Create Background Layer in Motion Project

Create Background Layer in Motion Project
Now that we have set the project properties for our Motion project, we can begin to build the composition. Our first layer of the composition will be the background for the project. This can be a static image, solid color, gradient color or animated.

Our MotionR project will be a product trailer for a black and white wedding stationary design. Because a wedding is a special occasion, we will use a Bokeh animation from the Motion library as our background layer. We will also adjust the default color scheme for the Bokeh to white and grays, which will better feature the black and white design of our product.

  1. To open an existing Motion project from the Project Browser, click Open Other and select the .motn file.

  2. Our first step will be to rename the default Group layer to “background” or “BG” for short.

    Now we will select the Bokeh animated background from the Motion Library.

  3. Click on the Library tab on the left, select the Content folder in the Sidebar and select the Backgrounds folder.

  4. Scroll down the list in the Stack until you come to Defocused Wealth. You will see a preview of the Bokeh animation in the Preview. Click the Apply button next to the Preview to add this animation to the center of the Canvas and the BG layer in the Layers pane.

    As you can see, the Defocused Wealth component is added to a new layer inside the BG group. The Bokeh is smaller than our Canvas. We will need to scale the Bokeh up to fit the entire Canvas. We can make these adjustments in the Inspector.

  5. Select the Properties pane in the Inspector. Move the X and Y sliders to 150% to scale the Bokeh to fill the Canvas. You can also use the Scale slider to set the X and Y values in one step.

    Now we can reduce the saturation of the Bokeh to change the colors from yellows to whites and grays.

  6. From the Toolbar, click the Add Filter icon to open the menu. Choose Color Correction and then Hue/Saturation. This will open the Hue/Saturation controls in the Filters pane in the Inspector. Move the Saturation slider to the left until the yellow color is removed.

As you can see in the Layers pane, the Hue/Saturation filter has been applied to the Defocused Wealth background. Now would be a nice time to hit the Play button and check out our Bokeh background animation.

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