Can you add music in after effects video: A quick guide

Doesn’t music interest everyone? Music effects along with video animation can work wonders. Not just animation, but any videos can work great with an effective background music.

Have you not noticed background music for many videos that you might have watched on Youtube?  Adding the right audio that goes well with your video is an essential part of the video editing process. There are so many video editing app to add music, but After Effects is quite a common tool. 

In this blog, I will tell you why you should add music or audio to your videos, how to choose the right music, and finally, adding the audio music of your choice to your video in After Effects. 

Phew, that’s everything, isn’t it? But that will definitely make sure you can get started straight away, making your video interesting. 

Let’s get started…

Why should you add audio to your videos?

There are many reasons why you should add audio, or some background music to your videos. I have listed out a few reasons below:

Emotions can be evoked through music

Have you ever cried listening to music? Haven’t we all experienced the feeling of being so involved with the music that we feel the emotions that the music is trying to convey? 

That is in short, one of the reasons why you should add music to your video. Even in videos or films with no dialogues, music finds a way because it is evident that videos work well with background music. 

Studies have shown that people are influenced greatly by the tempo, volume, harmony, rhythm and choice of musical instruments used in the background of videos. The researchers have also found that the ‘mood technique enhances the viewer’s interests and moods as they listen to music in the backgrounds of a video.

Music makes videos memorable

Just as your video should follow a corporate design, the music you use should be recognizable. The goal is for your customers or potential customers to think directly of you when they hear a particular tune.

Some companies have had their own jingles written for this purpose, as you probably know it from radio stations.

Music sends effective messages

when choosing music, you should not think like someone from the advertising industry, but much more like a person from show business. This will make it easier for you to get your audience excited.

So instead of adding the expected music to the scenes in your video, you should use interesting musical interventions. You can underline the message with the sung words or have your own song written for your product.

Alternatively, you can use music to create little surprises, make the audience laugh and even stimulate action. To achieve all this, you should either read carefully or work with an audio and music expert.

How do you choose the perfect music for your video?

You might have now realized that adding audio or music to your video is important. But, is that all? Will any music or audio do the trick?

The answer is NO! Your music choice should be aligned with the video’s content. If the music is in no way aligning with the video, then it is likely to be a failure. 

What you have to do is to choose the music that goes well along with the video.  For example, for a video that is filled with sports and action, you will have to match the energy of the video with an energetic music with proper beats. If it is for an educational video, sometimes music can be added to the background, and it should be chosen such that it helps increase the focus of those who watch the video. 

Another thing to be considered while choosing the perfect music for your video is the type of song license. You will be able to find four types of licenses for music online:

• Free music: Any music that is in the public domain or that has a creative commons license—there are different kinds—is either entirely free or free with attribution to the creator.
• Limited License: A music that is royalty-free but that you must pay to use for marketing if you use it for anything other than non-commercial purposes, like an internal video.
• Paid License: A song that is purchased, is royalty-free, and can be used endlessly, including in marketing videos. It's also possible that it's a customized music that is written for you.
• Rights Managed: A music that you purchase dependent on how often or how many people listen to it.

Can you add music in After Effects video?

After Effects is any video maker’s best friend. It is easy to add music to a video in After Effects. Let me explain the step-by-step way to add music to a video in After Effects:

Step 1: Run the program and add the project

Open Adobe After Effects on your system. Click "File" on the top left corner of the application. Select "Import" from the drop-down menu to add the file containing the video you wish to edit and add music. 

Step 2: Add the audio to the video

To include audio in After Effects, choose the files, then click "Import." Simply drag and drop the video into place on the timeline. Prior to adding audio, you can trim the video or make necessary edits. 

If the video does not require any cuts, you can proceed to the media panel to drag and drop the audio onto the timeline there. This is only necessary if the video requires editing.

Step 3: Render the video or output

Press "Ctrl + S" to save the project or you can hit on the "File" button and click "Render" to output the video with audio. Choose the suitable format for you and press render.

And that’s done!

Wrapping up

There is so much that you can do on After Effects and adding music is one of them. As you can see, both music and audio play an important role in your advertising video. The soundtrack should be of the highest quality to take advantage of music. So you can generate emotions with your potential customers, send the desired messages to your product, make your brand unforgettable, represent it and show your own diversity through varied music.

To choose the right music, take your time and budget. Find the right mood, don't get too abstract, and match content with audio. Please observe federal regulations to avoid copyright problems. As always, the most important thing with video marketing is to think of your target audience.

                                                                                                                                      Editor: Amrutha