Pinnacle Systems Motion Graphics - 2.5 Workflow Guide
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Avid Motion Graphics Workflow Guide v2.5 • 9329-65289-00 Rev A • Created 3/27/13 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form
only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.
Avid Motion Graphics Table of Contents
Preface: Welcome to Avid Motion Graphics ............................................................................................ 1
About Avid Motion Graphics ...................................................................................................................... 1
About the Avid Motion Graphics Documentation....................................................................................... 1
Additional Resources ................................................................................................................................. 1
Avid Training Services ........................................................................................................................... 1
If You Need Help .................................................................................................................................... 2
Chapter 1: Introducing Avid Motion Graphics ......................................................................................... 3
Avid Motion Graphics Suites ..................................................................................................................... 4
Projects ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
Compositions ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Objects....................................................................................................................................................... 7
Effects ........................................................................................................................................................ 9
Features................................................................................................................................................... 10
Mouse Controls ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Keyboard Shortcuts ................................................................................................................................. 13
Chapter 2: The Avid Motion Graphics Workspace ................................................................................ 14
Workspace Overview ............................................................................................................................... 15
The Menu Ribbon .................................................................................................................................... 16
File Menu ............................................................................................................................................. 17
View Menu ........................................................................................................................................... 23
Layout Menu ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Help Menu ............................................................................................................................................ 25
The Assets Area ...................................................................................................................................... 26
Assets Area: StormLogic Pane ............................................................................................................ 27
Assets Area: Library Pane ................................................................................................................... 30
Assets Area: Effects Pane ................................................................................................................... 31
Assets Area: Browser Pane ................................................................................................................. 33
Assets Area: In Use Pane .................................................................................................................... 34
The Menu Area ........................................................................................................................................ 36
Menu Area: Tools Pane ....................................................................................................................... 37
The Animation Area ................................................................................................................................. 40
Animation Area: Timeline Modes ......................................................................................................... 41
Animation Area: In and Out Panes ...................................................................................................... 42
Animation Area: Brother In and Brother Out Panes ............................................................................ 43
Animation Area: Self In and Self Out Panes ........................................................................................ 44
Animation Area: Immediate In and Immediate Out Panes .................................................................. 45
The Viewports Area ................................................................................................................................. 46
Viewports Area Overview .................................................................................................................... 47
Viewports Area: Edit Pane ................................................................................................................... 49
Viewports Area: Program Pane ........................................................................................................... 50
Viewports Area: Preview Pane ............................................................................................................ 51
Related Feature: The Viewport Pane .................................................................................................. 51
The Model Area ....................................................................................................................................... 52
Model Area: Material Pane .................................................................................................................. 53
Model Area: Texture Pane ................................................................................................................... 56
Model Area: MediaIn Pane .................................................................................................................. 57
Model Area: Font Pane ........................................................................................................................ 58
Model Area: Font Fix Pane .................................................................................................................. 60
Model Area: Viewport Pane ................................................................................................................. 61
Model Area: Timer Pane ...................................................................................................................... 63
Model Area: Form Pane ....................................................................................................................... 65
Model Area: Data Pane........................................................................................................................ 66
Model Area: Bind Pane ........................................................................................................................ 77
Model Area: Capture Pane .................................................................................................................. 81
Model Area: Render Movie Pane ......................................................................................................... 82
Model Area: System Pane ................................................................................................................... 86
Model Area: Light Pane ....................................................................................................................... 89
Model Area: Pivot Pane ....................................................................................................................... 93
Model Area: Sound Pane ..................................................................................................................... 94
Model Area: Object Pane ..................................................................................................................... 95
Chapter 3: Avid Motion Graphics Projects ........................................................................................... 101
About Avid Motion Graphics Projects .................................................................................................... 102
Project Preferences and Presets ........................................................................................................... 103
Preferences ........................................................................................................................................ 103
Presets ............................................................................................................................................... 103
Project Organization .............................................................................................................................. 104
Chapter 4: About Avid Motion Graphics Compositions ..................................................................... 106
About Avid Motion Graphics Compositions ........................................................................................... 107
Compositions and Avid Motion Graphics Objects ................................................................................. 108
Compositions and Avid Motion Graphics Object Effects ................................................................... 111
Creating Composition Templates .......................................................................................................... 120
Avid Motion Graphics Backups Feature ................................................................................................ 123
Using Libraries Across Multiple Compositions ...................................................................................... 124
Multi-user Collaboration ......................................................................................................................... 125
Using Storm Logic with Compositions ............................................................................................... 126
Chapter 5: Avid Motion Graphics Control ............................................................................................ 130
Avid Motion Graphics Control Interface ................................................................................................. 131
Organization .......................................................................................................................................... 134
Settings and Configuration .................................................................................................................... 135
General Settings ................................................................................................................................ 135
Renders ............................................................................................................................................. 136
Paths .................................................................................................................................................. 137
Sections ............................................................................................................................................. 138
Miscellaneous .................................................................................................................................... 139
Template Management .......................................................................................................................... 140
Virtual Keyboard and Shortcuts ............................................................................................................. 141
Creating Keyboard Layouts ............................................................................................................... 141
Chapter 6: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts ......................................................................................... 144
Avid Motion Graphics Design UI Keyboard/Mouse Shortcuts ............................................................... 145
Avid Motion Graphics Control UI Keyboard/Mouse Shortcuts .............................................................. 148
Chapter 7: Avid Motion Graphics Plugins ............................................................................................ 155
The AMG Photoshop Exporter Plugin ................................................................................................... 156
The AMG 3ds Max Exporter Plugin ....................................................................................................... 164
This preface covers the following:
About Avid Motion Graphics (p. 1)
About the Avid Motion Graphics Documentation (p. 1)
Additional Resources (p. 1)
Avid Motion Graphics is a dynamic motion graphics editor and playout software suite that allows you to
produce striking compositions and inspiring effects for a variety of professional broadcast and media
applications.
Avid Motion Graphics is geared for media producers in the media enterprise, professional video, and
educational market segments that produce graphics for numerous applications including news, sports,
live events (concerts, houses of worship), post production, channel branding, game shows, reality TV,
corporate video, and educational purposes.
Avid Motion Graphics solutions can integrate industry-leading broadcast graphics systems and live
production servers with both the newsroom and broadcast production. The result is facility-wide access to
branded visual templates and elements—from traffic to the promotions department to journalists—and a
more consistent and competitive channel identity in all news, sports and entertainment programming.
The possibilities are truly endless . . .
This Avid Motion Graphics User’s Guide covers the basics, that is, enough guidance to get you up and
running and therefore doesn’t cover each and every feature thoroughly.
Depending on your configuration, your Avid Motion Graphics system may not contain certain applications
or features covered in this document.
Along with the documentation that accompanies Avid Motion Graphics, there’re a variety of resources you
can use to find out more about the application, its applications, and tools.
Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient.
Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid
continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your
pressured and competitive work environment.
For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please
visit www.avid.com/support and follow the Training links, or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-
2843).
Preface: Welcome to Avid Motion Graphics
About Avid Motion Graphics
About the Avid Motion Graphics Documentation
Additional Resources
Avid Training Services
1
If you are having trouble using your Avid product:
1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially
important to check each step of your workflow.
2. Check the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was
published.
New information would be found in the ReadMe file available online.
You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because
the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available.
To view the online versions, visit the Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/US/support.
3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or
hardware-related issues.
4. Visit the online Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/US/support. Online services are available 24
hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error
messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read or join online messageboard discussions.
5. For support issues, please access the Avid Customer Success Portal at:
http://www.avid.com/csportal or telephone Customer Success at 800-800-AVID (800-800-2843).
If You Need Help
2
This chapter covers Avid Motion Graphics, AMG Production, AMG Creation, and key concepts required
for effectively creating graphics.
This chapter covers the following:
Avid Motion Graphics Suites (p. 4)
Projects (p. 5)
Compositions (p. 6)
Objects (p. 7)
Effects (p. 9)
Features (p. 10)
Mouse Controls (p. 12)
Keyboard Shortcuts (p. 13)
Chapter 1: Introducing Avid Motion Graphics
3
Imagine the possibilities . . .
In today’s highly-competitive, image-dominated media industry, media producers need to create stunning
visual imagery that cuts through the clutter, streamline their workflows to reduce costs, and build strong
brand recognition. Avid Motion Graphics™ helps you do just that. This on-air graphics platform offers
advanced design tools, powerful production capabilities, and sophisticated workflow integration, built on a
revolutionary rendering engine that lets everyone involved in graphics development make the most of their
media.
Avid Motion Graphics™
Avid Motion Graphics™ Production
Avid Motion Graphics™ Creation
Avid Motion Graphics is a fullfeatured on-air graphics system
with advanced object-based design,
production, and playout capabilities
and workflow integration ideal for
high production-value graphics
creation and distribution. You can
create exhilarating visual
experience with this complete nextgeneration creative toolset,
featuring advanced 2D/3D real-time
rendering accelerated by the latest
GPU and I/O technology.
Ideal for fast-paced news, sports and
live events, Avid Motion Graphics
Production is a streamlined on-air
graphics system with complete 2D/3D
graphics creation tools, effects,
production capabilities and workflow
integration. You can create stunning
imagery, easily make real-time
updates, and quickly play graphics to
air with this next-generation creative
toolset, featuring advanced 2D/3D realtime rendering accelerated by the latest
GPU and I/O technology.
Avid Motion Graphics Creation is a
software-only graphics design
application with the same advanced
2D/3D creation tools and advanced
2D/3D real-time rendering as the
full-featured Avid Motion Graphics
system. You can create stunning
imagery with this complete nextgeneration creative toolset for quick
transfer to the online Avid Motion
Graphics system.
Learn more
Learn more
Learn more
Avid Motion Graphics Suites
4
In Avid Motion Graphics, you create 2D and 3D graphics and construct projects with images and objects
imported from third-party applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk 3ds Max), movie files,
audio files, data files (such as XML feeds and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets), and Avid Motion Graphics
objects too, of course. Several examples of Avid Motion Graphics objects include Bezier curves, particle
systems, primitives, texts, and video objects.
Whether your compositing a 3D graphics cinema masterpiece or a simple 2D image, Avid Motion
Graphics is unique in that it utilizes a perpetual 3D-graphics rendering engine. There’s no need to switch
between 2D and 3D modes.
An Avid Motion Graphics project consists of compositions that in turn contain graphics, in the form of
objects. For more about compositions and objects, see Compositions and Objects, respectively.
Project Workflows
Avid Motion Graphics projects are exceedingly dynamic, supporting common and unique workflows alike.
A single designer can use Avid Motion Graphics to produce vivid images and composite powerful
animations; alternatively, an extensive group of professionals including graphic designers, project
administrators, control room technicians, and so on, can use Avid Motion Graphics to create, compile,
and take to air their enterprise-level broadcasts.
Projects
5
When you launch Avid Motion Graphics your project will have a single default composition, a group that
acts as a container for your graphic and media objects. The empty Edit Pane, in the Viewport Area,
represents the current content of the composition, which will eventually be taken to air.
Any additional compositions you create will appear in the StormLogic Pane in the WorkArea disclosure
list. Selecting a composition from the StormLogic Pane will load it in the Object Pane; once loaded, you
can select individual objects, or groups, to adjust their unique attributes. Additionally, if you select the
composition group (“/” slash), listed at the top of the Object Pane list, you can define its Presenter
attributes.
The term Presenter refers to a set of effects that determine how a composition will animate with regard to
other compositions when taking graphics to air.
Another means for defining your composition’s Presenter attributes is to select either the “StormLogic”
group or “WorkArea” group from the StormLogic Pane. Doing so will load the project’s full hierarchy into
the Object Pane; once loaded, you can define each compositions’ Presenter attributes, and also
Presenter Group attributes.
The term Presenter Group refers to another distinct set of effects, which apply to groups and their
children, or compositions and groups within that group. Presenter Group effects define behaviors such as
the number of compositions that can be on air at once, overlap between two transitioning compositions,
and much more.
Consider the above Wall Street composition example; all of its graphical elements are contained within a
single composition, consequently, when the composition is played out all of its elements go to air
simultaneously. However, if you’d like to use a different header, or want to report on only two of the three
markets, the header and bottom bars should each be contained within their own compositions.
Organizing graphics in this way will allow a higher level of control when putting your graphics to air.
Compositions
6
All assets, whether native to the program or imported, are referred to as objects, e.g., light objects, sound
objects, bind objects, timer objects, and so on. Objects must reside within a group. Groups have a parent
relationship with the objects they contain. Whereas compositions, objects, and groups at the same
hierarchy level are said to have a brother relationship (thus, the Brother In and Brother Out animations
created between compositions).
In the screenshots above and to the right, the group labeled with a slash “/”
is the default composition group and is the parent to every object and
group within the composition.
The group labeled “Group” has a parent relationship with the objects
contained within it, labeled “BevelBox” and “Cone”, and has a brother
relationship with the object labeled “Cosmos”.
The “BevelBox” and “Cone” objects have a brother relationship.
Modifying a group that has a parent relationship will also affect the objects
it contains. For example, animating the group labeled “Group” will also
animate the “BevelBox” and “Cone” objects.
Note: By design, it’s not possible to delete the composition group (“/” slash), or for that group to have a
brother relationship with other objects or groups. Attempting to delete the composition level or move a
group or object to its level will result in a warning message.
continued-
Objects
7
Object Attributes and Effects
Each object type has a unique set of attributes; for
instance, the SurfQuad object in the Object Pane to the left,
has adjustable Transformation and Surf Quad attributes.
The Transformation disclosure lists attributes for adjusting
the object’s scale, axis point, and 3D vector coordinates.
The Surf Quad disclosure lists attributes for adjusting the
object’s resolution, dimensions, and material.
Avid Motion Graphics boasts a variety of powerful effects,
including those for objects. Effect categories are listed as
categorical tabs in the Effects Pane. The first of which is
the Object Effect tab.
For more about objects and object effects, see
Compositions and Avid Motion Graphics Objects.
Note: Any effects, animations, or other behaviors that you
apply to a parent group will also affect the objects or other
groups contained within them.
8
Avid Motion Graphics Effects are designed to make your life a whole lot easier. Effects allow you to make
complex, eye-catching graphics for a wide range of applications in no time at all.
The following screenshot is an example of the Fractal effect, which when applied transforms a planar,
surface object into a jagged, mountainous terrain.
The Effects Pane displays the various effect categories in a tabular arrangement at its top. Effects are
applicable to objects, materials, textures, fonts, media files, timers, binds, pipes (the viewport panes),
modes (the system pane), and lights. You can apply effects to enhance existing attributes, or to introduce
entirely new controls. When you add effects, their parameters append to their corresponding pane’s
existing attributes.
Note: For panes that support effects, there’s an “Effects”
library shortcut icon. Holding Ctrl + LMB-clicking a shortcut
icon will open the corresponding object library or effects library
in that pane.
The screenshot to the right is of the Material Pane’s “Effects”
shortcut.
For more about effects, what they do, and some examples,
see Compositions and Avid Motion Graphics Object Effects.
Effects
9
Professional multimedia designers have traditionally used a variety of software packages to support their
workflows; Avid Motion Graphics is engineered to cover a dynamic range of these benchmark features
and tools, while also integrating file compatibility for industry leading media formats.
The following table provides some of Avid Motion Graphics key features.
Avid Motion Graphics Key Features
Key Feature
Description
Real-time 2D/3D graphics
rendering
Graphics creation from basic CG functions up to highly advanced realtime compositions using effects and shaders. Switch between 2D and
3D without complexity.
Deko Asset preservation and
conversion
Saves resources, time, and
money by letting you use all the
same raw file assets. Includes a
translator to bring the basic
components of your Deko files
onto the new platform.
Workflow integration
Enables you to integrate graphics into the newsroom and edit suite while
transitioning to the new platform. Empowers you to create powerful
newsroom graphics from advanced templates.
Object-based environment
Allows each object to contain its
own parameters and animation
properties, and to be combined in
an infinite variety of ways.
Local or distributed controller
Enables you to bring graphics to air with all products within the Avid
Motion Graphics platform. Includes full override capabilities and the
fastest to air workflows.
Text editing and effects
Gets you to air quickly with all the standard text entry and editing
functionality, as well as dozens of preset text effects and animations.
Primitives modeling and
animation, environment
lighting and atmospheric tools
Available plugins provide export from industry
standard tools, such as Adobe Photoshop and
Autodesk 3ds Max, letting you create 3D
objects and animations natively or from
imported geometry with open integrations.
Intuitive user interface with
2D/3D views
Enables you to work more efficiently to create many types of graphic
assets, from character generation to full 3D animations.
Features
10
Enhanced materials with soft
clipping planes, specular
effects, bump mapping,
advanced materials, shaders,
and shadows
Provides a wide range of creative options to develop a differentiated
look and feel for any application.
Group effects
Allows you to animate entire groups of objects,
such as multi-line scoreboards with a variety of
preset animations.
Clips and/or video input
mapped to any object,
including text
Enables you to map graphics clips or input video to any object and play
in combination with timeline animations.
Control via automation,
external machines, or
applications
Interfaces with automated graphics playout control systems to
automatically trigger playout in a variety of workflows.
Combine two or more
templates into one uniquely
identified MetaTemplate
Using AMG Control you can combine multiple templates into one
MetaTemplate that has its own HouseID. This allows for ultimate
graphic playout flexibility when controlling the Avid Motion Graphics
playout server with any system that communicates via CII (i.e. most
Automation systems).
Data-driven graphics
Lets you dynamically update
graphics, such as financial charts,
sports scores, and election results
via integration with ODBC sources,
RSS feeds, XML files, and/or thirdparty data sources and applications.
Advanced GPU technology
support
Supports the latest advances in GPU and I/O technology, as well as
formats from NTSC up to 2K, including film resolutions and custom
formats.
11
Throughout this user’s guide mouse controls and shortcuts are often abbreviated; refer to the diagram
below for their abbreviations.
In the following table, only the functional areas are described– to view a complete list of mouse controls
and shortcuts, see Avid Motion Graphics Design UI Keyboard/Mouse Shortcuts.
Category
Functions
2D Navigation
Used for quick or incremental zooming, and for panning over your graphics.
Note: Because 2D Navigation doesn’t change the coordinates of the
Viewport’s camera, so you will experience resolution degradation as you
zoom further in on your graphics.
3D Navigation
Used to change the camera coordinates around its axis, and for panning
over your graphics.
Note: Because 3D-navigation changes the coordinates of the Viewport’s
camera, you won’t experience any degradation of resolution.
Animation
Used for creating keyframes in your timeline.
Binding
Used for creating binds, and for freeing binds.
Material/Texture Preview
Navigation
Used for zooming, and for panning over material and texture previews.
Navigating Hierarchy
Used for selecting a single object, multiple objects, or for adding/removing
objects to your current selection.
Transformation Tools
Used for creating new curve object vectors, and for incrementally
increasing/decreasing transformation values, depending on the cursors
placement, e.g., tenths, hundredths, thousandths, etc., place.
Mouse Controls
12
Keyboard shortcuts exist for graphics design and playout control. Many shortcuts are possible with a
standard, QWERTY keyboard. Alternatively, the Avid Motion Graphics keyboard provides programmable
buttons (macros) and additional keyboard shortcuts.
For more about using keyboard shortcuts for Avid Motion Graphics Design and Avid Motion Graphics
Control, see Avid Motion Graphics Design UI Keyboard/Mouse Shortcuts and Avid Motion Graphics
Control UI Keyboard/Mouse Shortcuts, respectively.
Standard QWERTY Keyboard
Avid Motion Graphics Programable Keyboard
Keyboard Shortcuts
13
This chapter introduces the various Avid Motion Graphics Workspace areas and their relevant panes.
This chapter covers the following:
Workspace Overview (p. 15)
The Menu Ribbon (p. 16)
The Assets Area (p. 26)
The Menu Area (p. 36)
The Animation Area (p. 40)
The Viewports Area (p. 46)
The Model Area (p. 52)
Chapter 2: The Avid Motion Graphics Workspace
14
The Avid Motion Graphics workspace has five functional areas each of which contains a set of panes.
Areas can be resized by dragging their borders horizontally and vertically and panes can be relocated,
added to, or removed from any area in the workspace
Learn: To add or remove panes from your workspace,
open the View menu located at the top of your program
window. The View menu lists the five workspace areas:
Assets; Menu; Animation; Viewports; Model. Clicking
on, or hovering over, any one of the areas will display
the area-specific panes. Check panes to add them to
your workspace.
When you initially launch Avid Motion Graphics the default layout will be displayed and the areas will be
similar to those displayed in the workspace pictured below, labeled Workspace Areas; however, keep in
mind that not all of the available panes are included in each of the provided preset layouts. For example,
the Default layout doesn’t include several of the Animation, Viewport, and Model panes. As you acquire a
feel for the Avid Motion Graphics workspace it’s likely you will customize layouts to better align them with
your workflows.
Learn: To change your workspace layout to one of the preset
options, open the Layout menu located at the top of your
program window in the Menu Ribbon. Click or hover over
Select to display the default layout options.
For more about Layout menu features, see Layout Menu.
Workspace Areas
The following sections
describe each of the five
workspace areas and their
corresponding panes.
Workspace Overview
15
From left to right, the File, View, Skin, Layout, and Help menus are located along the Menu Ribbon,
located at the top of the Avid Motion Graphics Workspace. The following sections describe these menus
and their features.
Menu Area Topics
File Menu
View Menu
Layout Menu
Help Menu
The Menu Ribbon
16
The table below describes the contents of the File Menu; Project, Composition, Preferences, and Exit.
File Menu: Project
Options
Description
New
Creates a new, blank project with a single default composition
Open
Opens your project without loading compositions.
Note: When using Avid Motion Graphics Control to playout your graphics use
Open, not Open All, to open your project. AMG Control loads your
compositions automatically; therefore using Open All to open your project will
cause the rendering engine to load your composition twice.
Open All
Opens your project and loads your compositions for design/editing.
Save
Saves your project to its previously saved location. Using Save, without a
previous save, will simply open the FileLoader window as if you were saving
as.
Save As
Opens the FileLoader window, allowing you to choose the file directory and
project name.
Export
Exports your project as a single archived zip file containing your
compositions, assets, settings, and project attributes.
Import
Imports previously exported Avid Motion Graphics projects.
Import Library
Imports a previously saved project library.
Recover
Populates a list of your
automatically backed up
projects.
Learn: To turn on automatic
project backups, open
Preferences in the File Menu
and navigate to the Misc Tab.
You can turn backup creation
on or off and set the maximum
number of backups.
Enabling backups will create a
backup each time you save
your project.
The number of stored backups
ranges from zero to forty,
depending on your preference.
To recover a project, select
Project in the File Menu, then
select Recover and choose the
backup you’d like to recover.
File Menu
17
File Menu: Composition
Options
Description
New
Creates a new, blank composition.
Load Published
Opens the FileLoader window to the preset Admin Projects directory, allowing
you to choose which previously published composition to load.
Note: The FileLoader window will not open if the Admin Projects path isn’t
defined.
For more on how to set paths, see File Menu: Preferences.
Load Selected
Loads one or more unloaded composition that you have selected in the
StormLogic Pane.
Learn: To select multiple compositions, hold Ctrl while LMB-clicking the
compositions you want to load; holding Shift allows you to quickly select a
range of compositions.
Tip: If you have a project with many compositions, or a few compositions with
large files, consider using Open instead of Open All when opening your
project. You can then use Load Selected to load only the compositions that
need editing.
Load All
Loads all of the compositions in the StormLogic Pane, regardless of selection.
Tip: If you accidently used Open to open your project, instead of Open All,
your compositions will not load for editing; simply use the Load All feature to
load all of your compositions simultaneously.
Delete Selected
Deletes one or more composition(s) that you have selected in the StormLogic
Pane.
Learn: To select multiple compositions, hold the Ctrl-key and LMB-click each
of the compositions you want to load; holding the Shift-key allows you to
quickly select a range of compositions.
Duplicate Selected
Duplicates one or more composition(s) that you have selected in the
StormLogic Pane.
-continued
18
Publish Selected
Publishes one or more composition(s) that you have selected in the
StormLogic Pane. You cannot publish a composition if your Admin Projects
path isn’t defined.
Note: Using the Publish Selected feature creates a ‘_published/user’ folder in
the defined Admin Projects directory that contains the exported composition
folder, .scn file, and template thumbnail.
Published compositions can be loaded into projects; for example, several
graphic designers can each publish their compositions to the networked,
Admin Projects directory and an art director could then load the published
compositions into a single master project.
Save Selected
Saves one or more composition(s) that you have selected in the StormLogic
Pane.
Save All
Saves all of the compositions in the StormLogic Pane, regardless of selection.
Export
Exports the currently selected composition in the StormLogic Pane as an
archived file.
Import
Imports previously exported compositions to the StormLogic Pane.
19
File Menu: Preferences
Options
Description
Viewports
Contains various customizable Viewport attributes. You can fine tune your
project’s video format, camera aspect ratio, and rendering configuration in the
Viewports tab.
Text
Allows you to enable Unicode Shaping and Spell Check features.
Paths
Allows you to set your project and asset directory paths.
User Projects
The User Projects path is intended for local project storage.
continued-
20
Admin Projects
The Admin Projects path is intended for sharing projects and publishing
compositions.
Note: Compositions are automatically published to the Admin Projects
directory.
Common Library
The Common Library path is intended for sharing objects, materials,
textures, fonts, etc., each Library Pane category should have its own folder
in the Common Library directory (e.g. Materials – Mat Folder, Textures –
Tex Folder).
Learn: To use assets from the common library, set your Common Library
path, close the Preference window, RMB-click within the Library Pane, LMBclick and select Show Common Library. You cannot simultaneously view
Common Libraries and Local User Libraries.
Common Assets
The Common Assets path is intended for sharing picture, video, and sound
files.
Reduced Render
Allows you to adjust the render level and type for the Edit, Program, and
Preview Panes.
Desktop Shortcuts
Allows you to create project specific shortcuts on your desktop.
Shortcut Layout
Associates a predefined workspace layout with your project.
Create Open Lazy
Creates an Open, not Open All, shortcut on your desktop for the currently
open project.
Create Open All
Creates an Open All shortcut on your desktop for the currently open project.
-continued
21
Misc
Allows you to enable video input, adjust thumbnail size, and set automatic
project saving and backup modes.
File Menu: Exit
Option
Description
Exit
Exits Avid Motion Graphics. If you haven’t saved your progress a warning
message will display, “There are changes, Quit anyway?”
22
The View Menu lists the five major workspace areas and their submenus, which contain each area’s
panes. Selecting a pane will add it to your workspace. The following table describes the contents of the
View Menu; Assets, Menu, Animation, Viewports, Model.
View Menu
Options
Description
Assets
Used to enable the following panes: Library, Effects, Browser, StormLogic, and In Use
Menu
Used to enable the following panes: Tools
Animation
Used to enable the following panes: In, Out, Brother In, Brother Out, Self In, Self Out,
Immediate In, and Immediate Out
Viewports
Use to enable the following panes: Edit, Program, and Preview
Model
Used to enable the following panes: Material, Texture, MediaIn, Font, FontFix, Viewport,
Timer, Form, Data, Bind, Capture, Render Movie, System, Light, Pivot, Sound, and Object
For more about the workspace panes, see The Avid Motion Graphics Workspace.
View Menu
23
The Layout Menu contains several predefined Avid Motion Graphics workspace layouts that you can
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