Rotating lots of videos (not just one)

I see there are plenty of questions on how to rotate videos in increments of 90 degrees, and that would be perfect for me except that I have about a hundred or so that need rotating. I have both PS Elements and Premiere, and obviously prefer not to create a new project for every one of them when all I want to do is a simple rotation.

What I'm really looking for is some way to just click on a bunch of them that I want to rotate, say, 90 degrees clockwise, press a button, and go have lunch while the computer works. Unfortunately PS Elements only seems to do this with still images.

I'm not averse to getting some other software if that's what it takes. And no, my camera manufacturer's software does not rotate videos at all, much less something that is either one at a time (but very simple - just press a button or two and that's it) or better yet a batch operation. Does anyone have a suggestion about how this can be done for a bunch at a time?

Thanks ...

Rotating lots of videos (not just one)

Rotate one of the videos on your timeline, then right click it and select Copy. Then select all the videos you want to rotate, you can lasso them, and then right click on these and select Paste Attributes.

Rotating lots of videos (not just one)

What version of Premiere Elements are you using?

I think this would apply to at least versions 7 and 4, probably all, but....

Say you have 5 videos on the Premiere Elements Timeline. Right click one of the videos on the Timeline and select Rotate 90 degrees left or right.

With that video highlighted, Edit Menu/Copy.

Then Edit Menu/Select All.

Then Edit Menu/Paste Attributes.

All your 5 videos should now be rotated 90 degrees (left or right).

What do you think? I do not think that this will allow you enough time for lunch. It is quick.

ATR

The Copy/Paste Attributes will definitely get your images Rotated.

For the utmost in quality, I find that both for Rotation and for resizing, PS/PSE does a better job. This would be done, prior to Import, and also removes the overhead of the Motion%26gt;Rotation Effect being added to and then processed for a lot of still images.

In either PS, or PSE, one can create an Action to do any resizing and also Rotation. This can be done in batch, and a Save_As to a folder, like ''Finished_JPEG's.'' Then, the entire processed folder can be Imported into PE.

Good luck,

Hunt

Hunt,

Could I ask you to explain your response after its first paragraph? Was it some ''just in case'' information? The user is working with videos, not jpegs.

ATR

Tony,

Yes - I had read the comment about the ''still images,'' and thought that the OP had a combo. I now see that the ''Video'' was shot 90閳?out, and that no stills were involved.

That's what I get for getting on the laptop, when I have just returned from a trip! My bad...

Hunt

PS also trying to watch Tiger Woods at the Buick too!

Thanks for everyone's efforts, but I think I need to learn more about Premiere Elements first because I don't really understand what y'all are talking about. This is my fault - although I've used PS Elements for a while I'm completely new to Premiere Elements. It's my understanding that a timeline is mainly used to be able to play multiple clips as part of the same overall presentation - which I do not want to do. I want to rotate a hundred or so original video files that are unrelated to each other. With jpgs this possible in Windows Explorer, but not so with avi videos. I'm just hoping there's a quick and dirty way to do it using Premiere simply because I have a copy of it.

Unfortunately you can not do this in Premiere Elements... you need something like a batch rotator for video files... I dont know of one.

The best that you can do is to Import these ~100 files into a ''work'' Project, and then drag them to the Timeline. Take the first one, and go to Effects%26gt;Edit Effects. Apply the Motion%26gt;Rotation Effect (one of the ''Fixed'' Effects in all Clips. Now, Rt-click that Clip (with the Motion%26gt;Rotation applied) and choose Copy, and then Lasso all other Clips on the Timeline. Rt-click on them and choose Paste Attributes.

All of your Clips will now be Rotated by the same amount. To get these Rotated Clips out as individual ''corrected'' separate files, you can use the WAB (Work Area Bar) and Export to DV-AVI for just the Work Area. It might be easier to see and manipulate the WAB, if you first go to the New Icon in the Project Panel and create Black Video. Then, insert an instance of this Black Video between each Clip. Don't worry if a few frames of it is Exported, along with the Rotated Clip, as you can always Trim this out with the In %26amp; Out Points.

Because of the need to Export, this is not as simple as batch processing JPEG's in PS/PSE, but not that difficult.

I'm with Paul_LS, in that I have never seen a Rotational utility that would work at the OS level. Usually, one does not have that many Video Clips that need to be Rotated. In my years, I think I have only done this with two, and they were for a PiP abstract effect.

Good luck,

Hunt

Here is a look at the Effects Control Panel (Effects%26gt;Edit Effects) and the Motion%26gt;Rotate set to 90 degrees Left.

Here's a look at the WAB (Work Area Bar) for Exporting each Clip as a DV-AVI file:

Just set your WAB and make sure that in Export you change from Project to Work Area Bar in the Export settings.

Good luck,

Hunt

Hi Wine Snob -

Thanks for the detailed answer (though a couple of others were pretty good too). It seems I have a lot to learn about Premiere but the step by step directions help.

I'm very surprised there is no ''batch rotation'' utility out there somewhere but the instructions here give me something to go on.

Thanks, and drink up!

I think that the dearth of utilities is because of the lack of a real need for video. In still photography, it is very common, with the horizontal and vertical aspect of capture.

Since one does not have (to the best of my knowledge) a true batch utility, the workaround is the best that I can think of.

Now, I am not even going to ask how so many Videos need to be Rotated...

I happen to have many reels of S-8mm film of the last race that I participated in with my XKE. I handed the camera over to my wife, when I took to the start line. She filmed about 1 hour of race footage in ''vertical'' mode! At least now, I can do a cine transfer to miniDV tape and Rotate all of that footage. Unfortunately, I was beaten by about four 6-cyl. Porsches in that last race.

Hunt

Since some of you wondered why there are so many videos that need rotating, over half of them involve a trip I took recently with a large group (about 25 of us) to Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world. That particular show is all vertical, so that's how we shot it. And yes, it's really spectacular, but it would be moreso if I didn't have to tilt my head. ;-)

it's really spectacular, but it would be more so if I didn't have to tilt my head. ;-)

Final update -

I've started rotating some of these videos. There are a couple of workflow items to throw in there, most notably that when you create the new file the timestamp changes (of course) in the organizer and needs to be updated. Nothing too bad though. At this point it's something where I knock off a couple each night when I'm looking for something to do.

But I've managed to rescue the best so far. One of them involves flying up to and over top of the rim of Angel Falls in a light aircraft, something Discovery Channel would have published if it had been taken with pro-level video equipment. Though I have to admit just tilting my head for that one would still have been pretty awesome.

Thanks for the assistance.

I found your forum. Thought you could help with my mystery. I want to rotate one video file (AVI) 90 degrees. It was imported to my Adobe PSE 6 organizer. I can't seem to find any way to rotate a video. And the editor says it doesn't support video editing.Others in this forum mention a timeline. Can't find that either. Thanks for helping me figure this out.

I'm not nearly as experienced as some of the others here, so if anyone sees something please correct me.

My understanding is that PS Elements will not do this - at all. You need Premiere or some other dedicated video editor. And apparently there is no ability to rotate a passel of videos the same way. However, you can do it one at a time.

Import the video into a new project (there's a ''gotcha'' here, which I'll come back to). Then drag the video onto the Timeline. Close any gaps you don't want, then just Rotate 90 degrees in the direction you choose. All this can be done by right clicking and choosing from the menus. Once done, you can either Export or Share as appropriate (I'm not entirely clear on the difference, this is as far as I've gotten). Wine_snob posted some descriptive screen shots in this thread explaining how to do all this.

Now, here's the gotcha. Apparently, the video format is critical - and you choose the format you are working with for the Project Settings before you actually import the file. Not sure why that is the case but I am a complete n00b when it comes to video editing. It's my understanding that if you don't pick the ''right'' project setting at the very start you might as well start over. This is probably not a big deal for most people but apparently Canon decided to go with a video format Adobe doesn't play with very well. The consequence is that if you import in an aspect ratio of, say, 4:3, the desired rotation leaves you with 3:4, which is not a supported standard.

That's my understanding anyway, I'm probably quite wrong about at least something here. I hope.

It was imported to my Adobe PSE 6 organizer

Probably need to get Premiere version. With my PSE6 I started a new project-slideshow, hoping to see a way to rotate there. But no luck. I can create a slide show with videos and slides, but no editing features seem to be there. When I right click the video in the slide show storyboard, I only get ''delete slide.'' Don't see any timeline anywhere in slideshow. The only thing that comes close is the time noted below each slide whether video or image.

In addition, there wasn't ability to do a save as WMV to computer until I imported the video. then I saved the project as a WMV file to computer. But nothing changed as to any features for rotating either video (original format AVI when imported) or jpg images there. Oh well. Unless anyone has other possibilities, I think I'm stuck. Thanks anyway.

What would be your recommendation for upgrading so I can do more with videos--i.e. PSE7 + Premier? I assume Premier has rotating abiities for videos, etc. I read on some reviews that the Premier has some problems with the Plus membership for online storage. Some say the Plus help keeps coming up and there's no way to say no thank you...a nuisance since I won't probably be using it. But I gues I won't know unless I get it and try it out. Some say the Premier is a good video editing program. May stay with what I have for right now. Not certain.

What do you think?

What would be your recommendation for upgrading so I can do more with videos--i.e. PSE7 + Premier? I assume Premier has rotating abiities for videos, etc. I read on some reviews that the Premier has some problems with the Plus membership for online storage. Some say the Plus help keeps coming up and there's no way to say no thank you...a nuisance since I won't probably be using it.

In the scheme of things Photoshop Elements is the photo editor and Premiere Elements is the video editor. When you were in the Photoshop Elements Organizer trying unsuccessfully to rotate your video there and saw mention of a ''timeline'' here, that timeline was in Premiere Elements, not Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements Organizer will let you bring in video, but not edit it. I think that all has been said in the previous response.

BUT, way back August 1, 2009 1:56 pm in this topic?(toward the beginning of this topic), I detailed how to to rotate one or more videos on the Premiere Elements Timeline. Others detailed utilities that might do the job for those who wanted to avoid the hassle of bringing so many videos into Premiere Elements just to rotate it and then get them out. That was my take on the reasoning behind that alternative.

I do not know if I need to clarify a few other things, but here goes, just in case.

If you can import a video into Premiere Elements Timeline, you can rotate it there, be it .avi, .mts, .wmv, etc.

Independant of this rotation business, when you bring a video into Premiere Elements you set a project preset in the New Project dialog before the working interface opens. To best results and sometimes required, the project preset (set of project settings) should match as closely as possible the properties of the video that you are bringing in. You do that so that you will be editing in the ''template'' of the project settings. You can still change the preset for export when you get to your export dialog, that is, you are not bound to the project preset for your export setting.

Two other things, do you presently have Premiere Elements? If not, then you might want to explore the alternatives elaborated on earlier and used. If you do have Premiere Elements and want more details on how to get your video into Premiere Elements, rotated, and exported please let me know, indicating the format of the video involved and what is an acceptable export type for it.

ATR

Hunt,

When I received an e-mail report of SL Bseeker's post in my computer Outlook Express, I opened it, read it as well as Justjeffindc's response, and felt that it needed some clarification.

By the time I got around to hit the ''Post Message'' button, there was a wealth of communciations between other parties that was not there when I hit that ''Post Message'' button.

So, I would hope that SL Bseeker et al will read my message in the background.

ATR

Hunt,

Message #2....

I do not believe that SL Bseeker is talking about a Premiere Elements Welcome Screen. More than likely it is an annoying pop up, first wanting you to sign up for the free photoshop.com membership or the non free photoshop.com plus membership. Even if you sign up for the free photoshop.com membership, you may still get the pop up for the non-free photoshop.com membership until you give in. I do not believe that anyone has found a way to deal with those messages, short of just ignoring them.

ATR

Hunt,

Message #3

Yes, you can rotate video clips in Windows Movie Maker.

Right click the video brought to the Timeline of Windows Movie Maker.

Select ''Video Effects'' from the pop up menu.

In the dialog that opens, in Available Effects, scroll to Rotate (has three offerings, 180, 270, and 90).

Click Add to do just that for the one that you highlight in Available Effects.

Click OK.

ATR

Just some thoughts on slideshows, Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements....

1. If you only have Photoshop Elements 6 and want to make a better quality product for viewing on the TV (DVD player), then you need additional software to generate your DVD-VIDEO, a higher quality product. If you do not want to invest in Premiere Elements 4 to do the task, then:

a. create your slideshow in the Photoshop Elements 6 slideshow editor, output it with the Output option ''Save As File Movie (wmv)'', and take that wmv saved to your computer hard drive to a program such as Nero (Nero Vision application with DVD plugin) to generate the DVD-VIDEO.

2. If you have Photoshop Elements 6 and Premiere Elements 4, you have an ''integrated set'' which means that it offers some perks that a non integrated set does not have. Integrated sets are Photoshop Elements 5/Premiere Elements 3, Photoshop Elements 6/Premiere Elements 4, and Photoshop Elements 7/Premiere Elements 7. The biggest peak of an integrated set is that it allows you to use the Photoshop Elements Slideshow Editor Output ''Send to Premiere Elements'' so that the Premiere Elements the ''Break Apart Slideshow'' option is available, allowing you to do further significant edits.

So, consider you next step:

a. buy Premiere Elements 4, if still available, to get the further editing perk from its integration with Photoshop Elements 6

b. upgrade to Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7, which will soon be upgraded to Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8.

There is nothing to prevent you from using a non integrated set, such as Photoshop Elements 6 and Premiere Elements 7, but you lose the ''Break Apart Slideshow'' option in Premiere Elements 7 that is associated with Photoshop Elements Slideshow Editor Output option ''Send to Premiere Elements''.

c. other

When dealing with a video editor, it is good check out Supported Import Types. The native format of the Premiere Elements Timeline is DV AVI. Not all videos with a file extension of .avi are DV AVI. That AVI is a wrapper format that contains different format, for example, MotionJPEG AVI, AVI MPEG4, etc.

When considering new software, always consider System Requirements and cross check them against your computer resources, such as installed vs available RAM and total capacity vs free hard drive space. I have mentioned video so far, but, if you have stills in that slideshow headed for DVD-VIDEO, check out the pixel dimensions of those stills and do not let them exceed 1000 x 750 pixels.

That is just a rough idea of some considerations. Please let me know if you have any questions about what I have written.

ATR

Thanks for the input. No , I don't have Premier. Just PSE6. I'll need to review the other alternatives since I didn't catch any that worked for me with just PSE6. In the?meantime, if you are so inclined, feel free to give a ''to do'' on ''get your video into Premiere Elements, rotated, and exported please let me know, indicating the format of the video involved and what is an acceptable export type for it.''

Video format = AVI

Project format saved as after importing AVI video into slide show = WMV (I assume this is the acceptable one; but if you think differently, please offer. This territory is new to me).

Thanks.

Tony,

I do not have PrE 7, but from the discussions on the Adobe.com pop-up, I was under the impression that it came along with the Splash Screen, just after loading. Maybe I just misunderstood, especially as I have not actually seen this and only have PrE 4, prior to the new ''thing,'' that Adobe has.

From the sounds of it, I'd sign up, just to keep the pop-up at bay, even though I cannot image using the storage for anything, and do not see the ''gallery'' as something that I'd need.

Thanks for the info,

Hunt

Video format = AVI

Tony,

Thank you for that info. Did not want to state that as a possiblity, since I hardly ever use that program - kinda' like Audacity. I can tell someone how to do something in PrPro, Adobe Auditon, some in PrE and a ton in Photoshop - some of the others, well I may have them, and use them once per year, but do not claim to ''know'' them.

Appreciated,

Hunt

PS how does it handle the Aspect Ratio change (from 4:3 to 3:4 [US terms here], the the OP encountered)? Just curious.

Tony,

This is a great point and always merits mention.

When considering new software, always consider System Requirements and cross check them against your computer resources, such as installed vs available RAM and total capacity vs free hard drive space.

Wow! Am I impressed with all everyone's help. Will read over everything carefully and try again tomorrow. Thanks much.