How to Flip a Video in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2020)

Flipping a video is one of those things that seems simple but comes up more often than you would expect. Maybe you shot footage from the wrong side and the subject is looking the wrong direction. Maybe you need to match the eye line between two shots. Maybe you are creating a mirror effect or a before-and-after comparison. Whatever the reason, Premiere Pro gives you two ways to do it.

Today I am going to show you how to flip a video in Adobe Premiere Pro CC, both the quick way and the manual way.

Quick Method: Horizontal or Vertical Flip

1. Place your footage on the timeline.
2. Go to the Effects panel and search for Horizontal Flip or Vertical Flip (under Video Effects > Transform).
   • Horizontal Flip mirrors the image left to right (like looking in a mirror).
   • Vertical Flip flips the image upside down.
3. Drag the effect onto your footage. The clip is instantly flipped.

That is it. One drag and drop.

Manual Method: Transform Effect

If you want more control, or need to animate the flip, use the Transform effect instead.

1. Place your footage on the timeline.
2. Go to Effects > Video Effects > Distort > Transform. Drag it onto the clip.
3. In Effect Controls, find the Transform effect. Uncheck Uniform Scale.
4. To flip horizontally, change Scale Width to -100.
5. To flip vertically, change Scale Height to -100.
6. To flip both (180-degree rotation), set both to -100.

The Transform method has two advantages over the simple Flip effect:

• You can animate the flip by keyframing the Scale Width or Height. This lets you create a transition where the footage flips over time.
• You can add motion blur during the flip by adjusting the Shutter Angle in the Transform effect.

Things to Watch For

• Text and logos will be mirrored. Any visible text, signs, logos, or writing in the footage will be reversed and unreadable. If your shot has important text, flipping may not be an option.
• Watches and rings switch wrists. This is a subtle continuity issue that sharp-eyed viewers will notice.
• Driving shots flip the traffic side. If you flip footage of a car, it will appear to be driving on the opposite side of the road.

When to Use Flipping

• Matching eye direction between shots. If subject A looks left-to-right in one shot and subject B also looks left-to-right in the next, flipping one of them creates proper eye line matching where they appear to look at each other.
• Creating mirror effects. Flip one half of the frame for a symmetrical mirror look.
• Correcting camera orientation. Sometimes cameras or phones record footage mirrored. A quick flip fixes it.
• For reversing the playback direction (playing backward in time), check out how to reverse footage in Premiere Pro.

That is how you flip a video in Premiere Pro. The Flip effects handle it in one click, and the Transform effect gives you the control to animate or add motion blur.