Example: Create a blur transition in Motion

In Motion, choose File > New (or press Command-N).

In the Project Browser, select Final Cut Transition, choose the project preset required for your Final Cut Pro project, set the Duration to 200 frames, then click Open.

The project opens and contains a single group with two placeholder layers: Transition A and Transition B.

Optional: To preview what the effect will look like, drag a still image from the Finder, Library or Import dialog (click Import in the toolbar to open the dialog) to Transition A in the Layers list and then drag a different still image to Transition B, releasing the mouse button when the pointer changes to a curved arrow.

These images are for preview purposes only, and will not be saved to Final Cut Pro.

When you play the project (press the Space bar), no transition is present by default. Transition A ends, and transition B begins abruptly.

In the Timeline, position the pointer over the end of the Transition A bar, then trim the bar by dragging its ending edge to the end of the project.

Trim the Transition B bar by dragging its beginning edge to frame 300.

Animate the opacity of Transition A by doing the following:

1. Click the Record button (press A) and select Transition A.

2. Drag the playhead to frame 1, then set Opacity to 100 in the Properties Inspector.

   Because the default Opacity value is 100, move the Opacity value slider back and forth, or enter 100 in the adjacent value slider to be sure a keyframe is created.

   Tip: To see keyframes in the Timeline, click the Show/Hide Keyframes button in the upper-right corner of the Timeline.

   

3. Drag the playhead to frame 300, then set Opacity to 100 in the Properties Inspector.

   Again, adjust the Opacity value to be sure a keyframe is created. This prevents any dipping to black as transition A fades into transition B.

4. Drag the playhead to frame 330, then set Opacity to 0 in the Properties Inspector.

   When you play the project, Transition A fades into Transition B.

In the Layers list, select the Group.

In the toolbar, click Filters, then choose Blur > Prism.

Animate the blur amount of the Prism filter by doing the following:

1. Drag the playhead to frame 1, then open the Filters Inspector and set Amount to 0.

2. Drag the playhead to frame 280, then in the Filters Inspector, set Amount to 0.

   

3. Drag the playhead to frame 315, then in the Filters Inspector, set Amount to 50.

4. Drag the playhead to frame 350, then in the Filters Inspector, set Amount to 0.

   When you play the project, Transition A fades into Transition B with a prism blur that moves right, then left.

Choose File > Save, then do the following:

1. In the save dialog, enter a name for the template.

   If you don’t specify a name, the template appears in the Final Cut Pro Transitions browser as “New Template.”

2. Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.

   You can also create a custom category. Categories appear in the Motion Project Browser and the Final Cut Pro Transitions browser.

3. If needed, choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.

   You can also create themes. Themes appear in the Motion Project Browser and the Final Cut Pro browsers. A theme is a metadata tag that helps categorize templates.

4. To retain unused media in the project (media or audio in the Media list that’s not used in the template that you may decide to include in the template later), select “Include unused media.”

   For information on where template-related files are saved, see Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?

5. If you want a preview movie to appear in the Motion Project Browser, select Save Preview Movie.

   After the prism blur transition is applied to the Final Cut Pro timeline, its duration can be easily modified. For more information transition duration, see Create a transition template.