Before Fireflies

Type Music Video
Timeline March – April 2025
Tools After Effects / Character Animator / Premiere Pro / Photoshop
My Role Motion Designer & Animator

Overview

Before Fireflies is an original music video I created with Owl City's Fireflies as its soundtrack, following a child drifting from waking life into dreamland. I choreographed the animation around the music, shaping scene timing to follow its rhythm and phrasing, and shifted color temperature from warm indoor light to cool nighttime tones as the story moves from reality into dream.

Process

Fireflies Animation

I built the firefly swarm from scratch in After Effects, varying size and movement to keep it feeling natural across three scenes.

Fireflies animation — shape layers with wiggle transform and glow effect

3D Parallax Composition

I layered photos at different depths in 3D space and moved a camera through the scene, letting spatial movement carry the music.

Working with Character Animator

I animated both characters in sync with the music, using my own webcam performance to drive their body movements.