This tutorial will show you how to create an alien abduction beam effect in Adobe After Effects. Follow these steps to achieve a convincing beam-up effect.

**Step 1: Prepare Your Footage**
It is best to shoot your footage during nighttime. Use a strong light to simulate a spotlight coming from a UFO. You can remove the visible light in post-production. Alternatively, download the footage used in this tutorial to follow along.

**Step 2: Import Footage and Create a New Composition**
Import your footage into Adobe After Effects and drag your clip into a new composition.

**Step 3: Identify the Floating Moment**
Find the exact moment in your clip where you want to start the floating effect. Set this as your starting point.

**Step 4: Freeze Frame and Masking**

1. Duplicate your footage layer and create a freeze frame at the starting point. To do this, right-click on the layer and select **Time** > **Freeze Frame**.
2. Use the **Pen Tool** to create a mask around the subject that will be floating up. Feather the edges of the mask slightly to blend it smoothly.

**Step 5: Animate the Floating Effect**

1. With the masked layer selected, press **P** to bring up the Position property.
2. Create keyframes to animate the upward movement of the subject. Adjust the timing to make the floating effect smooth and realistic.
3. Add motion blur to the layer to enhance the realism. Enable **Motion Blur** for the layer and adjust the settings in the **Composition Settings** if needed.

**Step 6: Create the Beam Effect**

1. Create a new solid layer and name it "Beam".
2. Apply the **Fractal Noise** effect by going to **Effect** > **Noise & Grain** > **Fractal Noise**. Adjust the settings to create a beam-like texture.
3. Apply the **Directional Blur** effect to the beam layer by going to **Effect** > **Blur & Sharpen** > **Directional Blur**. Set the direction to vertical and adjust the blur length.
4. Set the blending mode of the beam layer to **Add** or **Screen** to blend it with the scene.
5. Position and scale the beam layer to fit the scene. Animate the opacity and position of the beam to match the floating effect.

**Step 7: Add Light and Shadow Effects**

1. Create a new solid layer for the light and apply the **Radial Gradient** effect to simulate the light coming from the UFO.
2. Adjust the colors and opacity of the light layer to match the scene. Set the blending mode to **Add** or **Screen**.
3. Create shadows by duplicating the subject layer and using the **Transform** effect to position it as a shadow on the ground. Adjust the opacity and blur to make it look realistic.

**Step 8: Final Adjustments and Rendering**

1. Make final adjustments to the colors, brightness, and contrast of all elements to ensure they blend seamlessly.
2. Once satisfied, render and export your composition. Go to **Composition** > **Add to Render Queue** and choose the appropriate settings for your final output.

For a detailed, step-by-step guide on creating the alien abduction beam effect using Adobe After Effects, watch the full video tutorial.