Rotate a Video

With the rise of smartphone-captured video, you’ve more than likely come across a few videos that were filmed sideways. This can make viewing difficult, to say the least. Luckily, rotating your video is a snap, and there are a variety of free ways to do it. Follow this guide to learn how, and your neck will thank you.

Steps

Using Windows Live Movie Maker

  1. Open Movie Maker. Older versions may be called Windows Live Movie Maker. In Windows Vista and 7, open the Start menu and click the "All Programs" menu option. Scroll down the list of programs and click "Windows Live Movie Maker." In Windows 8, type “Movie Maker” while on the Start screen.
    • You may need to download Movie Maker before you can use it, as it is no longer installed by default with Windows. It can still be downloaded for free from Microsoft’s website.
  2. Import your video into Movie Maker. From the Home tab, click on the "Add Videos and Photo" icon. Locate the video that you want to rotate and double-click the file. The video has now been imported and is viewable in the preview screen.
  3. Rotate your video. From the Home tab, locate the rotate video icons in the Editing section. Click the “Rotate left” or “Rotate right” buttons to rotate the video in 90° increments.
  4. Save your changes. Save the changes you’ve made by clicking the “Save movie” button in the Home tab and choosing your desired format, or by clicking File, selecting “Save movie”, and then choosing your format. Choose a location to save the file when prompted.[1]

Using iMovie

  1. Download iMovie. iMovie is available from the Mac App Store, and you no longer need any additional plugins in order to rotate video clips.
  2. Import your video file. Open iMovie, click the File menu, select Import and then select Movies. Browse for the video file on your computer and open it. Your video now appears in the preview viewer and the video editing timeline.
  3. Open the Crop menu. You can open the Crop menu by selecting your video and pressing “C” on your keyboard or by clipping the Crop button in the middle toolbar
  4. Rotate your video. Once you open the Crop menu, you will see the Rotate buttons appear at the top of the Viewer. Click the Left or Right rotation buttons to rotate the image in 90° increments. When you are satisfied, click the Done button.
    • Use the “Fit” option to ensure that you don’t lose any of the edges of your video when it is rotated. This will usually result in black bars on the sides or top and bottom of the video.
  5. Save your changes. Once you are happy with the rotation, click File and then select Export to save your video. You can choose the format and the location that you want to save the video to.[2]

Using VLC Player

  1. Open the video in VLC player. VLC Player is a free, open-source video player that you can download from the developer’s website. Rotating your video in VLC will keep it rotated whenever it is opened in VLC, but will not affect playback through other players.
  2. Open the “Adjustments and Effects” window. You can access this by clicking on the button at the bottom of the playback bar that looks like three vertical sliders, or you can click the Tools menu and select “Effects and Filters”.
  3. Click the “Video Effects” tab. Select the “Geometry” sub-tab.
  4. Check the “Transform” box. This will enable the menu underneath. Use this menu to choose how much you want to rotate the video. You can rotate 90°, 180°, 270°, as well as flip and transpose the image. Close the “Adjustments and Effects” when finished.
    • If you want to freely rotate the video, check the “Rotate” box. This will enable to digital Angle dial. Click and drag this to rotate the video to any angle you want.[3]

Using a Smartphone

  1. Browse for a movie rotation/editing app. There are a variety of free and paid apps available for both iOS and Android phones and tablets. Check the features and reviews before you make a decision, especially if it costs money. Popular apps include:[4]
    • Video Rotate Free – iOS
    • Video Rotate and Flip – iOS
    • mVideoCut – Android
    • Video Toolbox – Android
  2. Open the file in the app. Once you’ve installed the app, open it and then select your video file. The process is slightly different for each app, but you should be able to browse the videos that you have stored on your phone and select the one that you want to rotate.
  3. Rotate your video. Once you’ve imported the file, you can start rotating it. Your options will depend on the app you are using, but almost all allow for basic 90° increments.
  4. Export the file. Again, this will be different from app to app, but generally you can export the rotated file back to your phone so that you can view it at any time.

Using Windows Movie Maker 2.6

  1. Open Windows Movie Maker 2.6. Open the Start menu and click the "All Programs" menu option. Scroll down the list of programs and click "Windows Movie Maker."
    • If you don’t have Windows Movie Maker 2.6, it can still be downloaded for free from the Microsoft website.
  2. Import your video into Movie Maker. Select the "Videos" option from the Import menu. Locate the video you wish to rotate and double-click the file. Your video has now been imported and is viewable in the imported video section next to the preview screen.
  3. Insert the video into the editing timeline. Click and drag the video into the timeline. Your video now appears in the video timeline, and in the Video section.
  4. Rotate Your video. Right click on the video in the video timeline, and then click "Effects." The "Add or Remove Effects" window is now visible. Scroll down the "Available Effects" menu and select from 3 options: Rotate 90°, Rotate 180°, or Rotate 270°. Click Add and the highlighted effect will now appear in the "Displayed Effects" window on the right. Click OK if you are satisfied with your selection.
  5. Save your changes. From the menu bar, select the "Publish Movie" option. Make sure the "This Computer" option is highlighted and click "Next." Type a name for your movie in the file name field, select a location in the publish field and click "Next." Choose a format and click "Publish."

Rotate using VLC media player (not permanent)

  1. Download VLC media player. Install it following its instructions.
    • This media player can be found doing an online search.
  2. Open the video using the VLC media player.
  3. Go to Tools. Then go to Effect and Filters -> Video Effects.
  4. In video effects, go to Geometry. Click on Rotate. You choose the degree.



Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-rotate-a-video/
  2. ↑ http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2234
  3. ↑ https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=85088
  4. ↑ http://www.geek.com/apps/geek-101-how-to-rotate-a-video-1567062/
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