The Visualizer Isn't Just a Background

When I create a visualizer, there are really two crucial things I look for first: the aesthetics and the length of the video.

Everything else can usually be adjusted.

The speed, colors, overlays, transparency, filters, and other visual additions can all be changed as I build the piece. But if the overall aesthetic doesn't catch my attention, or the length of the visual doesn't work with the music, I'm probably going to move on.

For me, creating a visualizer usually starts with the music.

I'll pick out a song that has that space vibe or simply sounds interesting to me. Once something catches my ear, I start thinking about what kind of place that music could live in.

Then I head into Canva and start looking.

I'm usually looking for a background or video that has the right blue aesthetics, space ambience, or atmosphere that catches my eye. It doesn't necessarily have to be perfect when I find it. I'm looking for something that makes me stop and think, "Hmm... I could do something with this."

Then comes the test.

I put the music and the visual together and let them play.

Does it vibe?

That's really the question.

Sometimes the answer is immediately yes. Other times, I can tell that something isn't quite right. Maybe the visual is moving too quickly. Maybe the colors aren't working with the music. Maybe the scenery is interesting on its own but doesn't feel like the place the music is taking me.

That's when the layering starts.

I'll keep adjusting the video while adding things to it at the same time. Filters, transparency, overlays, additional elements, changes in speed and other little adjustments can completely change the way the visual feels.

It's almost like painting a digital picture.

You have your different layers, and you keep adding and subtracting until the image starts becoming what you had in your head.

Sometimes you add something.

Sometimes you take something away.

Sometimes you change the transparency and suddenly an element that was too obvious becomes exactly what the piece needed.

That's one of the things I enjoy about creating visuals. I'm not necessarily trying to make everything complicated. I'm trying to make everything feel right.

Eventually I'll add the titles and credits and go through the finished product several times before uploading it to YouTube.

And even then, I'm picky.

The finished visual has to give me the feeling I was looking for.

For me, that's often connected to the idea of actually being somewhere.

Would I enjoy standing in this place while listening to this music?

Would I want to look around and take it all in?

Would I want to stay there for a while?

And sometimes I take that thought even further.

If I were a spiritual being encountering a place like this, would I enter it without fear or hesitation?

Not because it has to be literally realistic, but because I want the environment to create a feeling of awe and wonderment.

That's what I'm looking for.

A visualizer isn't just something moving behind a song while the music plays.

At least, that's not how I see it.

It's another layer of the experience.

The music creates one experience through sound. The visual creates another through color, movement, atmosphere and environment. When those two things finally work together, the result can feel like you've stepped into somewhere that didn't exist before.

And honestly, that's the fun part.

You're building the place one layer at a time.