Motion User Guide
- Welcome
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- Intro to basic compositing
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- Intro to transforming layers
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- Intro to transforming layers in the canvas
- Transform layer properties in the canvas
- Transform tools
- Change layer position, scale, or rotation
- Move a layer’s anchor point
- Add a drop shadow to a layer
- Distort or shear a layer
- Crop a layer
- Modify shape or mask points
- Transform text glyphs and other object attributes
- Align layers in the canvas
- Transform layers in the HUD
- Transform 2D layers in 3D space
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- Intro to behaviors
- Behaviors versus keyframes
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- Intro to behavior types
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- Intro to Parameter behaviors
- Audio behavior
- Average behavior
- Clamp behavior
- Custom behavior
- Add a Custom behavior
- Exponential behavior
- Link behavior
- Logarithmic behavior
- MIDI behavior
- Add a MIDI behavior
- Negate behavior
- Oscillate behavior
- Create a decaying oscillation
- Overshoot behavior
- Quantize behavior
- Ramp behavior
- Randomize behavior
- Rate behavior
- Reverse behavior
- Stop behavior
- Track behavior
- Wriggle behavior
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- Intro to Simulation behaviors
- Align to Motion behavior
- Attracted To behavior
- Attractor behavior
- Drag behavior
- Drift Attracted To behavior
- Drift Attractor behavior
- Edge Collision behavior
- Gravity behavior
- Orbit Around behavior
- Random Motion behavior
- Repel behavior
- Repel From behavior
- Rotational Drag behavior
- Spring behavior
- Vortex behavior
- Wind behavior
- Additional behaviors
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- Intro to using generators
- Add a generator
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- Intro to image generators
- Caustics generator
- Cellular generator
- Checkerboard generator
- Clouds generator
- Color Solid generator
- Concentric Polka Dots generator
- Concentric Shapes generator
- Gradient generator
- Grid generator
- Japanese Pattern generator
- Lens Flare generator
- Manga Lines generator
- Membrane generator
- Noise generator
- One Color Ray generator
- Op Art 1 generator
- Op Art 2 generator
- Op Art 3 generator
- Overlapping Circles generator
- Radial Bars generator
- Soft Gradient generator
- Spirals generator
- Spiral Drawing generator
- Use Spiral Drawing onscreen controls
- Star generator
- Stripes generator
- Sunburst generator
- Truchet Tiles generator
- Two Color Ray generator
- Save a modified generator
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- Intro to filters
- Browse and preview filters
- Apply or remove filters
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- Intro to filter types
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- Intro to Color filters
- Brightness filter
- Channel Mixer filter
- Color Balance filter
- Example: Color-balance two layers
- Color Curves filter
- Use the Color Curves filter
- Color Reduce filter
- Color Wheels filter
- Use the Color Wheels filter
- Colorize filter
- Contrast filter
- Custom LUT filter
- Use the Custom LUT filter
- Gamma filter
- Gradient Colorize filter
- HDR Tools filter
- Hue/Saturation filter
- Hue/Saturation Curves filter
- Use the Hue/Saturation Curves filter
- Levels filter
- Negative filter
- OpenEXR Tone Map filter
- Sepia filter
- Threshold filter
- Tint filter
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- Intro to Distortion filters
- Black Hole filter
- Bulge filter
- Bump Map filter
- Disc Warp filter
- Droplet filter
- Earthquake filter
- Fisheye filter
- Flop filter
- Fun House filter
- Glass Block filter
- Glass Distortion
- Insect Eye filter
- Mirror filter
- Page Curl filter
- Poke filter
- Polar filter
- Refraction filter
- Ring Lens filter
- Ripple filter
- Scrape filter
- Sphere filter
- Starburst filter
- Stripes filter
- Target filter
- Tiny Planet filter
- Twirl filter
- Underwater filter
- Wave filter
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- Intro to Stylize filters
- Add Noise filter
- Bad Film filter
- Bad TV filter
- Circle Screen filter
- Circles filter
- Color Emboss filter
- Comic filter
- Crystallize filter
- Edges filter
- Extrude filter
- Fill filter
- Halftone filter
- Hatched Screen filter
- Highpass filter
- Indent filter
- Line Art filter
- Line Screen filter
- MinMax filter
- Noise Dissolve filter
- Pixellate filter
- Posterize filter
- Relief filter
- Slit Scan filter
- Slit Tunnel filter
- Texture Screen filter
- Vignette filter
- Wavy Screen filter
- Publish filter parameters to Final Cut Pro
- Using filters on alpha channels
- Filter performance
- Save custom filters
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- 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
- Using cameras and lights with 3D objects
- Save custom 3D objects
- Guidelines for working with 3D objects
- Working with imported 3D objects
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- Intro to 360-degree video
- 360-degree projects
- Create 360-degree projects
- Add 360-degree video to a project
- 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
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- Intro to tracking
- How does motion tracking work?
- Motion tracking behavior types
- Analyze motion in a clip
- Stabilize a shaky clip
- Unstabilize a clip
- Use a range of frames for analysis
- Load existing tracking data
- Track shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- Track a filter’s position parameter
- Adjust onscreen trackers
- Save tracks to the Library
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- Intro to preferences and shortcuts
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- Intro to Keyboard shortcuts
- Use function keys
- General keyboard shortcuts
- Audio list keyboard shortcuts
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- Tools keyboard shortcuts
- Transform tool keyboard shortcuts
- Select/Transform tool keyboard shortcuts
- Crop tool keyboard shortcuts
- Edit Points tool keyboard shortcuts
- Edit shape tools keyboard shortcuts
- Pan and Zoom tools keyboard shortcuts
- Shape tools keyboard shortcuts
- Bezier tool keyboard shortcuts
- B-Spline tool keyboard shortcuts
- Paint Stroke tool keyboard shortcuts
- Text tool keyboard shortcuts
- Shape mask tools keyboard shortcuts
- Bezier Mask tool keyboard shortcuts
- B-Spline Mask tool keyboard shortcuts
- Transport control keyboard shortcuts
- View option keyboard shortcuts
- HUD keyboard shortcuts
- Inspector keyboard shortcuts
- Keyframe Editor keyboard shortcuts
- Layers keyboard shortcuts
- Library keyboard shortcuts
- Media list keyboard shortcuts
- Timeline keyboard shortcuts
- Keyframing keyboard shortcuts
- Shape and Mask keyboard shortcuts
- 3D keyboard shortcuts
- Miscellaneous keyboard shortcuts
- Touch Bar shortcuts
- Move assets to another computer
- Work with GPUs
- Glossary
- Copyright
Properties Inspector controls in Motion
The Properties Inspector displays the adjustable parameters for most layers and groups.
Important: The Transform, Cast Reflections, Four Corner, Crop, Lighting, Shadow, and Reflection parameters are not available for layers within 360° environments. Only basic Blending, Drop Shadow, and Timing parameters are available for 360° environments.
Transform parameters
Position: Value sliders that define the X (horizontal), Y (vertical), and Z (depth) positions of each layer.
Click the disclosure triangle next to the Position parameter to reveal dials that adjust position around all three axes (X, Y, and Z).
The coordinate system used by Motion specifies the center of the canvas as 0, 0, 0 regardless of the frame size of the project. Moving a layer to the left subtracts from the X value, while moving it to the right adds to the X value. Moving a layer up adds to the Y value, and moving a layer down subtracts from the Y value. Moving a layer closer adds to the Z value, while moving a layer farther away subtracts from the Z value.
Each layer’s position is centered on its anchor point. Offsetting the anchor point also offsets the position of the layer relative to the X, Y, and Z position values you’ve set.
Rotation: A dial that controls a one-dimensional value representing the number of degrees of rotation around the Z axis. A positive value rotates the layer counterclockwise; a negative value rotates the layer clockwise. Rotating a layer beyond 360 degrees results in multiple rotations when the Rotation parameter is animated.
Click the disclosure triangle next to the Rotation parameter to reveal dials that adjust rotation around all three axes (X, Y, and Z), as well as the Animate pop-up menu.
Animate: A pop-up menu that sets the interpolation for animated 3D rotation channels to one of two options:
Use Rotation: The default interpolation method. Layer rotates from its start angle to its final angle. Depending on the animation, the layer might twist before reaching its final orientation (the last keyframed value). For example, if the X, Y, and Z Angle parameters are animated from 0 degrees to 180 degrees in a project, the layer rotates on all axes before reaching its final orientation.
Use Orientation: This alternate interpolation method provides smoother interpolation but does not allow multiple revolutions. Use Orientation interpolates between the layer’s start orientation (first keyframe) to its end orientation (second keyframe).
Note: The Rotation parameter must be keyframed for its Animate parameter options to have any effect. For information about keyframing, see Intro to keyframing in Motion. For information about 3D rotation, see Transform layers in 3D space in Motion.
Scale: A slider that controls the layer’s scale, relative to its original size. By default, the horizontal and vertical scale of a layer is locked to the layer’s original aspect ratio—represented by a single percentage. Click the disclosure triangle to display independent percentages for the X, Y, and Z scales of the layer.
Note: Setting a layer’s scale to a negative value flips the layer.
Shear: Value sliders that define the X and Y shear of the layer. A layer with no shear has X and Y shear values of 0. Positive values shear in one direction, while negative values shear in the other.
Anchor Point: Value sliders that define the X and Y position of the anchor point relative to the center of the layer. Coordinates of 0, 0 center the anchor point in the bounding box defining the outer edge of the layer. Click the disclosure triangle to expose an additional value slider defining the Z position.
Blending parameters
Opacity: A slider that sets the transparency of the layer. See Modify layer opacity in Motion.
Blend Mode: A pop-up menu that sets the Blend Mode of the layer. See Intro to layer blending in Motion.
Preserve Opacity: A checkbox that, when selected, renders the layer visible only where another layer is visible behind it in the composite. The front layer uses the opacity value of the layer behind it. See Modify layer opacity in Motion.
Casts Reflections: A pop-up menu that determines whether a layer casts a reflection. Choose from three options:
Yes: The layer is seen reflected in nearby reflective layers.
No: The layer is ignored by reflective surfaces.
Reflection Only: The layer becomes invisible, but appears in reflective surfaces around it.
Note: Reflections are only visible when layers are in a 3D group. For more information on 3D groups, see 2D and 3D group properties in Motion.
Drop Shadow parameters
An activation checkbox that turns the drop shadow of a layer on and off. When selected, additional controls become available:
Color: Color controls that set the drop shadow’s color. The default color is black.
Opacity: A slider that sets the drop shadow’s transparency.
Blur: A slider that specifies the drop shadow’s softness.
Distance: A slider that sets how close or far a layer’s drop shadow is to the layer. The farther away a drop shadow is, the more distance there appears to be between the layer and anything behind it in the composition.
Angle: A dial that lets you change the direction of the drop shadow. Changing the Angle of the drop shadow changes the apparent direction of the light casting the shadow.
Fixed Source: A checkbox that, when selected, renders the drop shadow as if cast by a fixed light source, regardless of camera or text movement.
Four Corner parameters
An activation checkbox that turns distorting on and off. If a layer is distorted and this checkbox is deselected, the layer resumes its original shape, although the distorted coordinates are maintained. Reselecting the checkbox reenables the distortion effect specified by the Four Corner coordinate parameters.
When the Four Corner checkbox is selected, value sliders to modify the X and Y coordinates of the layer’s four corner points (Bottom Left, Bottom Right, Top Right, and Top Left) become available. You can also control these parameters visually in the canvas using the Distort tool. See Transform tools in Motion.
Crop parameters
An activation checkbox that turns cropping on and off. If a layer is cropped and this checkbox is deselected, the layer resumes its original size, although the cropping values are maintained. Reselecting the checkbox reenables the cropping effect specified by the crop parameters.
When the Crop checkbox is selected, value sliders to modify the layer’s four edges (Left, Right, Bottom, and Top) become available. You can also control these parameters visually in the canvas using the Crop tool. See Crop a layer in Motion.
Timing parameters
Value sliders to control all aspects of clip retiming. See Intro to retiming media in the Motion Timeline.
Lighting parameters
The Lighting parameter controls appear only when the parent group is set to 3D.
Shading: A pop-up menu that sets how a layer responds to lights in the scene. There are three options:
Inherited: The layer uses the shading value of its parent.
On: The layer can be lit.
Off: The layer ignores lights.
Highlights: A checkbox that, when selected, causes lit layers to show highlights. This parameter has no effect if Shading is set to Off. Click the disclosure triangle to reveal an additional Shininess parameter.
Shininess: A slider that sets the strength of a layer’s highlights. Higher values create a glossier appearance. This parameter is disabled when the Highlights checkbox is deselected.
See Add lights in Motion.
Shadows parameters
The Shadows parameter controls appear only when the parent group is set to 3D.
Cast Shadows: A checkbox that sets whether a shadow is cast when a layer lies between a light source and another layer.
Note: This parameter does not affect drop shadows.
Receive Shadows: A checkbox that controls whether neighboring layers’ shadows affect the current layer. When this checkbox is deselected, light affects the layer as if the shadow-casting layer did not exist.
Shadows Only: A checkbox that, when selected, specifies that a layer blocks light and casts a shadow, while the layer itself does not appear in the scene.
Reflection parameters
The Reflection parameter controls appear only when the parent group is set to 3D. The Reflection parameter controls are not available for 3D particle emitters, 3D replicators, or normal text layers. However, the Reflection parameters are available for flattened text, which is activated by the Flatten checkbox in the Layout pane of the Text Inspector.
Reflectivity: A slider that controls the shininess of the layer’s surface. When set to 0%, there’s no reflectivity. When set to 100%, the layer is totally reflective, like a mirror.
Blur Amount: A slider that controls how blurry the reflection appears, creating the appearance of soft focus due to the surface quality of the reflecting layer.
Falloff: A checkbox that controls whether the reflection fades with distance from the layer, producing a more realistic result. Click the disclosure triangle to show additional controls that adjust the falloff effect: Begin Distance, End Distance, and Exponent. The Exponent slider adjusts how quickly the reflection becomes fainter as reflected layers move away from the reflecting layer.
Blend Mode: A pop-up menu that determines the blend mode used for the reflection.
Media parameters
The Media parameters (available when an image layer is selected) contain a thumbnail of the current layer and the “To” pop-up menu.
To: A pop-up menu that lets you choose another image layer in your project to replace the current layer. The replaced media remains in your project in the Media pane.
Timing parameters
Use the Timing controls to set the selected object’s In and Out points, as well as the duration of the object. See Timing controls in Motion.