by 
Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Create a sequence and draw a circle
In the Project panel, right-click, choose New Item > Sequence and name it, for example after the person in your picture. Make sure you are inside that sequence. In the toolbar, click and hold the Rectangle Tool and choose the Ellipse Tool. Hold Shift while dragging in the Program Monitor to draw a perfect circle. For the flip to work, the circle must be centred, so hold Ctrl while dragging to snap it to the middle of the screen.
Step 2: Turn the circle into a ring
Open Effect Controls and expand the Shape section. Under Appearance, switch off Fill and switch on Stroke. Increase the stroke width to a thick line (around 40 in the video) and pick any colour you like for it, such as red.
Step 3: Add a bevel for depth
Search for Bevel Alpha in the Effects panel and apply it to the circle layer. Raise Edge Thickness and Light Intensity to give the ring a slight 3D, coin-like edge. If you use a newer version of Premiere Pro you may not have this effect, because it is an older one. Our free Restored Obsolete Effects pack brings such effects back.
Step 4: Put your picture inside the ring
Move the shape layer up one track and place your image below it. Select the image and use Scale and Position in Effect Controls so the face fits inside the circle. To cut away the rest of the picture, go to Opacity in Effect Controls and click the Ellipse Tool to make a circular mask. Hold Shift to scale it evenly and move it inside the ring. If the blue handles disappear, click the mask name in Effect Controls to show them again.
Step 5: Make the picture black and white and blurred
The animation starts with a dark, blurred coin. Open the Lumetri Color panel (Window > Lumetri Color), set Saturation to 0 under Basic Correction and lower the Exposure to darken it. Then add Gaussian Blur to the image layer and raise Blurriness to taste.
Step 6: Flip it with Basic 3D
Create an adjustment layer (New Item > Adjustment Layer) and drag it above both layers.
One click with Mako: the free Mako panel adds an adjustment layer over the selected clips, at the playhead, on the first free track, in one click. Get Mako for free
Search for Basic 3D and apply it to the adjustment layer. Move to about the one second mark and click the stopwatch next to Swivel. Move to around the two second mark and change the value to 180. You now have a flip animation.
Step 7: Ease the flip and shape the speed graph
Select both keyframes, right-click and choose Ease In, then repeat and choose Ease Out. For even more control, click the arrow next to Swivel to open the speed graph, drag the left handle a bit to the right and the right handle a bit to the left, without moving them up or down. This creates a peak in the middle where the flip is fastest. That peak is where you switch from one picture to the next.
Smoother with EaseFlow: select the keyframes and apply a real easing curve in one click instead of dragging Bezier handles. See EaseFlow
Step 8: Swap the picture at the peak
Place the playhead on the peak, where the coin is edge-on, and cut the image and the circle layers. In the second half, remove all effects from the image and add Horizontal Flip to the image so it is no longer mirrored. For a glow, hold Alt (Option on Mac), drag copies of the image and shape layers up one track, add Gaussian Blur to the top ones and set their blend mode to Screen.
Tips
- Duplicate the sequence for each person. Right-click the sequence in the Project panel, choose Duplicate, then swap the image. Hold Alt while dragging the new image onto the layer to replace it.
- Keep the circle centred. If it is off-centre, the flip will not look like a spinning coin.
FAQ
Which effect makes the flip in Premiere Pro?
The Basic 3D effect on an adjustment layer. Keyframing Swivel from 0 to 180 degrees rotates everything beneath it.
Where is Bevel Alpha in newer versions of Premiere Pro?
It is an older effect that has been removed from some recent versions. You can restore it with an obsolete effects pack.
How do I make the flip smoother?
Ease the keyframes and shape the speed graph so the middle of the rotation is the fastest part.
Missing Bevel Alpha or other older effects? Get the free restored obsolete effects.
