How To Rotate And Flip A Video In Premiere Pro

How to Rotate and Flip Video footage in Premiere Pro featured image

Published: August 25, 2021 | Last Updated: September 17, 2024

There are two primary ways to rotate or flip a video in Premiere: using built-in presets or the rotation function in the Effects Controls window. This article will explain how to use both of these methods.

You might like How to Crop Video Footage in Premiere Pro.

Built-in Presets

Premiere has two built-in presets for flipping a video. Unfortunately, there are no presets for rotating a video.

You can find the two presets in the Project Panel > Effects tab. From there, locate the Video Effects > Transform tab. You will then find the Horizontal Flip and Vertical Flip effects.

Screen Shot 2021 08 24 at 12.56.35 PM

These effects will perform the exact function listed. Below is a still of a bird without either effect applied to the video.

Screen Shot 2021 08 25 at 9.21.01 AM

Here is what the video will look like with the Horizontal Flip effect added.

Screen Shot 2021 08 25 at 9.21.18 AM

As you can see, the Horizontal Flip effect flips the image on the Horizontal Axis, creating a mirror-like effect.

Here is what the video will look like with the Vertical Flip effect added. 

Screen Shot 2021 08 25 at 9.21.34 AM 1

The Vertical Flip effect essentially flips the image upside down. Although technically a 180-degree rotation, this effect does not allow you to control the image’s rotation.

Note that this function cannot be used with keyframes. However, you can use masking under the Opacity tab in the Effects Control window, as shown below.

Screen Shot 2021 08 24 at 1.02.39 PM

Get familiar with the Essential Graphics Panel in Premiere Pro.

Rotation Function

Premiere does not have any built-in presets for rotating a video. Instead, when the clip is selected, there’s a dedicated Rotation function inside the Effects Control window in the Source Panel.

To rotate the image, just click and drag the blue 0.0 left or right to change the rotation properties.

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You can also click 0.0 and type in a degree number. For instance, if I want to rotate the video upside down, I can type 180 degrees.

Screen Recording 2021 08 24 at 1.04.39 PM

You can set keyframes to rotate the image between two points. To do so, simply turn on the keyframe function by hitting the Clock icon on the Rotation tab and then set your keyframes. I set a keyframe at 0 and 180 degrees as a demonstration.

Screen Shot 2021 08 24 at 1.09.18 PM

You can also rotate the image multiple times between keyframes. You can do this by typing a number (for the number of rotations, an ‘X’ to signal Premiere to complete the desired number of rotations, and then the degree number. Check out the photo below to see how this information should be entered.

Screen Shot 2021 08 24 at 1.10.11 PM

Conclusion

That’s it. It’s that simple. Learning these functions may seem easy, but they’re important when manipulating video.

Up Next: Premiere Pro Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed Up your Workflow.

By Alex Srednoselac

Alex is a certified Adobe Premiere Pro video editor and independent filmmaker in the US. He is most known for writing, directing, and editing his debut feature film, Cashing Out, which has won multiple awards at film festivals across the US. Currently, Alex is the owner of AWS FILMS and works as a freelance video editor for several large companies and content creators.

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