Create a Quick Stack Up Building Effect in After Effects using AI and simple masking.
In this tutorial, I show you step by step how to create a cinematic building stack up animation in Adobe After Effects. This effect works best with a stable drone shot and uses AI tools like Photoshop Generative Fill or Runway ML to remove the building first, then animate each section stacking up from the ground.
You’ll learn how to take a clean snapshot, remove objects using AI inpainting, mask different parts of the building, animate each layer with position keyframes, and create a smooth stacking reveal. I also cover pre-composing, adding shake with Sapphire (or alternatives), keyframing amplitude for impact, and turning on motion blur to make the effect feel professional and dynamic.
This is one of the most requested visual effects for music videos and cinematic edits, and now you can recreate it yourself.
Mid-video, if you want to edit faster inside Premiere Pro, check out AutoEdit, my AI plugin that automatically cuts music videos to the beat, trims B-roll, and applies visual effects instantly. It’s built for editors who want to eliminate repetitive work and focus on creative direction.Chapters
0:00 Stack up building effect preview
0:11 Intro
1:29 Setting up the drone shot
1:47 Taking a snapshot
1:54 Removing the building with AI in Photoshop
3:11 Alternative AI method with Runway ML
3:44 Masking the building layers
6:21 Animating the stack up effect
7:53 Pre-compose and add shake
8:35 Keyframing shake amplitude
9:36 Motion blur and final touches
10:13 Final result
If you want to level up your visual effects workflow and speed up your edits, check out the preset packs at 11.net and use the promo code mentioned in the video.
• After Effects stack up building effect
• AI object removal for VFX
• Drone shot visual effects tutorial
• Cinematic building animation
• Music video editing effects