Open After Effects and create a new composition. The dimensions should be 1920x1080 and the frame rate should be 25 fps.
Step 2: Import your footage
Drag and drop your footage into the composition window. The footage should be a shot of something that you want to disintegrate, such as a person, a building, or a vehicle.
Step 3: Create a mask
Select the footage layer in the timeline and click on the "Mask" button in the toolbar. A new mask will be created. Use the pen tool to draw a shape around the object that you want to disintegrate.
Step 4: Apply the Displace filter
Select the footage layer again and click on the "Effects" menu in the toolbar. Select "Distort" and then "Displace". The Displace filter will be applied to the footage.
Step 5: Adjust the Displace filter settings
In the Displace filter settings, set the "Displacement Map" to "Turbulence". The turbulence noise will generate a random pattern that will be used to displace the pixels in the footage.
Set the "Amount" to a value between 0 and 100. This value controls how much the pixels in the footage will be displaced.
Set the "Size" to a value between 0 and 100. This value controls the size of the turbulence noise pattern.
Step 6: Animate the Displace filter settings
Keyframe the "Amount" and "Size" settings of the Displace filter to create an animation. For the "Amount" setting, start with a value of 0 and then increase it to 100.
For the "Size" setting, start with a small value and then increase it to a larger value. The animation should simulate the disintegration of the object in the footage.
Step 7: Add a glow effect
Select the footage layer again and click on the "Effects" menu in the toolbar. Select "Stylize" and then "Glow". The Glow filter will be applied to the footage.
Step 8: Adjust the Glow filter settings
In the Glow filter settings, set the "Brightness" to a value between 0 and 100. This value controls how bright the glow effect will be.
Set the "Radius" to a value between 0 and 100. This value controls the size of the glow effect.
Set the "Color" to a color that you want the glow effect to be.
Step 9: Export the video
Once you are happy with the results, click on the "File" menu in the menu bar and select "Export". In the export settings, select a file format and a location to save the video file.
Step 10: Enjoy your retro sci-fi disintegration effect!
The video file will now be exported with the disintegration effect applied. You can use this effect to create a variety of cool retro sci-fi visuals.