Create a Sound Reacting 3D Waveform Animation without 3rd Party Plugins

on Jul 13th 2012 with 100 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Program: After Effects
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Run Time: 42:43 min

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

Satya has done it again. He’s managed to re-wire and re-invent tools that we’ve had for a long time to create what would normally only be possible with third party plugins. For all of you that ask for tutorials that only use built-in plugins, this one is for you. Satya has even created a free preset so you don’t have to re-create the effect from scratch every time.

Satya also wrote an article on his blog comparing the techniques explained in this tutorial to Trapcode Soundkeys.

Republished Tutorial

Every few weeks, we revisit some of our reader's favorite posts from throughout the history of the site. This tutorial was first published in April of 2009.

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RSS readers: click post title to view preview video at Aetuts+.

Instructions: Click ‘View Full-screen’ button (bottom right corner) to see this HD tutorial at maximum size. Click screen to pause, click again to play.

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Tutorial

Download

Spectrum Analysis CS4 Preset

Download

Spectrum Analysis CS3 Preset

 
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I am an aspiring Motion Designer influenced by Generative Art. I am always willing to work with interesting people and you can follow me on twitter @gutsblow.  

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← Older Comments
  • beatsystem

    where can i get a windows version of this plugin for cs4 please. I love what u have done just need to run it on windows,thanks derek

    • http://www.gutsblow.com/ Satya Meka
      Author

      It runs on both Win and Mac CS3/CS4

  • sunil

    I dont have (Spectrum Analysis Animation Preset) can u plz tell me where can i get this
    or will u plz upload this for me so that i can use it for practise

  • shira

    too bad the tutorial doesn’t work..it’s beautiful!!!!

  • kgirl

    This is a well presented tutorial and great effect . thank you.
    anyone know how i could get text to emerge from the effect at the end?

  • kgirl

    a great tutorial, cool. thanks
    anyone know how i can get text to emerge from the effect at the end?

  • nachocheese

    Thanks so much for sharing this! Very cool.

  • francoe

    “U know, ehh, you know….but you know, that’s a…you know….”

    Why the tutorial guys smoke so much weed before do it?

  • Manuel

    YOU SAY YOU KNOW WAY TOO MUCH!!! Good tutorial though

  • twelve02

    Does this tutorial have the AE source files?

  • Ali Hassan

    Will the plugin work on CS5?

    • annie

      yes

  • kashi

    hey, hats off to you for this wonderful tutorial and it was wonderfully explained.
    learned a lots lots from this one.
    keep posting such wonders
    thnx

  • QH

    well this looks really cool. I D/L the tutorial but have hit a snag.
    I have CS4 Ver.9 and there is no Spectrum Analysis Preset.

    Ditto what Sunil says. Is this a layer preset you created?

    Cannot locate it. If you have, with all the expressions, how it was done,
    what was used, how created etc, then this was all for not.

    To use without any plug ins? but a preset that is not available?

    Seems there are expressions, and parenting here that was created and omitted.
    So how does one follow this tutorial?

  • QH

    DONK ME!!! There it was LMAO. Somehow page must have skipped ..

    I beg your pardon, sorry.

  • Carmela Foster

    God knows the tutorial is good but you can’t understand him and should use a highlighter for cursor. This was annoying to listen to.

  • Bas

    Hey! really cool idea for a tutorial, sadly I got stuck with spectrum analyzer, get some kind of a error that says it’s not right file or whatever, please let me know, how fix this, using mac ;) or gimme link where I can download ur AE File, than i will figure it out meself;) already many thanks!
    bye

  • Bas

    Maybe the analyzer works, but how do I put it on my cs4 after effects, cuz if i just import it, it says it’s a wrong kind file, someone who knows, please help me

  • Hernan

    Hi man! When I tray to aplicate the spectrum analyzer in the first Null object the soft say this: “After Effects advertencia: la clase “Effect” no tiene ninguna propiedad ni metodo con el nombre layer. Expresión deshabilitada.
    Error en la linea 1.
    Comp.: “Comp1″
    Capa: 1 (“Nulo 1″)
    Propiedad: “Deslizador”

    Thanks! ;)

  • Mikey

    Great tutorial but Im working in CS5! Is there any chance of getting an updated set of presets? Im always making promo videos for record label and this type of effect is ideal for teaser videos!

    If not keep up the good work anyway ;)

  • http://tatl karwan muhamad

    love aftr effcts

  • lor

    this is cool but i have cs5, where i can get the spectrum analizer for cs5? please!!

  • aleksandra kozyreva

    HI! SUCH A GREAT TUTORIAL, BUT I HAVE A PROBLEM, CANNOT CONVERT SLIDER TO KEYFRAMES :O

  • nikon

    when you make a tutorial show all fucking expresions when you edit tutorial from 2 parts at 8:11 time !

  • adize

    Hey! This tutorial is great, I learnt a lot of new things. Here is my result: http://vimeo.com/30807727

  • chichi

    omg…i must have finished over a 100 tutorials, i could not follow this guy, irritating, unclear, confusing, time consuming
    a faliure , a waist of time, dont bother

  • Timo9312

    Is there a CS5 Version-plugin for this? It would be soooo amazing.
    Thx :D

  • annie

    omg i wasted my time following this. He does not show the end result. WTF. Wasted 42 mins of my life

  • http://www.facebook.com/antagonist2012 Dan Antagonist

    I’d just like to thank the creator of this video tutorial. I hadn’t touched After Effects before in my life and this was a great introduction. I was looking to create a music video to promote my new tracks, I feel I achieved exactly what I wanted and learned a lot of things. Thanks so much!!

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    This piece of writing is really a fastidious one it assists new internet viewers, who are wishing in favor of blogging.

  • Raymond

    I think this is a very good tutorial. Yes, it was made some time ago, their are easier ways now with new addons and new stuff that comes with cs5.5 or CS6 but the instructor did show other ways of doing things and showing how to use the code editor to accomplish a project and many add-on that you pay for (sometimes a lot of money) are often just a compilation of simple code that you can do yourself.
    If AETuts+ put out more videos on how to make a project look like you used a major pay for addon with simple code that could be something worth paying a membership for. The quality of instruction is important, needs to be well structured and informative. Perhaps, if AETuts+ made a series of how to make addon applications to use with AE it would be something that attracts people to their site.
    Series would HAVE to be better than anything already on YOUTUBE, and that is a must.
    Stop the childish YOUTUBE-like tutorials on premium member only videos.

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