How to Rotate a Video in Google Vids

Google Vids—Google’s AI-powered storytelling and video creation app for workspace collaboration—has changed how teams throw together presentations, training modules, and marketing pitches. But if you’ve recently tried to drop a sideways smartphone clip into your timeline, you’ve likely run into a surprising roadblock: Google Vids currently lacks a direct, built-in feature to rotate video clips.

While you can freely rotate shapes, text boxes, and still images, video layers behave a bit more rigidly. If your footage was shot in portrait instead of landscape, or vice-versa, dropping it straight into Google Vids can leave you with an awkward layout.

Not to worry—here is a complete guide to understanding how video orientation works in Google Vids, along with the easiest workarounds to get your clips facing the right way.

The Current State of Video Rotation in Google Vids

Google Vids is designed for seamless, cloud-based editing, letting teams collaborate on video scripts, stock media, voiceovers, and AI-generated scenes right inside the browser. However, its timeline editor is still evolving.

• What you can do: You can adjust the overall project aspect ratio (choosing between 16:9 widescreen, 9:16 vertical, or 1:1 square), crop video frames, and rotate static elements like text or shapes.
• What you cannot do (yet): There is no dedicated “Rotate” or “Flip” button for uploaded video files on the timeline.

Because of this limitation, if your source video is oriented incorrectly, you need to fix it before uploading it to your Google Vids project.

How to Fix and Rotate Your Videos Before Uploading

Fixing your video orientation beforehand takes just a few seconds using tools you likely already have on your device.

Method 1: Using Quick Access Tools (Windows & Mac)

• On Windows (Clipchamp or Photos app): Open your video file in the default Photos app or Clipchamp, click the Edit & Create or rotation icon, turn the video until it is upright, and save/export the file.
• On Mac (QuickTime or Preview): Open the video in QuickTime Player, go to the top menu bar, select Edit, and choose Rotate Left or Rotate Right. Save the file before closing.

Method 2: Using Free Online Video Editors

If you are working on a Chromebook or a locked-down work machine where you cannot install desktop software, use a quick web-based utility:

1. Upload your sideways video to a trusted browser-based video rotator (such as Adobe Express, Kapwing, or Clideo).
2. Apply a 90-degree or 180-degree rotation.
3. Export and download the corrected MP4 file.

Once your video is saved in the correct orientation, upload it fresh into your Google Vids media library. It will snap right into your project seamlessly.

Optimizing Aspect Ratios in Google Vids

If your video isn’t necessarily “sideways,” but rather doesn’t fit the frame style you want for your presentation, you can adjust the project canvas settings rather than rotating individual clips:

1. Open your project in Google Vids.
2. Navigate to the project Settings or canvas formatting options.
3. Select your target Aspect Ratio:
   • Widescreen (16:9): Ideal for standard desktop presentations and YouTube.
   • Vertical (9:16): Perfect for mobile-first content, Shorts, or Reels.
   • Square (1:1): Great for social media feeds.

Looking Ahead

Google frequently rolls out updates to its Workspace ecosystem, and community feedback heavily drives feature additions to Google Vids. While direct clip rotation isn’t natively supported today, utilizing a quick pre-render rotation on your local device ensures your Vids projects stay sharp, professional, and visually polished.