Motion 5.8

Motion 5.7

Motion 5.6.6

Motion 5.6.4

Motion 5.6.1

Motion 5.6

Motion 5.5.2

Motion 5.5.1

Motion 5.5

Motion 5.4.6

Motion 5.4.4

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Table of Contents

Welcome
What’s new
- What is Motion?
- Motion workflow
- Motion interface
- Basic components of Motion
- Using input devices
- Intro to creating projects
- Create a new project
- Open an existing project
- Search for projects from the Finder
- Bypass the Project Browser
- Create and modify project presets
- Save, autosave, and revert projects
- Intro to adding and managing content
- Intro to project playback
- Define the play range
- Project playback performance
- Intro to basic compositing
- - Modify layer opacity
- Intro to 3D compositing
- - Intro to 3D coordinates
  - Relative coordinates
- Transform layers in 3D space
- - Create 3D intersection
  - 2D and 3D group properties
- Intro to the Timeline
- Display or resize the Timing pane
- Navigate in the Timeline
- Show and modify keyframes in the Timeline
- - Intro to the Timeline ruler
  - Edit a range of frames in the Timeline
- Edit in the mini-Timeline
- Intro to behaviors
- Behaviors versus keyframes
- - Browse for behaviors
- - Intro to adjusting behaviors
  - Adjust behaviors
- Intro to keyframing
- Add keyframes
- - Add an animation path in the canvas
  - Modify animation paths
- Animate from the HUD
- - Apply keyframes to behaviors
  - Combining keyframes and behaviors
- Use the mini-curve editor
- Animate on the fly
- Simplify a keyframe curve
- Intro to Final Cut Pro templates
- - Template workflow
  - Placeholders vs. drop zones
- - Convert a Motion project to a template
  - Convert a template to another type
- Use placeholder images in templates
- Set template resolution
- Add multiple aspect ratios to templates
- Override the Final Cut Pro color space
- Create templates that conform to the Final Cut Pro color space
- Where are templates saved?
- Using masks in templates
- - General template guidelines
  - Tips for color processing in templates
- Intro to rigging
- How does rigging work?
- Build a simple rig
- Work with widgets
- Control rigs from Animation menus
- Publish rigs to Final Cut Pro
- Intro to Particles
- - Add a particle system
  - Anatomy of a particle emitter
- Create 3D particles
- Particle system timing
- Using graphics in particle systems
- Using filters and masks with particles
- Save custom particle effects
- Intro to replicators
- Replicators vs. particle systems
- - Add a replicator
  - Anatomy of a replicator
- Work with 3D replicators
- Replicator timing
- Using filters and masks with replicators
- Save custom replicators
- Intro to basic text
- Select and modify text in the canvas
- Preview and apply fonts
- Use preset text styles
- - Intro to editing text
  - Display the Text Inspector or HUD
- Convert standard text to 3D text
- Check spelling
- Find and replace text
- Using filters with text
- Intro to 3D text
- 3D text workflow
- - Add 3D text
  - Convert 2D text to 3D text
- Apply a preset 3D text style
- Move and rotate 3D text
- Add a glow or drop shadow to 3D text
- 3D text intersection
- Intro to animated text
- Apply a text behavior
- - Use the Scroll Text behavior
  - Scroll Text controls
- - Use the Text Tracking behavior
  - Text Tracking controls
- - Use the Type On behavior
  - Type On controls
- Animate individual text glyphs
- Animating 2D text in 3D space
- When to use keyframes to animate text
- Adding nontext behaviors to text
- Save a modified text behavior
- Intro to shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- - Intro to complex shapes and masks
  - Draw complex shapes and masks
- Edit fill, outline, and feathering
- Keyframe shape control points
- Convert between shapes and masks
- Using filters and masks with shapes
- Copy shape styles
- Save custom shapes and shape styles
- Intro to using generators
- Add a generator
- - Modify or animate a generator
  - Controls common to all generators
- Save a modified generator
- Intro to filters
- Browse and preview filters
- Apply or remove filters
- - Animate filter parameters with keyframes
  - Animate filters using behaviors
- About filters and color processing
- Publish filter controls to Final Cut Pro
- Using filters on alpha channels
- Filter performance
- Save custom filters
- Intro to color keying
- - Intro to the Luma Keyer filter
  - Luma Keyer filter controls
- Intro to 3D objects
- Add a 3D object
- Move and rotate a 3D object
- Reposition a 3D object’s anchor point
- Exchange a 3D object file
- 3D object intersection and layer order
- - Intro to 3D object timing
  - Modify 3D object timing in Motion
- Using cameras and lights with 3D objects
- Save custom 3D objects
- Guidelines for working with 3D objects
- Working with imported 3D objects
- Intro to 360-degree video
- 360-degree projects
- Create 360-degree projects
- Add 360-degree video to a project
- - View 360-degree projects
  - View 360-degree video in a VR headset
- - Intro to graphics in 360-degree projects
  - Use graphics in 360-degree projects
- Create a tiny planet effect
- Reorient 360-degree media
- Creating 360-degree templates for Final Cut Pro
- 360-degree-aware filters and generators
- Export and share 360-degree projects
- Guidelines for better 360-degree projects
- Intro to tracking
- How does motion tracking work?
- Analyze and record motion in a clip
- Track shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- Track the position of a filter or object
- Adjust onscreen trackers
- Load existing tracking data
- Use a range of frames for analysis
- Save tracks to the Library
- Intro to audio
- View audio files
- Add audio files
- Play audio files
- Intro to exporting projects
- Export a QuickTime movie
- Export audio only
- Export a still image
- Export an image sequence
- Export to Apple devices
- Export to email
- Export using Compressor
- Create share destinations
- Render settings
- View the status of shared items
- Share notifications
- About color space
- Intro to color management
- Set the color processing method
- Manage automatic color processing
- View HDR media
- Adjust HDR media
- Choose HDR colors
- Display luminance values
- Tips for color management
- Intro to Cinematic mode video
- Move Cinematic clips to your Mac
- Enable Cinematic mode video adjustments
- Adjust focus points in Cinematic mode video clips in Motion
- Adjust depth of field in Cinematic mode video clips
- Intro to settings and shortcuts
- Touch Bar shortcuts
- Move assets to another computer
- Work with GPUs
Glossary
Copyright

Drag to the Timeline track area in Motion

When you drag a media item into the Timeline track area, a drop menu appears with options for how the new layer should be incorporated. Depending on where in the track area you drop the item, the menu displays different options: Composite, Insert, Overwrite, or Exchange.

You can also drag effects objects (behaviors, filters, and so on) from the Library into the Timeline track area. However, because effects objects (such as filters) are applied to media layers, they can’t be added as standalone objects.

Note: If you release the mouse button before the drop menu appears, the item is added as a composite edit—above the other tracks in the Timeline and on top of other layers in the canvas.

Add a layer to a new Timeline track

To add a layer to a new Timeline track without modifying any other layer in your project, use the Composite edit. The Composite edit places the layer in the track above the one you drag to.

Timeline showing an object, and an object composited into a group

In Motion, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar, click Import, then drag a media file from the dialog that appears to the Timeline track area.
- Drag a media item from the Library or Media list to the Timeline layers list to the Timeline track area.
  As you drag, a tooltip appears at the pointer, indicating the current frame number.
When you reach the frame where you want the new layer to start, position the pointer over the layer you want as a background, and continue holding down the mouse button until the drop menu appears.
Choose Composite from the drop menu.
The new layer is composited into the project above the layer you dragged to.

Insert a layer, splitting an existing layer

To insert a layer into a new Timeline track and split an existing layer at the insertion point, moving it forward in time to make room for the new layer, use the Insert command. For example, if you insert a 100-frame movie into a group containing an existing layer, the new movie is added to the Timeline at the frame where you drop it, pushing the remaining frames of the original movie out 100 frames.

Timeline showing an object in a group, and an object inserted into that group

If you insert a new item midway through an existing layer, the existing layer is split into two layers, each on its own track.

In Motion, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar, click Import, then drag a media file from the dialog that appears to an existing bar in the Timeline track area.
- Drag a media item from the Library or Media list to an existing bar in the Timeline track area.
  As you drag, a tooltip appears at the pointer, indicating the current frame number.
Continue dragging to the frame where you want the new layer to start, holding down the mouse button until the drop menu appears.
Choose Insert from the drop menu.

The new layer is inserted into the track, breaking the original bar into two, and pushing the frames after the insertion farther out in time.

Replace an existing layer with a new layer

To replace an existing layer with a new layer in the Timeline, use the Overwrite command.

Timeline showing an object, then the object overwritten

If the new layer is shorter than the one currently in the group, the Overwrite option splits the duration of the existing layer and deletes only the frames where the new layer appears.

In Motion, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar, click Import, then drag a media file from the dialog that appears onto a bar in the Timeline track area.
- Drag a media item from the Library or Media list onto a bar in the Timeline track area.
  As you drag, a tooltip appears at the pointer, indicating the current frame number.
Drag to the frame where you want the new layer to start, holding down the mouse button until the drop menu appears.
Choose Overwrite from the drop menu.

The frames of the new layer replace the frames of the original layer. If the original layer contained more frames than the new one, the old layer is split into two layers and the additional frames remain.

Replace an existing layer with a layer of the same duration

To replace an existing layer with a layer of the same duration, use the Exchange command. The Exchange command is a variant of the Overwrite option, but instead of dropping the entire duration of the new layer into the project, the duration of the existing layer is used. For example, if you drag a 30-second clip over a 5-second clip, choosing Exchange swaps the existing 5 seconds with the first 5 seconds of the longer clip. If you exchange a longer clip with a shorter one—for example, swapping a 10-second clip with one that lasts only 5 seconds—the first 5 seconds are replaced, and the final 5 seconds of the original remain.

The exchange edit transfers any filters, behaviors, and keyframes from the original layer onto the new layer.

Note: You cannot use the Exchange command with audio files.

In Motion, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar, click Import, then drag a media file from the dialog that appears onto a bar in the Timeline track area.
- Drag a media item from the Library or Media list onto a bar in the Timeline track area.
  As you drag, a tooltip appears at the pointer, indicating the current frame number.
Drag to the frame where you want the new layer to start, holding down the mouse button until the drop menu appears.
Choose Exchange from the drop menu.

The old layer is replaced by the new layer.

Add multiple layers

When you drag more than one item to the Timeline, the new layers appear in their own tracks above any existing layers. This is equivalent to performing a composite edit with a single object. A drop menu lets you choose whether the additional layers should be stacked up as a composite, or whether they should appear one after another (sequentially).

Timeline showing original clip in Timeline, clips added to a sequence as a composite, and sequentially

In Motion, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar, click Import, then in the dialog that appears, Shift-click or Command-Click to select multiple items, and drag them to the Timeline track area.
- In the Library or Media list, Shift-click or Command-click to select multiple items, then drag them to the Timeline track area.
Drag to the frame where you want the new layers to start, holding down the mouse button until the drop menu appears.
Do any of the following:
- Stack the layers at the same start point: Choose Composite from the drop menu.
  Multiple layers are added to the project at the same point in time, each new layer on its own track.
- Stack the layers in sequential order: Choose Sequential from the drop menu.
  Multiple layers are added into the project, each in its own track, one after another in the Timeline.

If you release the mouse button in the Timeline track area before the drop menu appears, a composite edit is applied by default. Alternatively, you can drop the multiple layers into the Timeline layers list; doing so results in a composite edit.

Download this guide: PDF

Helpful?

Motion User Guide