How to Decide Whether or Not to Flip a Video

Are you trying to decide whether or not you should flip a video? Make no mistake it can be a tricky decision, and in some ways, it may seem like a good idea but in others, it may not.

Before you decide, the first thing you need to do is identify the reason why flipping the video would benefit it.

Reasons to Flip a Video

In general, there are a few common reasons why you may want to flip a video, and they are:

1. To correct videos that were mirrored when they were recorded. Some videos that are recorded via the front-facing camera on mobile devices are mirrored, or it could just be that you accidentally set it up to record in a mirrored setting.
2. To correct videos that are upside down because the camera was oriented incorrectly. In such cases, there are other alternatives, however, most notably the fact that you could rotate the video and its composition wouldn’t be affected the way that flipping it would.
3. To improve the composition of the video. By mirroring the video the placement of the subject and the relative position of other elements will reverse, and that could help to draw more focus to the subject rather than directing it away from it.
4. To fix continuity issues when joining two clips in a sequence of the same subject but recorded from different angles. If the 180-degree rule wasn’t followed, the position of the subject relative to other elements will be reversed and flipping it to mirror it can help restore continuity.

It is a safe bet that you were thinking of flipping the video for one of the reasons listed above – which is good. However, there are reasons why you may want to not flip the video.

Reasons Not to Flip a Video

While there are potentially lots of reasons not to flip a video, some of the more common ones that you should think about are:

1. Text in the video will be mirrored making it obvious the video was flipped. It is a telltale sign, and you may not want that in your video.
2. Voiceover references may end up wrong if it states a specific position. For example, if the voiceover states to look to the left, the element in the flipped video may actually be on the right.
3. The composition will be changed and that could lead to other issues. In particular, if you’re joining clips together, it could create continuity issues between them.

That sums up the main reasons not to flip your video. In some cases, you may be able to fix these issues but in others, it may be more difficult.

Often it is best to try to flip the video and see how it looks, and for example, you could even flip video online using the flip video by web app.

Based on how the video actually looks after it is flipped, you should be able to determine whether or not any of the issues affect it in a way that is a deal-breaker. If they do not, and you have a good reason to flip the video – you should definitely go ahead with it.