How to scale a video in Adobe Premiere Pro

Updated: 11/06/2021 by Computer Hope
Adobe Premiere resize

In Adobe Premiere Pro, you can scale videos to accommodate different aspect ratios and screen sizes. When scaling a video, Premiere Pro defaults to Uniform Scale, meaning it adjusts the dimensions proportionately.

However, if you want to scale a video vertically or horizontally independently, you can uncheck the Uniform Scale option.

Select a link below and follow the instructions to scale a video proportionately or disproportionately.

How to proportionately scale a video

Below, we show you how to scale or resize a video proportionately in Adobe Premiere Pro.

  1. Open the Premiere Pro project containing the video clip you want to scale.
  2. If the video clip isn't already in the Timeline, click-and-drag the clip from the Clips area to the Timeline area.

Drag video to Timeline

  1. Click the video clip in the timeline.

Select video clip in Timeline

  1. In the Program Monitor section, double-click the video to display the sizing handles, as shown below.

Sizing handles for resizing video

  1. Click-and-drag one of the white dots. This method scales the video both horizontally and vertically, keeping a proportionate video ratio. Dragging toward the video makes the video smaller, and dragging away from the video makes the video larger.
  2. Once you have the size you need, save the project.

How to disproportionately scale a video clip

You might need to scale the horizontal or vertical dimensions of a video independently to fit in a larger section of a project. The following steps show you how.

  1. Open the Premiere Pro project containing the video clip you want to use.
  2. If the video clip isn't already in the timeline, click-and-drag the clip from the Clips area to the Timeline area.

Drag the video to Timeline

  1. Click the clip in the timeline.
  2. In the Source Monitor section, click Effect Controls (A).
  3. Uncheck the box next to Uniform Scale (B).

Video effect controls

  1. Double-click the video in the Program Monitor section to display the sizing handles, as shown below.

Sizing handles for resizing a video

Important

Scaling the sides independently distorts the video quality.

  1. Click one of corresponding white dots. For example, if you want to scale the video vertically, click-and-drag the left-middle or right-middle white dot and scale as desired (A). To scale horizontally, click-and-drag the top-middle or bottom-middle white dot (B). Dragging the white dot away from the video scales it up, and dragging towards the video scales it down.

Scale video disproportionately