How to Change the Aspect Ratio in Premiere Pro

To change the aspect ratio in Premiere Pro, activate your sequence, open Sequence > Sequence Settings, change the horizontal and vertical values under Frame Size, then select OK. Use 1920 × 1080 for widescreen, 1080 × 1920 for vertical video, or 1080 × 1080 for square video.

These steps use current Premiere desktop 26.x menus on Windows and macOS. After changing the dimensions, adjust your clips to fit the new frame. Use Auto Reframe Sequence for automatic composition, or change export dimensions when you only need the finished file to have different proportions.

Change an existing sequence’s dimensions

Activate the sequence you want to change, then select Sequence > Sequence Settings. You can also right-click the sequence in the Project panel and select Sequence Settings. Under Frame Size, enter the width in the horizontal field and the height in the vertical field.

For a 16:9 widescreen sequence, enter 1920 horizontally and 1080 vertically. For a 9:16 vertical sequence, enter 1080 horizontally and 1920 vertically. A 1:1 square sequence uses equal dimensions, such as 1080 × 1080.

Select OK, then review your clips in the Program Monitor. Check subjects near the edges throughout the sequence and adjust their framing to suit the new dimensions.

When customization is required, choose Custom under Editing Mode in Sequence Settings. If an existing sequence has parameters that cannot be changed, create a replacement sequence with the required settings and move the existing sequence’s contents into it. Follow the new-sequence steps below to set up that replacement.

Automatically reframe a sequence

To have Premiere automatically compose a version with different proportions, select your sequence in the Project panel. Choose Sequence > Auto Reframe Sequence, then choose your Target Aspect Ratio and set Target Resolution as needed.

Under Motion Tracking, choose Slower Motion, Default, or Faster Motion to suit the footage. To retain existing motion adjustments, select Nest clips. The dialog notes that this option keeps motion adjustments but removes transitions, so consider that tradeoff before creating the new version.

Select Create, then open the duplicate sequence in Auto Reframe Sequences. Preview the result throughout the edit and refine framing wherever the automatic composition needs adjustment. Review transitions as well if you selected Nest clips.

For individual clips, first set the destination sequence dimensions. In the Effects panel, open Video Effects > Transform and drag Auto Reframe onto a clip. In Effect Controls, choose the Motion Tracking setting, then refine Reframe Offset, Reframe Scale, and Reframe Rotation as needed. Preview the result to check the composition.

Fit your clips inside the new frame

Select one or more clips in the timeline and open the Properties panel. Choose Fit to frame to keep the entire image visible, allowing borders when the clip and sequence have different proportions. Choose Fill frame to cover the sequence frame, cropping excess image where necessary.

Adjust Position and Scale to refine the composition after fitting or filling. Review each affected shot and reposition it as needed to keep the subject visible.

For manual control, select a timeline clip and open Window > Effect Controls, then expand Motion. Adjust Scale and Position, or resize and reposition the clip using its handles in the Program Monitor. For independent horizontal and vertical scaling, deselect Uniform Scale and adjust the two scale values separately. This intentionally changes the image’s proportions.

To trim visible edges, select one or more timeline clips and adjust the top, bottom, left, and right percentages under Properties > Crop. Cropping changes visible content while the sequence dimensions determine the frame’s shape. Adobe classifies the older standalone Crop effect as Legacy, so use the cropping controls in Properties for current work.

Change only the exported video’s shape

To leave the sequence dimensions unchanged, select the sequence and open File > Export > Media. Choose a Format that supports the dimensions you need. Under Video > Frame Size, choose Custom.

Disable the lock icon so Width and Height can change independently, then enter the target dimensions. Review the export preview for the resulting framing before selecting Export. If the chosen format restricts editable dimensions, choose a format that supports your required size.

For formats that expose it, the Aspect setting under Video controls pixel aspect ratio, meaning pixel shape. Use square-pixel output for ordinary square-pixel delivery, and use Width and Height to establish frame proportions such as 16:9 or 9:16. Adjust Aspect when your output requires a different pixel shape, then check the preview before selecting Export.

For repeated exports, choose a starting option under Preset, adjust the dimensions and other required settings, then select Save preset. Your saved configuration becomes available under Custom Presets in Preset Manager for later exports.

Create a sequence with the right proportions

For a new edit, select File > New > Sequence and open Settings. Under Video > Frame Size, enter the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Premiere displays the resulting aspect ratio so you can confirm the shape before naming the sequence and selecting OK.

To use preset dimensions, select File > New > Sequence and open Sequence Presets. Choose a preset with the required frame dimensions and create the sequence. If you are replacing a sequence whose settings could not be changed, move its contents into the new sequence.

When a source clip already has the proportions you want, drag it from the Project panel onto the New Item icon. Premiere creates a sequence matching that clip’s resolution and frame rate. This creates a new sequence rather than modifying an existing one.

Correct footage that looks stretched

When footage looks stretched, check its pixel aspect ratio separately from the sequence’s frame dimensions. For ordinary square-pixel delivery, open Sequence > Sequence Settings and set Pixel Aspect Ratio to Square Pixels. For anamorphic or other non-square-pixel workflows, choose the pixel format required by the footage and delivery specification. Select OK to apply the setting.

If a source asset’s proportions are interpreted incorrectly, select that asset in the Project panel, rather than its timeline instance. Open Clip > Modify > Interpret Footage. Under Pixel Aspect Ratio, select Use Pixel Aspect Ratio From File, or select Conform To and choose the required pixel aspect ratio, then select OK.

Also review any manual scaling applied under Motion. Independent horizontal and vertical scaling changes the image’s proportions, while fitting and filling control how the image occupies the frame. Check which adjustment caused the distortion before changing the sequence dimensions again.

Frequently Asked Questions

What keyboard shortcuts open the relevant controls?

With Adobe’s default keyboard mapping, press Ctrl + N on Windows or Cmd + N on macOS to open New Sequence. Press Ctrl + M on Windows or Cmd + M on macOS to open Export Media, and Shift + 5 on either platform to open Effect Controls. These shortcuts open controls; you still choose the dimensions or framing settings.

Can Premiere automatically scale incoming media?

You can set automatic scaling for incoming media under Default Media Scaling. On Windows, open Edit > Preferences > Media; on macOS, open Premiere > Settings > Media. Choose Fit to frame or Scale to frame size, or choose None to disable automatic scaling. This controls incoming media handling rather than the sequence’s aspect ratio.

How do you fit an imported still image while preserving its native resolution?

Right-click the image in the timeline on Windows, or Control-click it on macOS, then select Set To Frame Size. This preserves the image’s native pixel resolution for subsequent scaling.

How do you remove Auto Reframe from a clip?

Select the clip, open Effect Controls, and select its applied Auto Reframe effect. With the default keyboard mapping, press Backspace on Windows or Delete on macOS to remove the selected effect. Restore sequence or export dimensions separately if you also want to restore the original output shape.