Apple MOTION 2 Getting Started Manual
Motion
Getting Started
Apple Computer, Inc.
© 2004 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be
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Apple Computer, Inc.
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this manual were acquired from Getty Images, Inc. All
rights reserved.
1
Contents
Chapter 1 5Orientation
7
About Motion
8
Getting Started
8
Creating a New Project
10
The Motion Interface
12
12
15
16
17
18
19
20
23
24
31
34
34
42
43
45
45
48
56
The Utility Window
The File Browser
Dynamic Guides
Importing Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator Files
The Canvas
The Toolbar
Current Frame and Project Duration Fields
The Transport Controls
The Mini-Timeline
The Library
Motion Dashboards
The Inspector
Parameter Basics
Using the Animation Menu vs. Using the Record Button
The Project Pane
Using the Layers Tab
Compositing Basics
Selecting and Nudging Objects
Transforming Objects and Layers
Chapter 2 61 The Playground
61
About Behaviors
64
67
74
84
84
Applying Behaviors
Working With Basic Motion Behaviors
Working With Simulation Behaviors
Behaviors vs. Keyframes
Using Parameter Behaviors
3
91
Working With Filters
92
Animating Filters With Parameter Behaviors
Chapter 3 95 Your No. 2 Pencil
95
Using the Timeline
96
97
10 2
10 3
10 3
10 4
10 6
10 8
10 8
112
112
113
113
11 4
11 6
11 8
The Timeline Layer List
The Timeline
Modifying Behaviors in the Timeline
Using Keyframes in Motion
Keyframe Basics
Creating Keyframes in the Canvas
Using Animation Paths
Keyframe Interpolation Basics
Using the Keyframe Editor
Checking Your Selection
Recording Keyframes During Playback
Keyframing Objects With Applied Behaviors
Keyframing in the Dashboard
Keyframing in the Inspector
Keyframing Filters
Converting Behaviors to Keyframes
Chapter 4 121Arts and Letters
121
Creating and Animating Text
12 2
12 4
12 6
12 9
13 9
14 0
141
Adding Text
Modifying Text
Editing Text Style
Applying Text Behaviors
Creating Particles
Particle Systems
Adding Particles to Your Project
Chapter 5 14 9Extra Credit
14 9
Keying and Masking
14 9
15 4
157
162
163
163
164
166
168
4
Creating a Key
Masking Layers and Objects
Editing Mask and Shape Control Points
Audio
Adding and Removing Audio Files
Audio Tab
Audio Editor
Saving and Exporting Your Project
Learning More About Motion
Contents
1
Orientation
1
Allow us to introduce Motion, a new school of interactive
motion graphics. The best part of this school is the time
spent on the playground—the freedom to let the Wind
blow, to Spin, to Spring, to Glow, or to Throw things
about with just a drag and drop.
To create motion and effects in Motion, you simply drag a behavior (such as Spin or
Throw), or a filter (such as Glow) to your object and let go. Behaviors automatically
create motion on an image or object without creating any keyframes. Filters also yield
instant results—drop a blur filter on an image and the image is blurred—you don’t
need to set a value before seeing an effect on your image.
With this instant feedback, you can sit with your clients or your creative or art directors
and interactively design a motion graphics project on your desktop. You don’t have to
set up a tedious keyframed animation, wait for the preview to render, adjust the
animation, and wait again. You want a title to fade on, do a little shimmy, and then
slide out of view? Simply click Play, then drag the Fade, Random Motion, and Gravity
behaviors onto the title in the Canvas—no preview rendering time. “Behaving” has
never been so much fun!
5
Behaviors are designed for creating generalized, fluid motion effects, as well as for
creating animated effects that might be too complex or time-consuming to keyframe
manually. For example, when the Vortex behavior is applied to an object, all
surrounding objects automatically orbit around that object. Or, you can quickly specify
that only certain objects are affected.
When recess is over and it’s time for precision-timed graphics, you can head off to
keyframing class with the click of a button. Keyframing can be used to create an
animation in which the object must hit a specific value at a specific time. You can also
use a combination of behaviors and keyframes, or create editable keyframes from an
applied behavior.
The Motion school not only has a playground, but a Library that is chock full of
goodies, including a suite of more than 95 filters. All behaviors, particle systems, fonts,
generators, as well as any installed third-party filters are housed in the Library. The
Library contains a Preview area that makes browsing and selecting effects fast and fun.
For example, you can see an animated preview of a particle system before you bring
the particles into your project. The Library also contains stacks of content, including
professionally-designed, editable templates that you can use as building blocks for a
project. For animated textures such as gradients, swirls, or noise, check out a generator.
By working with content, creating shapes, text, or particles, or by using behaviors or
filters within Motion, you can create beautiful, original content such as animated
backgrounds, particle effects, and titles—even without importing any external media
into your project. This makes Motion an excellent classmate for Final Cut Pro HD, DVD
Studio Pro, or your favorite motion graphics or compositing application—you can
scoot over to Motion, quickly create professional-level elements, and bring the content
into your project. You can even import a saved Motion project into Final Cut Pro HD
and DVD Studio Pro, without exporting (rendering) the project.
Whether you produce commercials, documentaries, titles, broadcast or web graphics,
corporate presentations, DVD menus, or your own personal video projects—and
whether you need the precision of keyframed animation, the free-flow animated
effects of behaviors, or a little of both—Motion has the toolset to meet your motion
graphics needs. Welcome to Motion, a place where work and play come together.
Motion graphics with moxie.
6 Chapter 1
Orientation
About Motion
In Motion, you create motion graphics and basic compositing projects with imported
images (such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator files), image sequences, QuickTime
movies, audio files, as well as objects created within Motion. These objects include text,
masks, shapes, and particles.
All media imported into Motion, or elements created within a project, are referred to as
objects
. In your project, you can apply effects such as filters or behaviors to any object.
A
filter
is a process that changes the appearance of an image. For example, a blur filter
takes an input image and outputs a blurred version of that image. A
process that applies a value range to an object’s parameters, creating an animation
based on the affected parameters. For example, the Spin behavior rotates an object
over time at a rate that you specify.
behavior
is a
A Motion project is made up of
layers
that contain objects. The layer acts as a “parent”
to its objects. If you move or apply a filter or behavior to a layer, all objects within that
layer are affected. You can also apply filters and behaviors to the individual objects
within a layer. Layers and objects can be moved and animated by using behaviors or by
setting keyframes. Filters can also be animated.
A
project
represents a single flow of image data built from the bottom up. In a
composite with a single layer, the objects within that layer are stacked above one
another. Filters and behaviors that are applied to an object appear beneath the object
in the Layers list (and can be hidden using the disclosure triangle, or by filtering what is
displayed in the Layers tab). The layer represents the resulting image of its objects and
their applied behaviors, filters, and composite modes (blend modes).
In a simple example, a layer contains a single image with applied color correction and
blur filters (in that order). The image provides the input data to the color correction filter.
The output data of the color correction is the input data for the blur filter. The layer
represents the result of that image data flow. Layers are also stacked one above the other
in a project—the output of the lower layer is the input to the layer above it in the list.
No matter what your level of experience, this tour introduces you to creating motion
graphics in Motion. In a style that is a blend of tutorial and user’s manual, the tour
provides an overview of the user interface components, and a quick start to every main
feature of Motion and its general workflow.
Chapter 1
Orientation
7
Getting Started
The first steps in any project are to determine your project settings and bring in your
media files (unless you are generating content solely from within Motion). A Motion
project is a file that contains information that references all media that you import into
a project, content created within the project itself (such as shapes, text, and particles),
and any filters, behaviors, or animation applied to those objects.
This section introduces the basic Motion workflow, including creating a new project
and importing some media files. Once a few elements are imported into the project,
the Motion interface is presented in an order relative to building a project.
Note:
If you have a three-button mouse connected to your computer, you can rightclick to access the same controls specified by the
documentation. If you are working on a PowerBook G4, keep in mind that some
keyboard shortcuts require you to use the
in conjunction with the keys specified in the user documentation.
Creating a New Project
When you first start Motion, the Welcome Screen appears that contains new project
options. From this dialog, you can choose to start with a new project, a premade
template, an introductory tutorial, or link to the web-based QuickTime tours.
Control
Function
-click commands in the user
key (fn—next to the
Control
key)
Note:
To skip the initial screen, turn off the “Show the Welcome Screen at startup”
checkbox in Motion Preferences. In the Startup section of General Preferences, you can
set Motion to automatically do one of the following at startup: Open Last Project(s),
Create New Project, Show the Welcome Screen, or Browse Templates.
8 Chapter 1
Orientation
The following example project uses the NTSC Broadcast SD (Standard Definition)
project preset. For more information on creating new projects and project presets, see
Chapter 2, “Creating and Managing Projects,” in
Motion Help
.
To create a project:
1
From the Welcome Screen, click Start with a New Project.
The Select Project Preset dialog appears.
2
Choose NTSC Broadcast SD from the Preset pop-up menu.
Choose a project preset.
The NTSC Broadcast SD preset is selected. In the Select Project Preset dialog, you can
set a default project preset that is used each time you start a new project in Motion. To
set the preset as the default, click Set as Default and turn on the “Create new
documents using the default preset option.”
Click to set the current
preset as the default
project setting.
Turn on this checkbox to use the default
project preset for any new project.
3
Click OK (or press
Return
).
A new standard-definition broadcast resolution (D1, 720 x 486) project opens with a
default duration of 300 frames, or 10 seconds.
Chapter 1
Orientation
9
The Motion Interface
Once a project is created, the Motion interface appears and is comprised of two main
components: The Utility window and the Canvas. The Utility window is used to import
media files, to preview, select, and apply effects, and to edit and animate the controls
for those applied effects. The Canvas is the main area in which to view your project and
its elements, as well as select, transform, and animate those elements. The additional
interface components, the Project pane and the Timing pane, are not displayed by
default. With the intuitive design of Motion, you can easily show and hide interface
components when needed.
Utility window Canvas
10 Chapter 1
Orientation
The Project pane is used to organize and reorder project elements and to control audio.
The Timing pane contains the full-featured Timeline, Keyframe Editor, and Audio Editor,
which give you an editable, global view of your project, including all project elements
and animated parameters.
Utility window CanvasProject pane
Timing pane
The following sections discuss the Utility window and the Canvas, in an order that
represents a typical workflow. The File Browser is addressed first, since it is used to
import media files into a Motion project. The Canvas is discussed next, which is where
you drag the files from the File Browser. Once the files are imported, the discussion
moves back to the Utility window to introduce the Library and the Inspector. From the
Library, you browse and apply effects to objects in the Canvas. The applied effects are
then edited in the Inspector and the Dashboards.
Chapter 1
Orientation
11
The Utility Window
The Utility window contains the following tabs:
• File Browser: Use the File Browser to select and import media files (single images,
image sequences, QuickTime movies, and audio files).
• Library: Use the Library to browse, select, and apply effects to the objects in your
project, as well as to access content such as preset particles and gradients.
• Inspector: Use the Inspector to adjust the parameters for all effects and objects in
your project, and to create keyframes.
Library tab
File Browser tab
Inspector tab
The File Browser
Use the File Browser to locate, preview, and bring in media files from your computer or
network. A preview area appears at the top of the browser, and the upper pane
contains your hard drives, mounted servers, and home folder. The lower pane displays
the folders and folder contents from the location that is selected in the upper pane of
the browser.
12 Chapter 1
Orientation
Note: Like the Mac OS X Finder, you can display the browser contents in icon or list
view.
Preview area
Icon view
List view
Importing Media
There are three ways to import media into your project:
• The File Browser, which allows you to preview images and play clips (including audio)
prior to importing the media
• The File > Import command in the menu bar, which opens the Import Files dialog
• The Finder, which allows you to drag files into a project
To bring in media using the File Browser:
1 Click the File Browser tab.
Note: You can also choose Window > File Browser, or press Command+1 to display the
File Browser.
Chapter 1 Orientation 13
2 In the upper pane of the browser, select the location of the media file you want to
bring in to your project.
The contents of that location appear in the lower pane of the browser.
3 In the lower pane of the browser, do one of the following:
• If the file is not in a folder, select the file.
• If the file is located in a folder, double-click the folder, and then select the file.
In the top of the File Browser, the selected file appears in the Preview area and the
file properties, such as format and size, are listed. If the selected media is an image
sequence, QuickTime movie, or audio file, the file plays automatically. You can click
the Play button next to the Preview area to play or pause the playback.
Play button
You can preview an image in a larger preview window, called the Viewer. Controlclick the media, then choose Open in Viewer from the shortcut menu. If the file is a
QuickTime movie, choose Open in QuickTime Player. You can also double-click the
file to open the file in the Viewer.
Note: To uncollapse image sequences, click the Image Sequence button in the lowerright corner of the File Browser.
Image Sequence button
4 Drag the selected file to the Canvas.
14 Chapter 1 Orientation
Note: To bring in multiple files, you can Shift-click or Command-click the files (in icon
or list view), or drag-select (when in list view). The files are placed in the same position
in the Canvas. To move the individual files, click away from the selected files to deselect
them, then drag the individual images.
Dynamic Guides
As you drag your image in the Canvas, yellow guides appear and indicate when the
file is aligned to the horizontal and vertical center of the Canvas. These guides are
called Dynamic Guides, and are enabled and disabled using the View menu in the
Canvas View controls (in the upper-right corner of the interface, below the Toolbar).
To temporarily disable the guides while actively dragging objects in the Canvas, press
Command as you drag. To toggle the Dynamic Guides on or off, press N.
The Dynamic Guides really start to earn their keep when you import and align several
objects in the Canvas, as they indicate when objects snap together in alignment.
For more information on file management and importing media, see Chapter 2,
“Creating and Managing Projects,” in Motion Help.
Once an object is imported into Motion, a small floating transparent window appears
and displays editable properties, such as Opacity and Blend Mode, for that object. This
window is called a Dashboard. All objects (images, shapes, masks, and text), filters, and
behaviors have associated Dashboards.
The Dashboard includes a title bar that displays the type and name of the currently
selected object, filter, or behavior. For example, the Dashboard title for the example
above reads, “Image: waves.[####],” which represents a Targa sequence (with a fourdigit padding). “Image” is the type of object that is selected (an image, image
sequence, or a QuickTime movie), and “waves.[####]” is the filename of the selected
object. For more information, see “M
Chapter 1 Orientation 15
otion Dashboards” on page 31.
In addition to the Dashboard, an active bounding box appears in the Canvas around
the selected object. The default onscreen controls for the bounding box include
handles for scaling and rotating, and a pivot point.
Handle
Rotation handle
Bounding box
Pivot point
These controls let you transform and animate objects directly in the Canvas.
Importing Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator Files
You can import Adobe Photoshop files and Adobe Illustrator PDF files into Motion. For
multilayer Photoshop files, there are three import options:
• Import the layers as a single, merged image.
• Import all layers in the file as a group.
• Import a single layer from the file.
The alpha channels for the Photoshop layers are preserved. There are controls to
change the default alpha channel interpretation in the Inspector. For more
information on importing and working with Photoshop and Illustrator files, see
Chapter 2, “Creating and Managing Projects,” in Motion Help.
To import a Photoshop file:
1 In the File Browser, select the Photoshop file.
2 Drag the file over the Canvas or Layers tab, and keep the mouse button pressed until
the drop menu appears.
3 Choose one of the following options from the drop menu:
• To import the file as a single layer, choose Import Merged Layers. This option creates
a single object in a Motion layer.
• To import all layers in the file as a group, choose Import All Layers. This option
creates a nested layer within a Motion layer—a group in which the individual objects
(original Photoshop layers) of that nested layer can be individually modified.
• To import a single layer, choose the layer name from the drop menu. This option
creates a single object in a Motion layer.
16 Chapter 1 Orientation
Note: When a Photoshop file contains more layers than can be displayed in the drop
menu, the Choose Layer option appears in the drop menu. Once Choose Layer is
chosen, use the Pick Layer to Import dialog to select which layer to import.
To import an Illustrator PDF file:
1 In the File Browser, select the Illustrator PDF file.
2 Drag the file to the Canvas.
The file creates a single object in a Motion layer.
The file is imported as a vector image and can be scaled without any degradation to
the image (when Fixed Resolution is deselected in the Media tab of the Inspector). The
imported file is the size of the Illustrator file. For more information on working with
Illustrator PDF files, see Chapter 2, “Creating and Managing Projects,” in Motion Help.
You can also use the File > Import command to import a Photoshop or Illustrator file.
The Canvas
You use the Canvas to view and interact with the objects in your project. You can drag
media files directly to the Canvas from the File Browser, as well as apply effects from
the Library to those files. As you add and edit effects, your changes update
immediately in the Canvas. Text, shapes, and masks are also created directly in the
Canvas.
The Canvas also includes the transport controls for scrubbing through and playing your
project. Once you have explored the Canvas, return to the Library to apply effects to
those objects in the Canvas.
In addition to the viewing area, the Canvas contains the following components:
• Toolbar: Use the Toolbar to transform objects, show and hide the Motion interface
components, add effects, and to change the view of your composite.
• Current Frame and Project Duration fields: The Current Frame field displays the
current location (frame or timecode) of the project playhead. The Project Duration
field displays the length of the project.
• Transport controls: Use the transport controls to play or scrub through your project,
to enable audio playback, and to enable keyframing.
Chapter 1 Orientation 17
• Mini-Timeline: The mini-Timeline allows you to add objects to your project, to move
objects in time, and to trim the duration of an object without having to go into the
Timing pane, which contains the full Timeline.
Toolbar
Canvas
Mini-Timeline
Current Frame field
The Toolbar
The left side of the Toolbar contains tools for transforming objects onscreen, creating
shapes, and panning and zooming the Canvas.
Rectangle
Select
Pan
Zoom
18 Chapter 1 Orientation
Project Duration field
Tex t
Mask
Rectangle Mask
Shape
The right side of the Toolbar contains icons that add filters, behaviors, and particle
emitters to objects or layers, as well as show and hide the Motion interface
components.
Switch to File Browser
Make Particles icon
Switch to Inspector Tab
Add Behavior icon
Show/Hide Timing pane
Add Filter icon
Show/Hide Dashboard
Switch to Library Tab
Show/Hide Project pane
Note: You can customize the Toolbar to better suit your own workflow. For example,
you can move the Add Filter and Add Behavior icons so that they are positioned
adjacent to the shape tools, or add a shortcut to the Keyframe Editor or Timeline. To
access the Customize Toolbar sheet, Control-click in an empty area of the Toolbar, then
choose Customize Toolbar from the shortcut menu, or choose View > Customize
Toolbar. For more information, see Chapter 1, “Getting to Know Motion,” in Motion Help.
In the Toolbar, a small arrow in the lower-right corner of a tool indicates additional
options or modes for that tool. These editing modes change the onscreen controls
associated with a selected object. Click the tool and hold down the mouse button to
display and select the tool options. For more information on the transform modes, see
ransforming Objects and Layers” on page 56.
“T
Current Frame and Project Duration Fields
The Current Frame field displays the current location (frame or timecode) of the project
playhead. The Project Duration field displays the length of the project (usually defined
in the Project Properties).
Current Frame field
Project Duration field
To go to a specific frame in a project:
m
Click in the Current Frame field and type the new frame number. You can type a value
or drag to increase or decrease the existing value.
Note: You can also drag the playhead (located in the mini-Timeline) to a specific frame.
As you drag the playhead, the current frame is displayed in the Current Frame field.
Chapter 1 Orientation 19
To switch the time display in a project from frames to timecode:
m
Click the stopwatch next to the Project Duration field or next to the Current Frame
field.
Record
Stopwatch
Project Duration field
To change the length of an existing project:
m
Enter a new project duration in the Project Duration field (located in the lower-right
portion of the Canvas adjacent to the transport controls).
Note: You can also choose Edit > Project Properties (or press Command+J) and set the
Duration field to a new project length, as well as change additional project settings.
The Transport Controls
Use the transport controls to play your project, move to the beginning or end of a
project, or scrub through your project one frame at a time. The controls also enable
keyframing and audio playback.
If you have a Wacom tablet installed on your computer, you can use gestures to control
playback and scrubbing, as well as to navigate your project. Gestures are contiguous
patterns drawn on your tablet that represent specific commands, such as advance one
frame forward, zoom in or out of the Canvas, and so on. For more information, see
Appendix C, “Using Gestures,” in Motion Help.
Play from start
Loop playback
Play/Mute audio
Go to start
of project
Go to end of project
Play/Pause
To play your project:
m
Click the Play button.
The Play button changes to a Pause button.
To stop or pause playback:
m
Click the Pause button.
20 Chapter 1 Orientation
Go to next frame
Go to previous frame
Note: You can also start and stop playback by pressing the Space bar. To quickly return
to the beginning of a project, press Home.
During playback, the Status Bar (located below the Toolbar) displays the project’s fps
(frames per second).
In the Appearance pane of Motion Preferences, you can also choose to display Color
(the color the pointer is over in the Canvas) and Coordinates (the position of the
pointer in the Canvas) information in the Status Bar.
Note: In addition to using the step frames controls in the transport controls, you can
press Left Arrow or Page Up to move back a single frame or press Right Arrow or Page
Down to advance a single frame. There are several keyboard shortcuts for the transport
controls and additional frame navigation in the Mark menu.
The Record Button
Use the Record button to enable automatic keyframing. When Record is enabled,
keyframes are automatically created whenever you change the value of a parameter.
This means that when Record is enabled, any value changes in the Canvas, Dashboard,
or Inspector creates a keyframe. For a description of keyframes, see “K
eyframe Basics”
on page 103.
With Record enabled and while playing the project, you can create a motion sketch
animation path by dragging an object in the Canvas in the pattern of your choice. Both
the position and speed of your movement are recorded and applied to the position
keyframes for that object. You can set Motion to record a keyframe at each frame, or to
apply keyframe thinning. For more information, see “S
etting Recording Options” on
page 112.
To enable automatic keyframing:
m
Click the Record button (or press A).
The Record button pulses red.
To disable automatic keyframing:
m
Click the Record button (or press A).
The Record button stops pulsing red.
Chapter 1 Orientation 21
To animate the position of an object using motion sketch (during playback):
1 In the transport controls, enable Record (or press A).
2 Click Play (or press the Space bar).
3 Drag the object you want to animate in the Canvas.
To animate the position and rotation of an object:
1 In the transport controls, enable Record (or press A).
2 Go to the frame where you want to set the first keyframe.
3 In the Canvas, position the object.
4 Go to the frame where you want to set the next keyframe.
5 Move the object to its new position and drag the rotation handle.
Note: Do not drag the actual keyframe (the red point) to move the object. Rather than
creating a new keyframe, you merely reposition the existing keyframe.
6 Disable the Record button.
You can press the Space bar, or scrub the playhead, to view the animated object. As it
rotates, the object moves from its initial position to the position set in step 5 above.
The Basic Motion behaviors allow you to quickly set up this type of animation without
having to create keyframes. For more information, see “A
pplying Behaviors and Filters
to Objects” on page 27.
Note: You can also use the Animation menu to explicitly set keyframes for objects and
effects without using the Record button. The Animation menu, located in the Inspector,
also displays whether or not a parameter is animated. For more information, see
eyframing in the Inspector” on page 114.
“K
Keyframes can be viewed in the Timeline and modified in the Keyframe Editor, both of
which are located in the Timing pane. For more information, see “U
Motion” on page 103.
To set a play range shorter than your project duration:
1 Move the playhead to the In point you want, then choose Mark > Mark Play Range In
(or press Command+Option+I).
2 Move the playhead to the Out point you want, and choose Mark > Mark Play Range
Out (or press Command+Option+O).
22 Chapter 1 Orientation
sing Keyframes in
Play Range arrow
Note: You can also drag the Play Range arrows to define a playback range. As you drag
the In or Out point, the new In or Out point frame number is displayed.
The Mini-Timeline
You can use the mini-Timeline to import files, as well as to quickly slip objects in time
or trim the duration of an object (without having to open the Timing pane and display
the full Timeline). The bar that appears in the mini-Timeline represents the currently
selected object or layer.
Note: Keyframes can appear in the full Timeline, but do not appear in the mini-Timeline.
When you import multiple files from the File Browser to the mini-Timeline, you have
the option to composite the objects (place the objects on top of each other), or to
sequence the objects (place the objects one after the other). This option is also
available in the full Timeline.
To add a file to the mini-Timeline:
1 In the File Browser, select the file you want to import.
2 Drag the file to the mini-Timeline and position the pointer over the gray bar in
between the light-gray bar (that contains the playhead) and the transport controls.
While dragging the pointer in the mini-Timeline, the current frame is displayed and the
“+” sign appears next to the pointer, indicating you can drop the object at any time. A
transparent thumbnail of the object also appears next to the pointer.
3 At the correct frame, release the mouse button.
The object is added to your project at the specified frame.
To add multiple files to the mini-Timeline:
1 In the File Browser, select the files you want to import.
2 Drag the files to the mini-Timeline, and keep the mouse button pressed until the drop
menu appears.
Chapter 1 Orientation 23
3 Make one of the following choices from the drop menu:
• Choose Composite to place the objects on top of one another. The objects are
positioned in the order selected—the last object selected is placed at the top of the
object list.
• Choose Sequential to place the objects one after the other. The objects are
positioned in the order selected—the last object selected in the File Browser is
placed at the end of the sequence.
When importing Photoshop and Illustrator files to the mini-Timeline, the import
options are identical to the drop menu in the Canvas. For more information, see
orting Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator Files” on page 16.
“Imp
Note: Files can also be added to a project in the Timeline, located in the Timing pane.
For more information, see “T
he Timeline” on page 97.
The next section returns to the Utility window and discusses previewing and selecting
effects in the Library, and applying those effects to the objects in the Canvas as the
project plays back.
The Library
The Library, located in the Utility window, can be thought of as the place from which
you “check out” all the goodies for your project. These include effects (behaviors, filters,
particle emitters), generators (solids, gradients, animated patterns), text styles, gradient
presets, any third-party filters you have installed, and so on.
You can also save modified behaviors, filters, gradients, text styles, and so on to the
Library. These saved presets can then be applied to other objects in your current
project or future projects. Layers or objects can also be saved to the Library and used in
other projects. Your saved Library content can be shared with other users. For more
information on saving and sharing, see Motion Help.
To display the Library:
m
In the Utility window, click the Library tab.
Note: You can also choose Window > Library (or press Command+2), to display the
Library.
24 Chapter 1 Orientation
The Library categories are listed in the left column of the Library, and the subcategories
appear in the right column. For example, when the Behaviors category is selected, the
Behaviors subcategories (All, Basic Motion, Parameter, Particles, Simulations, Text
Animation, and Text Sequence) appear in the right column. The contents of the
subcategory appear in the lower pane of the Library, which is referred to as the stack.
Chapter 1 Orientation 25
The following table describes the Library folders, categories, and subcategories.
Library folder or category Description
Behaviors category Includes the Basic Motion, Parameter, Particles, Simulations, Text
Animation, and Text Sequence behavior subcategories.
Filters category Includes the Blur, Border, Color Correction, Distortion, Glow, Keying,
Matte, Sharpen, Stylize, Tiling, Time, and Video filter subcategories.
3rd Party Filters category Includes any third-party filters you have installed on your system.
You can set the path to your third-party filters in Motion General
Preferences (Command+, [comma]), 3rd Party Plug-ins section.
Generators category Includes the Generators subcategory. Generators are preset objects,
such as Noise, Color Solid, and Soft Gradient, with parameters that
you can edit or animate to create still or animated elements in your
project.
Particle Emitters category Includes the Abstract, Nature, Pyro, SciFi, Smoke, and Sparkles
emitter subcategories.
Shapes category Contains premade shapes that can be animated as project
elements, used as image masks, or as sources for particle cells.
Gradients category Includes the Gradients subcategory. The preset gradients can be
applied to text, particles, and shapes. For example, a gradient can
be dragged to a text object in the Canvas or Layers tab.
Fonts category Provides a browser for installed fonts.
LiveFonts category Includes the ProSeries LiveFonts subcategory, which consists of 10
fonts. If Final Cut Pro HD and LiveFonts are installed on your
computer, you can use the full suite of LiveFonts in Motion.
Text Styles category Contains premade text styles that can be applied to text objects.
Content folder Includes the Particle Images and Template Media.
Favorites folder Provides a customizable location for frequently-used or customized
filters, effects, gradients, and so on.
Favorites Menu folder Any items saved in this folder appear in the Favorites menu.
Any modified filters, behaviors, and other presets can be saved to the Library. For
example, a customized gradient is saved to the Gradients category in the Library. Or,
you can drag a customized generator into the Library, and it is automatically saved to
the Generators category. When a file is saved to the Favorites or Favorites menu groups,
an alias is created in that group, and the preset is stored in its own category. For
example, if you drag a customized behavior into the Favorites group, an alias is created
in the Favorites group, and the behavior is saved in the Behaviors category.
26 Chapter 1 Orientation
Previewing Items in the Library
You can preview items in the stack before bringing the item into your project. For
example, in the Particle Emitters category, click a preset in the Library stack to play the
particle system in the Preview area at the top of the Library tab. Some particle emitters
let you drag the pointer in the Preview area to see how the emitter looks when it
moves. In following images, the Embryo particle emitter is selected from the SciFi
particle emitter subcategory and the Magic Dust particle emitter is selected from the
Sparkles subcategory.
Selected particle emitter playing in Preview
area
Mouse pointer dragging particle emitter in
Preview area
The organizing and previewing capabilities of the Library make selecting an effect
quick and fun. Simply click an item in the stack—if the preview makes you happy, drag
the item to your project.
Applying Behaviors and Filters to Objects
This section provides a quick start to applying behaviors and filters to objects in the
Canvas. For more information on working with behaviors, see “A
page 61. For more information on working with filters, see “W
bout Behaviors” on
orking With Filters” on
page 91.
In Motion, behaviors can be applied to objects while a project plays back, or when
playback is stopped. Behaviors animate an object by automatically generating a range
of values for that object’s parameters. When a behavior or filter is applied to an object,
it is always applied at the beginning of the object—no matter where the playhead is in
time when the behavior is applied—and exists for the duration of that object (with the
exception of Text Sequence behaviors). This is also true for behaviors and filters applied
during playback. For example, if you are playing a project and you drag a behavior to
an object (that is 300 frames in duration) when the playhead is at frame 100, the
behavior is placed at frame 1 (and ends at frame 300). This method allows for truly
interactive animating—you see immediate results for behaviors and filters while your
project plays.
Note: There is an editable, graphical representation of behavior and filter durations in
the Timeline and mini-Timeline, discussed in “T
Chapter 1 Orientation 27
he Timeline” on page 97.
In the following steps, a play range of 60 frames is set in a 300-frame project. After that,
two behaviors from the Basic Motion group are applied to an object in the Canvas. The
applied behaviors create a simple animation in which an image fades in and scales up.
Next, the speed and simplicity of filter application is demonstrated with a color
correction filter added to the object.
To set a 60-frame play range:
1 In the Current Frame field, enter 60.
The playhead moves to frame 60.
2 Choose Mark > Mark Play Range Out (or press Command+Option+O).
The play range is defined as 60 frames in the 300-frame project.
To start playback:
m
In the transport controls, click the Play button (or press the Space bar).
To apply a Basic Motion behavior from the Library:
1 In the Library, click the Behaviors category.
The Behaviors subcategories appear and are listed alphabetically. The All subcategory is
selected by default, and the behaviors appear in the Library stack.
2 Click the Basic Motion subcategory.
3 From the stack, drag the Fade In/Fade Out behavior to an object in the Canvas.
Note: After selecting an item in the Library stack, you can also click the Apply button in
the Preview area to add the behavior (or filter) to a selected object.
28 Chapter 1 Orientation
When the “+” (plus) sign appears next to the pointer, the behavior can be “dropped” on
the object.
The Fade In/Fade Out Dashboard should appear. If the Dashboard is not displayed,
press D. By default, the object’s opacity fades in from 0 percent to 100 percent over the
first 20 frames of the object, and fades out from 100 percent to 0 percent over the last
20 frames.
Note: You do not have to select an object before a behavior is dragged to that object
in the Canvas. However, if you are working with many objects, you may need to select
the object from the Layers list in order to locate the correct object. To use the Add
Behavior icon in the Toolbar to select and apply behaviors, you must first select an
object to enable the icon. For more information on working with layers and objects,
sing the Layers Tab” on page 45.
see “U
4 In the Fade In/Fade Out Dashboard, click in the gray shaded fade-in region (on the left
side of the controls) and drag to the right until the Fade-In frame duration reads 40
frames.
The object fades in from frame 1 to frame 40. The behavior has applied a value range to
the object’s Opacity parameter; however, it has not created any keyframes for the
Opacity parameter.
To apply a Basic Motion behavior from the Toolbar:
1 In the Canvas, select the object to which you want to apply the behavior. This example
uses the same object to which the Fade In/Fade Out behavior was applied.
Chapter 1 Orientation 29
2 In the Toolbar, click the Add Behavior icon, then choose Basic Motion > Grow/Shrink
from the pop-up menu.
Add Behavior icon
The Fade In/Fade Out Dashboard is replaced by the Grow/Shrink Dashboard.
Note: To select and apply behaviors and filters using the Toolbar icons, you must first
select an object.
3 In the Grow/Shrink Dashboard, click the edge of the box and drag outward.
The object scales up over time.
To apply a filter to an object:
1 In the Library, click the Filters category.
The Filters subcategories appear and are listed alphabetically. The All subcategory is
selected by default, and all available filters appear in the Library stack.
2 Click the Color Correction subcategory.
3 In the stack, drag the Contrast filter to the object in the Canvas.
The Dashboard changes to the Contrast filter Dashboard.
Note: You can also apply a filter to an object from the Add Filter icon in the Toolbar.
4 In the Contrast Dashboard, move the slider to adjust the Contrast value.
Note: Filters can be easily keyframed in the Inspector or by using the Record button.
For more information, see “K
30 Chapter 1 Orientation
eyframing Filters” on page 116.
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