How to Fix Upside Down Videos?

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Recording a video with a Smartphone or a digital camera is super-easy, but there are a few simple rules you should follow while capturing a video. Holding a phone vertically instead of horizontally is one of the most common mistakes inexperienced camera operators make. In case you’ve accidentally recorded upside down video, there isn’t much you can do, but you can try rotating or flipping the video. The results you will get are not always going to be perfect as the people or objects in the footage you’re fixing may end up in unnatural positions. So in this article, we are going to take through some of the best available options that let you fix an upside down video.

How to Rotate Upside Down Videos on Mac and PC Computers?

Nearly all video editing apps for PC and Mac computers offer the image rotation features, which means that you have more than a few options at your disposal. However, professional video editing software products can be quite expensive and there is no need to spend a small fortune on a video editor if you’re just looking for a quick way to fix an upside down video. Here are some of the easiest ways to rotate a video on Mac and PC computers.

1. Filmora

After you’ve transferred upside down video from the device on which you captured it to your PC or Mac, you should create a new project in Filmora. When the new project loads, you can either drag and drop the video file you’d like fix from the folder on your computer to the Filmora’s Media panel or you can use the editor’s Import features to add a file to your project. Once you’ve imported a file you should place it to a video track on the timeline, and double-click on it in order to access the Video editing tab that contains Transform, Compositing, Stabilization, Chroma Key and Lens Correction features. Make sure to mark the checkbox next to the Transform option before extending its menu, and then proceed to adjust the Rotate, Flip and Scale settings.

The Rotate feature lets choose for how many degrees you’d like to rotate a video, while the Flip tool enables you to flip a video horizontally or vertically. The Scale tool can be useful if you want the video to cover the entire frame and eliminate the black bars on the sides of a video. The Position option lets you select the portion of the shot that is going to be displayed in the frame, so you can determine which segments of the original video are going to be cropped. Hit the OK button to confirm the changes you’ve made and proceed to export the fixed video.

2. iMovie

Rotating a video in iMovie is a straightforward process that can be completed in just a few clicks. Launch this video editing app, then import a video you’d like to rotate and click on the Cropping button. As soon as you do this you will be able to see the Rotate Clockwise and Rotate Counterclockwise icons, so just click on the option that rotates a video in the direction you want. Each time you click on either of these buttons iMovie will rotate a video for 90-degrees, and if you click on the same icon four times your video will make a full circle. Once you’ve rotated the video into the desired position, simply confirm the changes before saving the corrected version of the video to your hard drive.

3. Photos App

PC users who have Windows 10 installed on their computers can perform basic video editing tasks, like adding text, resizing videos or applying filters, with the new Photos app. However, they can’t use this app to rotate a video. You can use the Video Rotate Flip Video app that is available at the Microsoft Store to solve this problem. With the Video Rotate Flip Video app, you can either rotate videos for 90-degrees in the clockwise and counterclockwise direction or flip them both vertically and horizontally. What’s more, the app offers in-app purchases and you won’t be able to use all of its features if you decide to use the free version of the app.

4. Windows Movie Maker

This video editor has been discontinued a while ago, but you can still use it to rotate videos if you have an older version of Windows installed on your computer. Simply import the video you’d like to rotate into Windows Movie Maker and after the video editor completes the analysis of your footage you should click on one of the Rotate icons that are located in the software’s ribbon and the software will automatically rotate a video for 90-degrees in the direction you’ve selected.

5. VLC Media Player

This open source media player is compatible with Linux, Mac and Windows operating systems and it is free to download. Fixing an upside down video with VCL won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. After you’ve launched VLC you should click on the Tools menu and select the Effects and Filters option. Click on the Video Effects tab once the Adjustments and Effects window appears on the screen and then select the Geometry option. On the left side of the Geometry tab, you will be able to see the Transform checkbox, so you should just click on it in order to select it and then proceed to rotate a video for 90, 180 or 270 degrees. The Rotate wheel that lets you rotate videos manually is located directly below the Transform option and you can use it to fix your upside down videos.

Fixing Upside Down Videos on an iPhone

iMovie app for iOS-based devices can be downloaded for free from the App Store. Rotating a video with the iOS version of this video editor only requires you to import the video you’d like to fix, tap on the Create Movie option and then place two fingers on the phone’s screen and turn them to the left or to the right. As you do this, iMovie will rotate your video and you can continue editing the clip or save it. iMovie can also be used as an extension for the iPhone’s native Photos app, which means that you can rotate videos from the Photos app if you install iMovie on your device.

Fixing Upside Down Videos on Android Devices

Android users can fix their upside down videos directly from their phones moments after they’ve recorded them. Simply launch the Google Photos app and select the video you want to rotate by tapping on it. Proceed to tap on the Edit icon that looks like a pen in order to open the video in the editor that contains only Stabilize and Rotate options. Hit the Rotate option to change the orientation of the video and then tap on the Save button to complete the process. Moments later, the rotated version of your video will appear in the phone’s gallery.

Using Online Video Editing Platforms to Rotate Upside Down Videos

RotateMyVideo offers an easy way to fix upside down videos, as you just have to upload a piece of footage that needs to be rotated and decide in which direction you want to rotate it. After the video is uploaded you will be able to see two arrows located below the Rotate option. Each time you click on one of these two arrows the results of the rotation will be displayed in the preview. You can also choose between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios or change the colors of the bands next to the vertically oriented videos. The platform will process your footage after you click on the Rotate Video button and once your video is ready you can choose to save it to your computer, use a QR code to download it to a Smartphone or share it on Facebook directly from the RotateMyVideo platform.

Conclusion

Rotating a video is by no means a difficult task, as you can change a video’s orientation with a single click regardless of the video editing application you are using. How successful the results of rotating upside down video are going to be, depends on the contents of the video, because in some situations changing a video’s orientation from vertical to horizontal is only going to make things worse. Which method of fixing upside down videos do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and let us know.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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