the footage you shot, and it’s too late to correct it now.
There are several ways to rotate a video in Premiere Pro. The first is the easiest and involves just 3 simple steps. Today, Motion Array will show you what to do. Let’s jump right in!
Summary
Part 1: 3 easy steps to rotate videos in Premiere Pro
Using Premiere Pro to rotate a video is easy and can be done directly in the Effect Controls panel. You can rotate a video in any direction to fix a slightly wrong camera angle or add a stylistic slant. Still, there are generally only 3 directions you’ll be rotating in.
- On the Premiere Pro timeline, select or highlight the video clip that you want to rotate.
- Head to the Effects Controls panel, go to Motion > Rotation, and click on the number next to this function.
- Enter the degrees by which you’d like to rotate.
- 90.0º turns it on its side.
- 180.0º flips it.
- 270.0º rotates it again in the other direction.
What if those hard 90-degree turns aren’t what you need? If your video is only slightly skew, you can straighten the horizon by entering a smaller number. Try rotating it by just a few degrees to see what happens.
Pro Tip: After rotating a video, you’ll find black sections of the screen where the picture is misaligned with the frame. You can increase the Scale of the video in the Effect Controls panel to increase the size of the video to fill the frame. This should remove the black, hiding that the image was rotated. However, it’s still better to try correcting this when you shoot your video, as some details at the edge of the video may be lost in this edit. While Adobe Premiere Pro can rotate video, having the cleanest source video possible is always better. This includes picking the right resolution, and ensuring that everything is correctly set up for the camera from the start.
Part 2: Additional tips on how to use Premiere Pro to flip videos
So, that’s the basics of using Premiere Pro to rotate video. Despite being a very simple tool, rotate has a powerful effect on your video. You can use this to create even more dramatic changes.
If you rotate a video 180 degrees, it will be upside down. If you want to flip the entire frame to reverse it, you can search for the Horizontal Flipeffect. Double-click it or drag and drop it onto your chosen video clip to reverse the image horizontally. Alternatively, you can use the Transform effect to achieve similar results.
- Select the clip you want to transform in the timeline.
- Go to Effects > Distort > Transform, double-click, or drag it onto the clip.
- In the Effect Controls panel, scroll down to Transform.
- Uncheck Uniform Scale.
- To flip the image horizontally, change the Scale Width to -100.
- To flip the image vertically, change the Scale Height to -100.
Both methods have the same effect, so it’s a matter of choosing which works best for you. Feel free to experiment with the different options.
Remember that the more you ‘play’ with your video, the more potential there is for image quality loss. This is why trying to shoot a quality source video is key. The fewer effects you have to apply to correct shooting errors, the more scope you’ll have for fun effects and transitions — things that genuinely can’t be added other than in post-production. If you’re shooting specifically for marketing, these other top tips might help.
Bonus: 3 cool Premiere Pro rotation transition templates
You may feel creative now that you’ve learned how Adobe Premiere Pro rotates videos. Would a rotation be a cool effect in your next video rather than just a quick fix? Luckily, you don’t have to do it all from scratch. There are plenty of fun rotation-based effects out there for you. Download and drop in these transitions to create simple yet eye-catching effects.
1. Swirl Transitions
Add impressive spinning effects to your videos and create a dynamic flow to show off your work. Expand your creativity by choosing between these 32 transitions in 8 different styles. There’s sure to be one that catches your eye.
Download Swirl Transitions Now
2. Rotation Transitions
Create impressive YouTube intros or social media ads with a dynamic and energetic style. This transition lets Premiere Pro rotate the video as a transition between clips. It’s a simple way to add a pro look and feel to your work. This template is definitely one you need to add to your creative toolbox.
Download Rotation Transitions Now
3. Turn Transitions
Liven up your videos with smooth shifting and turning transitions. They’re a great way to tell your business or brand story in an eye-catching way. Perfectly designed for your next product launch or short promos for your events, this pack is a must-have for those who love interesting transitions.
Most editors use Premiere Pro to rotate videos to adjust the frame slightly. This typically occurs if the horizon is slightly skewed. It’s also powerful if the video has been shot incorrectly as a vertical video. You can fix it up in simple 90-degree increments. While this is a rather simple tool in Premiere Pro, it’s one every editor should know how to use.
Whether you’re using the Rotate tool in the Effect Controls panel or applying effects such as Transform and Horizontal Flip, rotating videos in Premiere Pro is a simple way to fix filming errors and boost your creativity.
