This shortcut allows you to see the audio level at every time over the course of a video. In the timeline window, press LL on your audio file. Press the L key twice to see your audio waveform. 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.)Īre you a current student? See how you can save over 60%. Just drag the sound into your After Effects composition to begin. 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. “Softness” refers to the blurriness of the outside color you choose. “Frequency bands” refers to the number of bars that the spectrum creates. In the effect controls, you can change the color of the wave, as well as its roundness, length, height, and various other settings. Manipulate the settings until you create something you like.In the “Effect Controls,” set the “audio layer” to the name of your audio file.

Drag this effect onto your solid layer in the timeline. In the Effects and Presets window, apply the Generate > Audio Spectrum effect to your solid layer.The color doesn’t matter! This layer will become invisible when we apply the effect in the next step. For this tutorial, I made sure the sound started right at the beginning of the timeline. Drag the audio file back and forth in the timeline until it begins at the correct point. Looking at the audio waveform, you might notice the sound does not start until a couple seconds into the composition. In the areas where the wave is high, you have more sound-so these areas will work well when creating the sound wave animation. In the timeline window, press “LL” on your audio file. Press the “L” key twice to see your audio waveform.

After effects waveform shortcut