Whiteboard Animation - The Timeline
Now that we have the first scene in MotionR for our whiteboard video scribe animation completed, we need to organize the Timeline before we begin to work on the other scenes.
At this point, we have the visibility for the Text, Finish, Color and Call groups turned off. Place the Playhead at the beginning of the Timeline and turn the visibility for these layers back on. As you can see, we have the graphics visible on the screen before the arm has drawn them in the animation. We need to position the track (blue bar) of each group layer on the Timeline so that the contents are not visible before we need them.
Our first animation ran for two seconds on the Timeline. We want the animations for the Color, Finish, Text and Call scenes to also be two seconds. But we also want a two frame delay between each animation. So each animation after the first will run for two seconds minus two frames.
Once each animation has played, the graphic contents of each group needs to remain visible to the end of the video. But each group will become visible on the screen at different times. So we need to organize our Timeline as follows.
Hand Group
Let's discuss the Hand group first. At this point, this group contains the Hand graphic, a Motion Path behavior and the Bezier_Linear path. The Hand graphic has been visible on the screen from the beginning of the Timeline to the end. The Motion Path and Bezier_Lineart layers span from 00:00 to 02:00 on the Timeline, which is the length of the animation.
Lineart Group
As with the Hand group, we already have set the Lineart graphic in the Lineart group to remain on the Timeline from beginning to the end. We have the Bezier_Lineart copy and Image Mask layers spanning 00:00 to 02:00 on the Timeline.
Color Group
At this point, we have only the Color graphic layer in the Color group. The next animation will be the Hand painting the Color graphic on the screen. This second animation will begin at the 02:02 mark on the Timeline and stop at the 04:00 mark. So we need to remove the Color group from the Timeline from 00:00 to the 02:02 mark. Drag the left edge of the Color group (above the BG track) to the 02:02 mark on the Timeline and leave the right edge of the track to the end of the Timeline.
Face Group
We have only the Face graphic in the Face group. The third animation will be the Hand drawing the Face graphic on the screen. It will begin at the 04:02 mark and end at the 06:00 mark. Although the animation will stop at the 06:00 mark, again the finished lion's face needs to remain on the screen to the end of the video. So this group spans from the 04:02 mark to the end of the Timeline. Drag the left edge of the Face group track to the 04:02 mark.
Text Group
As with the other groups, the Text group contains only the Text graphic. After the lion is completely drawn on the screen, the Hand will draw the company name. As before, the text will remain on the screen to the end of the Timeline. Drag the left edge of the Text group track to the 06:02 mark, which is where the animation will begin.
Call Group
Although the Call group contains three graphic layers, we will control the visibility of these graphics as we have the others with the length of the group's track on the Timeline. We will span the Call group to appear on the Timeline at the beginning of this animation (08:02). Drag the left edge of the group layer to the 08:02 mark.
That should keep us organized while completing the video. We will make a few more changes to the group layers as we go along.
https://www.mygrafico.com/
At this point, we have the visibility for the Text, Finish, Color and Call groups turned off. Place the Playhead at the beginning of the Timeline and turn the visibility for these layers back on. As you can see, we have the graphics visible on the screen before the arm has drawn them in the animation. We need to position the track (blue bar) of each group layer on the Timeline so that the contents are not visible before we need them.
Our first animation ran for two seconds on the Timeline. We want the animations for the Color, Finish, Text and Call scenes to also be two seconds. But we also want a two frame delay between each animation. So each animation after the first will run for two seconds minus two frames.
Once each animation has played, the graphic contents of each group needs to remain visible to the end of the video. But each group will become visible on the screen at different times. So we need to organize our Timeline as follows.
- Hand group - on screen 00:00 to end
- Lineart group - on screen 00:00 through end - Lineart animation runs 00:00 to 02:00 and draws line art on screen
- Text group - on screen 06:02 through end - animation runs 06:02 to 08:00 and draws company name on screen
- Face group - on screen 04:02 through end - animation runs 04:02 to 06:00 and paints face details
- Color group - on screen 02:02 through end - animation runs 02:02 to 04:00 and paints solid colors within line art
- Call group - on screen 08:02 through end - animation runs 08:02 to 10:00 and adds tagline and call to action
- BG group - on screen 00:00 to end (background stays on screen throughout animation)
Hand Group
Let's discuss the Hand group first. At this point, this group contains the Hand graphic, a Motion Path behavior and the Bezier_Linear path. The Hand graphic has been visible on the screen from the beginning of the Timeline to the end. The Motion Path and Bezier_Lineart layers span from 00:00 to 02:00 on the Timeline, which is the length of the animation.
Lineart Group
As with the Hand group, we already have set the Lineart graphic in the Lineart group to remain on the Timeline from beginning to the end. We have the Bezier_Lineart copy and Image Mask layers spanning 00:00 to 02:00 on the Timeline.
Color Group
At this point, we have only the Color graphic layer in the Color group. The next animation will be the Hand painting the Color graphic on the screen. This second animation will begin at the 02:02 mark on the Timeline and stop at the 04:00 mark. So we need to remove the Color group from the Timeline from 00:00 to the 02:02 mark. Drag the left edge of the Color group (above the BG track) to the 02:02 mark on the Timeline and leave the right edge of the track to the end of the Timeline.
Face Group
We have only the Face graphic in the Face group. The third animation will be the Hand drawing the Face graphic on the screen. It will begin at the 04:02 mark and end at the 06:00 mark. Although the animation will stop at the 06:00 mark, again the finished lion's face needs to remain on the screen to the end of the video. So this group spans from the 04:02 mark to the end of the Timeline. Drag the left edge of the Face group track to the 04:02 mark.
Text Group
As with the other groups, the Text group contains only the Text graphic. After the lion is completely drawn on the screen, the Hand will draw the company name. As before, the text will remain on the screen to the end of the Timeline. Drag the left edge of the Text group track to the 06:02 mark, which is where the animation will begin.
Call Group
Although the Call group contains three graphic layers, we will control the visibility of these graphics as we have the others with the length of the group's track on the Timeline. We will span the Call group to appear on the Timeline at the beginning of this animation (08:02). Drag the left edge of the group layer to the 08:02 mark.
That should keep us organized while completing the video. We will make a few more changes to the group layers as we go along.
https://www.mygrafico.com/
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