How to Change Resolution in Premiere Pro (3 Easy Steps)

Trying to switch your project to 1920x1080? Or maybe you're working with vertical video and need a custom size? Whatever the case, changing resolution in Premiere Pro is actually pretty simple once you know where to look.

Let’s walk through it step by step.

1. Adjust Your Sequence Settings

This is the first place you’ll want to go if you’re trying to change the resolution of your timeline.

Here’s how:

1. In the Project panel, right-click your sequence.
2. Choose Sequence Settings.
3. Under Video, look for Frame Size.
4. Change the horizontal value to 1920 and vertical to 1080 (or whatever size you need).
5. Click OK. If prompted, confirm that you want to keep existing settings.

That’s it! Your timeline is now set to that resolution.

Just a heads-up: this doesn’t automatically resize your clips. You’ll probably need to scale them manually if they don’t match the new frame size.

2. Resize Your Video Clips

If your footage doesn’t match the new sequence resolution, it might look zoomed-in or have black bars around it.

To fix that:

1. Select a clip in the timeline.
2. Go to the Properties panel.
3. Under Transform, adjust the Scale until it fits properly in frame.
4. You can use Fill or Fit buttons for a "Quick fix"

3. Export at Your Desired Resolution

Changing the sequence is one thing, but exporting is where it really matters if you're delivering a final file.

Here’s how:

1. Click on the Export tab (Top Left), or hit Ctrl + M (Windows) or Cmd + M (Mac) to open Export Settings.
2. Under the Video tab, scroll down to find Basic Video Settings.
3. Set your desired width and height (e.g., 1920 x 1080).
4. Make sure “Match Source” is unchecked if it's locking you out of editing these values.
5. Choose your format and preset, then click Export or queue it up in Media Encoder.

Now your final video will be exported at exactly the resolution you want.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change to 1920x1080 in Premiere Pro?

Right-click your sequence in the Project panel, choose Sequence Settings, then set Frame Size to 1920 horizontal and 1080 vertical. Click OK and adjust any clips as needed using Scale under Effect Controls.

How do I resize a video resolution in Premiere Pro?

You can resize by adjusting Sequence Settings or during export. To scale individual clips, use Set to Frame Size or manually change Scale under Motion controls in Effect Controls for each clip on your timeline.

How do I change resolution and aspect ratio in Premiere Pro?

Go into Sequence Settings and adjust Frame Size for resolution and aspect ratio together. For example, setting it to 1080x1920 gives you a vertical video with a 9:16 aspect ratio instead of standard horizontal layout.

How to increase resolution in Premiere Pro?

Technically, you can upscale by changing Sequence Settings or Export Settings to a higher resolution like 4K. But keep in mind this won’t add detail, it just stretches existing pixels unless you're using high-res footage already.