How to Rotate Video in Google Vids: Easy Steps

Navigating Video Rotation in Google Vids: What You Need to Know

Google Vids is an innovative, AI-powered storytelling and video creation app built right into the Google Workspace ecosystem. It’s designed to help teams quickly put together presentations, pitches, and training clips using templates, stock media, and automated voiceovers.

However, if you are working on a project and find yourself needing to fix a sideways clip, you might run into a surprising roadblock: Google Vids does not currently feature a native, direct tool to rotate video clips.

While you can easily rotate text boxes, shapes, and images using the arrangement menu (Arrange > Rotate), video files themselves behave differently inside the timeline.

Understanding Google Vids Layout and Formats

Even though you can’t spin a video clip 90 or 180 degrees directly on your timeline canvas, Google Vids does let you control the overall frame of your project. Through the project settings, you can choose between different aspect ratios depending on your presentation style:

• Widescreen (16:9): Perfect for standard desktop presentations and monitors.
• Vertical (9:16): Ideal for mobile-first content, phones, and social media shorts.
• Square (1:1): Great for balanced, grid-style posts.

If your video clip was recorded in the wrong orientation (such as a vertical video shot on a phone placed horizontally, or vice versa), changing the project aspect ratio won’t fix the internal rotation of the asset itself.

The Best Workarounds to Get Your Video Rotated

Since the application lacks an in-editor rotation knob for video files, you’ll need to prep your footage beforehand. Here are the easiest ways to get your video oriented correctly before bringing it into Google Vids:

1. Rotate Before Uploading: Use your computer’s default video player, a quick mobile editing app, or a free online video utility to rotate the MP4 file to the correct orientation.
2. Re-export Your Clip: Save the properly oriented version to your device or Google Drive.
3. Import into Google Vids: Drag or upload the pre-rotated file into your Google Vids scene. It will now sit cleanly on your timeline without looking sideways.

Looking Ahead

As Google Workspace continues to update and expand the capabilities of Google Vids, native media adjustment tools may evolve. Until a direct rotation handle is rolled out for video clips, a quick pre-edit fix on your local device remains the smoothest path to a polished presentation!