Puerto rican dnapuerto rican genealogy. In After Effects, you can convert sound into a visual element by turning dialogue or music into a waveform visualization.
In the past few years, YouTube and Netflix have seen the rise of explainer videos that aim to break down complex topics through simple, engaging graphics. If you’ve ever watched one of these videos, you’ve probably seen an animated soundwave. It’s a common animation technique used to fill space when a journalist calls a source over the phone and doesn’t have any visuals to accompany their voice on-screen. And using Adobe After Effects, you can use it in your videos, too!
The sound wave effect works with any audio elements, so you can use it with dialogue, music tracks, or sound effects. Just drag the sound into your After Effects composition to begin.
How to Create a Sound Wave
- Press the “L” key twice to see your audio waveform.
In the timeline window, press “LL” on your audio file. This shortcut allows you to see the audio level at every time over the course of a video. In the areas where the wave is high, you have more sound—so these areas will work well when creating the sound wave animation.
Looking at the audio waveform, you might notice the sound does not start until a couple seconds into the composition. Drag the audio file back and forth in the timeline until it begins at the correct point. For this tutorial, I made sure the sound started right at the beginning of the timeline. - Create a new solid.
The color doesn’t matter! This layer will become invisible when we apply the effect in the next step. - In the Effects and Presets window, apply the Generate > Audio Spectrum effect to your solid layer.
Drag this effect onto your solid layer in the timeline. In the “Effect Controls,” set the “audio layer” to the name of your audio file. - Manipulate the settings until you create something you like.
In the effect controls, you can change the color of the wave, as well as its roundness, length, height, and various other settings. “Frequency bands” refers to the number of bars that the spectrum creates. “Softness” refers to the blurriness of the outside color you choose. Below, I used a lighter blue shade for the “inside color” and a darker blue shade for the “outside color.” Using 50% softness, this gives the entire waveform a glow effect.
With your cursor in the timeline, press the spacebar to play your composition back and see how the audio wave looks in motion! (And to learn more about the other effects you can generate in After Effects, see the full list here.)
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There’s no need for drones. Just use these tutorials to create stylized clouds in After Effects for your next VFX project.
After Effects shines when it comes to creating and manipulating fractal designs. Fractals can be used to create a lot of things in After Effects — most notably clouds. Instead of downloading cloud footage, use the following tutorials to easily create realistic clouds in After Effects.
Creative Cloud After Effects Download
1. Creating Flying Clouds With Particular
Created By:Ignace Aleya
When it comes to creating particles in After Effects, Trapcode Particular is the best plugin there is. While it may not be included in After Effects by default, it’s an essential plugin if you want to take your design skills to the next level. This tutorial by Ignace Aleya shows us how to create realistic animated clouds using the plugin. If you don’t have Trapcode Particular, you can download a free trial from Trapcode’s website.
2. Creating Flat Clouds With Particular
Created By:James Uy
Similar to the tutorial seen above, this tutorial from James Uy shows us how to take create a flat-style cloud effect. This technique is perfect if you are trying to create a rising camera effect or simply want your clouds to appear as a flat layer across the sky.
3. Flying Through Clouds
Created By:TutorialGrid
After Effects is a 2.5D program. 2021 updates. Meaning that, while you may not be able to model in 3D, you can certainly simulate 3D using 2D layers in 3D space. This clip from TutorialGrid shows us how to composite cloud images in 3D space to create a cool flying effect. You’ll notice how blending modes can be used to composite white pixels over the background. This is a perfect technique when you’re working with clouds, as they are almost always bright white.
4. Using Clouds as Displacement Maps
Created by:mrdodobird
Red island homebarry mac. One very interesting technique we came across online is this ‘hack’ for simulating depth using cloud textures and displacement maps. The technique basically uses luminance to offset the image in 3D space, but because clouds are so distant and contrasted, this technique really does give the illusion of depth.
5. Parallaxing Clouds
Created By:pixelking
In what’s probably a response to the tutorial above by mrdodobird, pixelking shows us how to create a cool parallaxing effect with clouds that doesn’t manipulate the ground. This technique essentially breaks the frame in half along the horizon line and keyframes a displacement map that manipulates the clouds only.
6. Compositing Cloud Images (Harry Potter Style)
Created By: Andy Besbrode
Cloud Text After Effects
In this tutorial created by Andy Besbrode, we take a look at how to use reference images to create highly stylized cloud backgrounds in After Effects. This technique was inspired by the Harry Potter intro credits. The biggest thing to remember when doing this technique is that you need the rights to the cloud images you use for your backgrounds. Just make sure that you get your cloud reference images from a credible stock photography provider.
Bonus: Animated Cloud Stills with Liquify Effect
Created By:Andrew Kramer
This technique from Andrew Kramer shows us how to create a moving cloud or fog effect using the liquify effect in After Effects. The tutorial, while specific, is a great example of a creative way to use the built-in effects in After Effects. Video Copilot doesn’t allow users to embed their videos, so if you click the image below, it will direct you to the tutorial on Video Copilot’s website.
Know of any other fun ways to create or manipulate clouds in After Effects? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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