Silhouette Effect from Kendrick Lamar (Premiere Pro Tutorial)

Kendrick Lamar - Family Ties in Adobe Premiere Pro

Kendrick Lamar always has really nice looking music videos. And just like always he had a cool effect in his latest collaboration with Baby Meek called Family Ties. In this shot he walks from a scene into another screen where he appears to be a complete silhouette in front of motion graphics. But how did he do it and can we replicate that in Adobe Premiere Pro?

This effect is actually super easy. First you need some footage, to make it yourself easy you can shoot your action in front of a white (or light) wall. Get to edge of it so you can frame it in the middle of your shot. The other side of your shot should be a darker or more textured background.

Then drop that shot in Premiere Pro and duplicate it. On the top layer, crop the shot so only the lighter area is visible. Then use the lumetri color panel to select only the light parts, overexpose them and make the rest of your character completely black. The result should be a silhouette of yourself with a complete white background.

Then add the track matte effect to your bottom layer, set the silhouette layer as a matte and place a colorful background between the two layes. Easy as that, you're already finished.