Working with Objects Motion 5 102 by macProVideo

Working with Objects Motion 5 102 by macProVideo
This is the second module, entitled Working With Objects, in the AppleR MotionR video tutorial series by macProVideo. As Michael Wohl expands the workspace tour he started in the Overview and Workflow Guide module, he covers in more detail how to import, create and manipulate objects in your project.

Wohl begins by creating a new project in the Project Browser and covers the various preset project properties. He then shows which of these property settings can be changed in the Inspector.

Importing Stills and Layered Photoshop Files
In the next sections, Wohl covers importing still graphics into your project from the File Browser. His discussion of file size and type was very helpful, as I use the Ken Burns effect often in my product trailers. He also discusses the options for importing layered Photoshop files while maintaining the Photoshop layers. He covers the types of Photoshop layers that will not be imported and how to work around this problem. Another point that I found helpful was how Motion imports Photoshop files with layers larger than the Canvas and how they are handled in the Layers list in Motion.

Collapsing Animations
Creating animations in Motion is fun but sometimes you wish to use animations created in other 2D and 3D applications, such as PNG sequences. I found this section very helpful as I have created many image sequences for use as animations in CSS, iOS apps and FlashR. Wohl demonstrates how to use the Collapse Animation feature in the File Browser to tell Motion to show the image sequences as a collapsed single file, which can then be treated much like an imported movie file.

Advanced Transformations
In this section, Wohl discusses the Transform tools, which include the Anchor Point, Distort, Edit Points and Drop Shadow tools. If you've worked with drop shadows in other programs, you will enjoy Wohl's demonstration of how easy it is to manipulate the drop shadow with Motion's Drop Shadow tool.

Canvas View Options
At this point, Wohl moves on to the Canvas and covers the two View menus for controlling which controls, objects and effects are visible on the Canvas. These view options are much like their counterparts in other Apple software but Wohl goes deeper and demonstrates the complex or nested nature of these controls.

Understanding Groups, Managing Clip Order and Layer List View Options
As in other software, a lot happens in the Layers list. To help organize your project, Wohl demonstrates how to control the order of items in the Layers list and how to use the various layer icons to organize masks, behaviors, filters and other features applied to the objects on those layers.

Managing Media
Next to the Layers list is the Media list which is used to store, control and organize the media in your project. Wohl discusses the various information displayed for each type of media file and how to use the Media list and the Layers list together to control the media in your project. He also demonstrates how to store media in the Media list for later use and how to replace and update a media file in the Layers list.

Continue →

https://www.macprovideo.com/tutorials/motion-application

Disclosure: I was given free access to the video training for the purpose of this review article. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.





RSS
Related Articles
Editor's Picks Articles
Top Ten Articles
Previous Features
Site Map








Content copyright © 2023 by Diane Cipollo. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Diane Cipollo. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Diane Cipollo for details.