


The short-but-simple way to simulate this effect with a still image is to take objects like boats or cars and use the Draw Mask tool in Effects. Just place the clouds above your clip, and play with the density and haze to get the effect you want. To add clouds into the shot, use the clouds option in the Final Cut Pro X generator tool. If you don’t have access to a drone, Shutterstock has a dense library of aerial cityscape and landscape footage available.

In the video, Ryan uses a snapshot from Google Earth, and part of the tutorial is moving the image to make it seem like video (including cloud-based effects.) However, using drone or aerial footage for this type of shot will work just as well (if not better). First things first: you’ll need some type of aerial footage.
