After Effects Music Video

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This video was created using Adobe After Effects for a college project, where the task was to produce a 60-80 second music video. The project requirements included syncing visuals to beats and melodies, camera movement, utilizing keyframes, filters, overlay effects, and expressions. I had the option to incorporate either my own video footage or archive/stock footage, I decided to use stock footage (all from Adobe Stock).

I will talk about the process I undertook, and the final piece will be showcased at the end.

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I began by reviewing some lyrics videos to find inspiration. After gaining a sense of direction, I proceeded to search for the music I wished to use. I opted for 'Hold My Hand' by Lady Gaga.

To create the music video, I gathered stock footage from Adobe Stock and selected them based on their relevance to the song's lyrics. For example, I synchronized a video of clouds with the lyrics 'I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey'. I applied a mask to the cloud to track it and create a gradient effect to change its color to grey and the use of the stopwatch to darken the sky.

I applied the 'VR Chromatic Aberrations' effect to this footage and adjusted the 'Horizontal' and 'Vertical Field Of View', as well as the 'Red aberration' and the 'Falloff Distance'.

For this scene, I aimed to incorporate a subtle distortion effect into the footage. The 'Warp' effect seemed to align best with my vision. Additionally, within the same footage, I desired to increase its speed slightly. To achieve this, I navigated to 'Layer' -> 'Time' -> 'Enable Time Remapping'.

I applied the 'CC Lens' effect to the scene corresponding to the lyrics, 'I see that you're hurtin', to create a dizzying effect. Additionally, I incorporated a 'Camera Lens Blur' effect that gradually emerged to depict 'two people'. Furthermore, I increased the speed of the footage.

For this section of the song, I aimed to emphasize the lyrics without any visual distractions. Instead, I focused solely on displaying the lyrics themselves. I created three layers, each containing a line from the song. For each layer, I applied a 'Fade In' and 'Fade Out' effect, allowing the letters to gradually appear as Lady Gaga sings and fade away as she progresses through the song.

I applied a straightforward 'CC HexTile' effect, zooming out to reveal the scene below. Additionally, I increased the speed of the footage.

I opted to include only text for these two words due to the intense beat of the drum. I believed that adding footage might diminish the impact of the instrumentals and Gaga's voice during this moment. To make the text disappear from the screen, I applied the 'Block Dissolve' effect.

I aimed for a warm aesthetic in this video, so I utilized the 'Color Balance' and 'Hue/Saturation' effects to achieve this. Additionally, I applied a white 'Vignette' effect. Although I considered and experimented with the 'Magnify' effect on their hands, it resulted in a peculiar appearance that I decided against. The footage was slightly accelerated.

The first screenshot shows the clean footage, while the second illustrates the applied effects.

I simply applied a subtle 'Camera Lens Blur' effect to this footage.

I simply added a subtle fade to blue using the 'Arithmetic' effect to convey a 'sad' tone.

The first screenshot shows the clean footage, while the second depicts the applied effects.

I applied the 'Brightness & Contrast' and 'Hue/Saturation' effects to enhance the colors in the footage. Additionally, I slightly accelerated the footage.

I simply added the last phrase of the chorus with a 'Slow Fade On' effect.

The final part remaining was to create the first 10 seconds of the video. I decided to incorporate the 'Audio Spectrum Waveform' effect. I opted for the 'Analog lines' waveform style to evoke the feeling of the 1986 film 'Top Gun', along with featuring the two Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft and employing warm colors (yellowish-orange) in both the footage and the waveform. Additionally, I slowed down the airplane footage.