Text Animation in Motion

On this week's MacBreak Studio, I talk to Steve Martin from Ripple Training about animating text in Motion.

Keyframes & Motion

Here's a MacBreak Studio double-header: 2 shows about working with keyframes in Motion

In the first episode, I discuss how to create animation with keyframes, and how to then adjust those keyframes:

And in this follow-up episode, I demonstrate some techniques for copying keyframed animations to other objects:

Come Learn Motion at NAB

I'll be teaching Motion all week during the Post|Production World Conference at NAB this April in Las Vegas. Come and learn!

Moving Motion Paths in Motion (and FCP X)

On this episode of MacBreak Studio, I show Steve Martin of Ripple Training a trick for moving a motion path in both Motion and Final Cut Pro X.

Want to see a complete list of previous MacBreak Studio episodes? Click here.

New Kerning Keyboard Commands

In the Motion 5.0.5 update that came out recently, kerning no longer works the same way. In previous versions, you would hold the Control key down and tap the left or right arrow keys while editing text to change the spacing between two letters. Since that keyboard combination is now used by the OS, there's a new way: hold down the Command and Option keys, and then tap the left or right bracket keys. 

Thanks to Anders Larsen for this additional information:

A Danish keyboard doesn't have [bracket]-keys.

So for the hordes of Danish Motion users out there who use kerning all the time, here is a work-around:

- System Preferences -> Languages & Text -> Input Sources
- Make sure U.S. Extended is checked
- Click the Keyboard Shortcuts button and select Keyboard & Text Input
- Assign a shortcut to "Select next source in input menu" (at the bottom of the list)

You can now toggle between DK and US keyboard layouts and use the bracket key shortcuts for kerning. The Bracket keys are "å" and "^" (between "p" and the return key) 

Motion 5.0.5

With all the hubbub amount the Final Cut Pro X update last week, most folks didn't notice that Motion was updated as well. While it didn't change very much, it did receive two new features worth mentioning: first, a new marker type called a Text Edit marker, which makes it much easier to edit titles that you publish to Final Cut Pro X. The second feature? Now you can open more than one Motion project at a time. This may not sound like a big deal, but for folks like me who do a lot of work in Motion, it's huge! Now we can easily reference multiple projects and move layers and groups between projects. What do you think?

Creating Action End Titles in Motion

My newest tutorial is now available at Ripple Training. Creating Action End Titles as the name suggests, is a tutorial inspired by the closing end credits of hyper-action films like Smokin' Aces. In this tutorial you'll learn how to composite photographs with text and filters then animate the elements to create an integrated, highly stylized, gritty title sequence. Check out screenshots, movie excerpts, and the complete table of contents here.

It's a Shape - It's a Mask - what the heck is it?

On this episode of MacBreak Studio I show Steve Martin from Ripple Training how you can convert shapes to masks and masks to shapes. If you ever drew a shape when you meant to draw a mask, this show is fo you.

Building a Road in Motion

On this week’s MacBreak Studio, I show Steve Martin from Ripple Training how you can build a road in Motion and animate a car along it, using the power of shapes combined with a replicator and a few behaviors. The nice thing about this approach is that not only can you easily change the path of the road, the stripes on the road will conform to the new path automatically - as will the path of travel for the car. Watch it here.

Motion 5 - The Complete "Mastering" Series

Motion 5 - The Complete Series includes the introductory and "Mastering" titles in Ripple Training's Motion curricullum.  The Complete Series features 17 hours of material!  No other training company offers such comprehensive courseware on Motion 5. Plus, we include the media files for following along and many extras like Templates and Plug-ins to enhance your learning experience. Learn more.

Mastering Shapes, Paint Strokes, and Masks in Motion 5

My latest tutorial just launched last night: Mastering Shapes, Paint Strokes, and Masks in Motion 5. Check out sample movies and all details here; coupon code "ripplepaint" will get you 15% off for the next 48 hours. Included with the tutorial are my two Expansion Packs: 30 different leaf & flower brushes and over 100 everyday shape objects.

Rigging the Bird

On MacBreak Studio, I talk with Steve Martin from Ripple Training about how to use rigging to set up an animated character in Motion. Watch here.

Callouts: A New Plug-in for Final Cut Pro X

Callouts is Ripple Training's first plug-in product - it was created with Motion 5 and works exclusively in Final Cut Pro X. 

Callouts is a Final Cut Pro X plug-in that puts the power of emphasis into your hands.  Add arrows, shapes, magnifiers, animated map trajectories, speech and thought bubbles and much more to your next video project. Callouts can be used for instructional or whimsical purposes, and they never fail to make their point.  To see how they work in Final Cut Pro X, click the image above or click here.

Learn Motion at NAB

If you are coming to NAB this year (April 14-19th in Las Vegas), you might want to consider attending Post|Production World, which offers a huge selection of training opportunities in both production and post. 

I'll be teaching 6 sessions on Motion. Here's my overall schedule:

And here are the full session descriptions - if you do come, please say hello!

Sat 4/14 4-7pm Boot Camp: Getting Started with Motion

 Motion 5 is a powerful, affordable motion graphics application that can be used on its own or in conjunction with Final Cut Pro X to create opening title sequences, animated lower thirds, backgrounds and other motion graphics and effects. In this session, you'll get an introduction to Motion's capabilities while creating an animated opening title sequence. You'll learn how key greenscreen footage, how to create beautiful animated text, how to use and modify content in Motion's Library and how to publish a project for use in Final Cut Pro X.

Sun 4/15 11:45-1:00 Working with Particle Systems in Motion

Motion's real-time design engine makes it incredibly fun and easy to create particle-based effects like smoke, fire, rain, snow, fog, sparks, explosions and much more. And with Motion 5's integration with Final Cut Pro X, you can easily add particle effects to your video projects. Come learn how to use and modify preset particle emitters and how to create your own from scratch. We'll even explore how particles can work in 3D space.

Sun 4/15 2-3:15pm The Magic of Replicators in Motion

Discover how to create animated patterns, video walls and beautiful transitions with Motion's incredible Replicator. You'll be amazed at the variety of motion graphics possibilities that open up when you combine the Replicator with behaviors. We'll go even deeper by looking at how replicators work in 3D space with cameras, lights, shadows and depth of field. And with Motion 5's integration with Final Cut Pro X, you can easily add Replicator-based titles, transitions, effects and generators to your video projects.

Mon 4/16 10am-1pm In Depth: Rigging and Publishing Titles, Transitions, Effects & Generators for FCP X with Motion 5

Did you know that the titles, transitions, effects and generators contained in FCP X's Browsers are actually Motion projects? And that you can modify those projects - or create your own from scratch? In this in-depth session you'll learn how to quickly and easily modify existing effects and how to create your own titles, transitions and effects in Motion. The focus of this session is on the new Rigging and Publishing features of Motion 5, and how to use Motion as an effects development tool for Final Cut Pro X. We'll cover the process of publishing parameters and projects to Final Cut Pro. We'll also explore Motion's power rigging feature, which lets you connect multiple parameters to a single control that can then be published to Final Cut Pro X.

Audience: Final Cut Pro X editors who want to incorporate customized titles, transitions, and effects into their projects. This session is designed for folks who have used earlier version of Motion or have used other motion graphics applications.

Tues 4/17 10am-1pm In Depth: Working with Cameras and 3D Space in Apple Motion 

You can work in Motion for years without ever using its 3D tools. But once you discover them, a whole new world of design possibilities opens up! In this session, we'll cover the basics of how to work in 3D in Motion, including working with 2D and 3D groups, building sets in 3D space, finding your way around 3D space, and working with cameras, lights, depth of field, and shadows. Motion's powerful camera behaviors make it incredible easy to animate a camera to fly from scene to scene, landing precisely where you want it to.

Wed 4/18 10am-1pm In Depth: Working with Particle Systems, Replicators and Shapes in Motion

Come learn how to use and modify preset particle emitters, and how to create your own from scratch. Then discover how to create animated patterns, video walls, and beautiful transitions with Motion's incredible Replicator. You'll be amazed at the variety of motion graphics possibilities that open up when you combine the Replicator with behaviors. We'll go even deeper by looking at how replicators work in 3D space with cameras, lights, shadows and depth of field. Finally, Shapes are one of the versatile tools in Motion's motion graphics arsenal. Come learn how easy it is to incorporate shape layers into your title animations, lower thirds, and other projects. Paint Strokes are a special type of shape that you can use to animate paint effects, write-on effects, and much more. It’s like three classes in one!

Audience: Editors, designers, and motion graphics artists. No prior experience with Motion is necessary.

Mastering the Camera in Motion 5

My latest tutorial is out today - all about working how to set up 3D projects and animate cameras to fly through 3D space. AND you can get 20% by using the code "Motion 5" until March 31st. Check it out here.

What's New in Motion 5.0.2?

On this week's MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin from Ripple Training and I talk about a couple of useful new features added to Motion in the recent 5.0.2 update - features that are also available in Final Cut Pro X. See it here.

New "TransiMatic" Transition Pack for Final Cut Pro

Yes, it's true, this site is dedicated to information about Motion, but since Motion was used to create this package, and since many of you are also using Final Cut Pro X, I thought you'd be interested in this very cool new package of transitions from the folks at SquidFX. Check out the sample movies here.

Building a Rig in Motion 5 on MacBreak Studio

On this week's MacBreak Studio, I show Steve Martin from Ripple Training how easy it is to build a rig in Motion which allows the Final Cut Pro X user to select from different color themes for a title effect. Click either image above to watch.

Mastering Motion's Replicator

I have a brand new tutorial out today that teaches you all the magic that is Motion's incredible Replicator. The tutorial is presented in Motion 5 but everything can be accomplished in Motion 4 as well. Check out the sample movies.

Particles and Playing Cards

So we are getting a little particle crazy on MacBreak Studio! This week I show Steve Martin how you can use a an image sequence and a particle emitter to animate a deck of cards to deal out blackjack hands. It's cool. Watch it here.