This video will be very useful to you. Today, we are going to create a cinematic depth-effect 3D lyrical video. This depth effect is very important in videos. Today, we are taking a song from a movie called Chennai Love Story to make this video. I will show you the demo here. This entire video revolves around depth, and I will explain what that depth is as we move forward. It will be very useful.

If you watch a lot of videos on Instagram, you might have seen these types of 3D lyrical video songs. You will find many references like this there, so this is very important for you. If you want to learn something new and have a creative spark, watch this video—you can learn a lot. Okay? First, we are going to do this entirely on mobile. Since we are using the Alight Motion app, if you don’t have it, you can check my Telegram channel. I will also share a few tips at the end to make it easy for you. If you don’t have the patience to build it from scratch, the project file is also available, so check that out. However, it requires a specific font, so make sure to check for that too.

First, let me show you a small breakdown of what I made. You have already seen the breakdown demo earlier. There is a song called “Vadhalane”—it is a very nice and beautiful song. In total, how many layers did I use for this? Just 36 layers, which is very few. And I used only one camera. First, let me turn on the camera to show you; see, it keeps zooming out and the character reveals itself. As the character zooms out, the depth becomes visible. See, it is very useful.

Now, let me explain a few things. I am doing this for this specific song, but if you are making an attitude song, you will need the relevant PNGs or materials. I will show you the ones I used here. I used a background that is a bit blurry. A normal background is fine too, but I searched for this specific hospital photo on the Pinterest app. If you don’t have Pinterest, it’s available on the Play Store. I chose this background because that specific scene in the Chennai Love Story movie looks like this. I haven’t watched the movie, but I saw a clip on Instagram, and looking at that gave me this idea. Whether it is this song or another song, you must have at least a basic idea in your mind about how you want to present it. Otherwise, you can even copy someone else’s work, there’s no harm in that. Take it as an inspiration. It is not a rule that everyone has to create something entirely new.

You will also need some materials, like a person’s PNG or hands. For example, I took a photo of hands. I downloaded this from Instagram, but I also created some myself using Chatbuddy. It depends a lot on our thoughts. I removed the background for some PNGs using the PhotoRoom app. A cloth element will also be necessary, so I took a cloth PNG as well. Now, I have styled this video in a way that looks good. If you work with a different song, give your 100% based on your creative vision. I will give you a few more ideas too.

Now, I am opening the Alight Motion app. I have also provided the project link in the description, checking it again. I’ve shared the fonts too, so check them out. Two aspect ratios are very important here. To make a cinematic lyrical video, 16:9 is the YouTube ratio that many people use. But I am planning to use the 4:5 ratio because the demo you saw was in this format. I will keep the background color black.

First, we need the song. You can go to audio and add the song, or if you have a video clip, you can extract the audio from it. I will extract it from the video I made. This song is 22 seconds long. Click on the three dots at the top and select “Extract Audio” to separate the audio. I will rename and delete the original video layer. The song is added now and it sounds good. Whenever you start, first listen to the song two or three times. Listening to it gives you an idea of its flow, the meaning of the lyrics, and how you want to design it. Sometimes, hearing the song clearly tells you what element needs to be highlighted in the video.

First, I will add a background. As I mentioned, you can use your own background photo, but since this photo is nice, I am using it. I will extend this layer until the end of the video. You can extend it to whatever duration you prefer. Go to “Move and Transform,” where you will find the X, Y, and Z axes. Set the Z value to around 3000 and zoom in. I will also add the “Tiles” effect. Go to effects, search for “Tiles,” and add it. This effect is great for covering background edges properly, so add it. After that, if you want to blur the photo, you can do so by going to “Add Effect” and selecting “Blur”. You can increase the blur amount as you like, but a moderate amount looks good here as it highlights a subtle bokeh effect.

Now, tap the plus icon below, go to media, and first, I want to highlight the hands. Let me listen to the song and play it for you. “Vadhalane, vadhalane, vadhalane…” I will keep it up to this point. The hands will appear up to here, and I will guide you further from this mark. Tap the plus icon, go to media, and choose the hand PNG. As I mentioned earlier, you need to remove the background of images depending on your video. Go to “Move and Transform” and set its Z-axis value to around 1500. It might look a bit cropped here, but that is not an issue because it will align automatically when we zoom. Alternatively, you can zoom it a bit using your fingers.

We also need the lyrics behind it. Before adding the text, let’s search for the lyrics on Google. Searching for “Vadhalane song lyrics” brings up the text. I will copy only the specific words we need, starting with “Vadhalane”. Come back to Alight Motion, go to text, and paste “Vadhalane”. Go to the font selection menu at the top where it says “Roboto Regular” and pick a font you like. I have linked the font I used in the description. If you want movie-style fonts, a website called DaFont is excellent. Now, zoom in on this text layer and change its color to a rich, pure red. You can choose any color, but red stands out well here. You can even add a texture image over it. To do that, go to color, tap the media icon, select a red texture image, and add it. It looks great.

Next, go to “Move and Transform” and increase its Z value significantly to place it near the background. It should be set around 3000 so that it stays behind the hands, matching our layout plan. I’ll trim the lyric layer duration here. Tap the plus icon, go to “Object/Element,” and add a camera. So first, we added the background, then the hands, then the lyrics, and finally the camera. Now, turn on the camera layer, select it, go to “Move and Transform,” and right at the start, select the Z axis to zoom in. Zoom it so that initially, only the background is visible, and the lyrics should also be visible, so adjust the size like this.

The lyrics should start appearing from here because the beginning is just instrumental music. Go to “Move and Transform” and add a keyframe. Move forward a bit to where the word “Vadhalane” ends, and zoom in. Since the hands are slightly visible, let’s zoom in further. The lyrics need to appear quickly, so go to the curve settings in “Move and Transform” and adjust the graph upwards like this to speed up the entry.

Currently, the entry looks very plain, but we want a slight rotation. Go to “Move and Transform,” add a keyframe for rotation, place a second keyframe near the beat mark, and set the starting rotation to about 23 degrees depending on your photo. Now it rotates into view. If the lyrics aren’t clearly visible, zoom in from the top. Duplicate the lyric layer because the word repeats. Drag the duplicated text downward. Duplicate it once more and move it further down, extending the text layers up to this point. See how beautiful the lyrics look now with the first and second lines.

The lyrics extend up to here, and if more come up, adjust accordingly. After this, we need more photos. Bring this keyframe closer. Tap the plus icon, go to media, and add a couple’s PNG photo that I have here. Go to its Z value and change it into negative values to bring it forward, positioning it like this. We want this to appear with a zoom effect, but since it appears too fast, we need to adjust it smoothly. Having a clear idea of smoothness gives the video a polished look.

Notice how the images in the back disappear abruptly. They shouldn’t just vanish; they need to fade out smoothly. This is where the cloth element becomes useful, so let’s add the cloth PNG. Zoom in on the cloth layer and give it a nice fade animation by going to effects and selecting “Fade In and Out”. Now it fades beautifully. To give it a flowing look, go to effects, select “Add Effect,” and choose “Wave Warp”. Select the “Flag Wave Right” preset so it flows gently.

I will add another cloth layer at the top and increase its Z value. Always remember that the Z-axis value is very important. Tracking whether you are moving into positive or negative values determines if an element appears in front or goes behind the character, so keep an eye on that.

Let’s review from the start: the first lyric transitions slowly and smoothly, followed by the second line. This part transitioned a bit too quickly, so let’s reduce its fade-out timing slightly. Now it looks right. You can easily overlay the next set of lyrics here by duplicating the previous text layer. Copy the layer and paste it. If the pasted text isn’t visible, it is because the Z value is too high. Go to “Move and Transform” and bring the Z value down until the text shows up, adjusting the scale with your fingers.

I will use the same “Vadhalane” text template but change the font to a handwriting style. Duplicate it again. When choosing fonts, always aim to pair a bold font with a handwriting font. Now the first and second lines are set, and they look clear. Keep the camera view relatively close here instead of zooming out too much, as that wouldn’t look as appealing.

We need a third photo to transition in from here, overlapping slightly with the previous scene to maintain visual flow. Paying attention to these transitions gives the video its premium look, otherwise, it can look messy. Now it moves very smoothly. After adjusting the keyframe, the lyrics for the next line come in. Before that, let’s add another photo. It placed itself in the background, so go to “Move and Transform” and decrease the Z value into the negative range to bring it forward. Now, when you select the camera and adjust the values, both elements align.

As these front photos appear, the background photos must fade out completely. To achieve this, duplicate the cloth layer again to cover the transition. Increase its size, position it, and apply the fade animation to blend everything seamlessly.

Let’s recheck the sequence from the beginning. The first lyrics fade slowly, followed by the second line. You can continue adding subsequent lyric lines underneath using the same duplication method. Introduce the next photo right over it and animate it step-by-step alongside the corresponding text.

I hope this gives you a solid understanding of the process. If it feels a bit confusing, rewind and watch again, or you can just use the ready-made project file I provided. Explaining the entire length would take too much time, so I demonstrated a 10-second segment to give you the core idea. I can add more layers if needed, it’s no trouble at all.

Let’s add the lyrics for the next segment. Duplicate the text layer, adjust its Z value, change the font style, and lower the text size slightly. Duplicate it to create the pairing line and change its font as well. It is completely normal to feel a bit confused when you try this for the first time, so take your time and follow along carefully.

Both lines look great now. Now, let’s bring in the third photo. Since it isn’t visible initially, lower its Z value to bring it into the shot. Scale it down a bit so the framing looks right. To fade out the older background layers, duplicate the cloth element once more, scale it up, and place it to mask the cut. The entire effect relies on how you manipulate these Z-axis values to establish the depth of your field.

The layout looks amazing. Let me play my original demo again with the camera layer turned on so you can see how it compares. It follows the exact same structure, though I used two hand PNGs in the final version instead of one. Every step is identical to what I just showed you. It is a simple technique but creates an incredible depth effect. Watch more cinematic lyrical videos to get familiar with this style. If you have any doubts, drop a comment below. If you liked the video, please leave a like and support the channel. Jai Hind!