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.

Particles in Motion on MacBreak Studio

On this week's MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin and I have way too much fun talking about particles in Motion. Heck, particles in Motion are alway fun. Check it out for a couple of useful tips for changing cell color and exchanging media.

Mastering Motion's Particles

I have a new tutorial out today that will teach you how to create, modify, and animate particle systems in Motion 5. Everything I cover will also work in Motion 4 as well. Check out sample movies, screenshots, and the full table of contents here.

MacBreak Studio: Publishing Motion 5 Templates to FCP X

On this week's MacBreak Studio, I show host Steve Martin how to design a quick title in Motion 5 and publish it for use in Final Cut Pro X. Motion 5 really is a dream fx tool for FCP X editors.

LAFCPUG: Motion 5 for FCP X Editors

I recently gave a presentation at the LA Final Cut Pro User's Group on a few ways FCP X editors can take advantage of the power of Motion quickly and easily - without even learning how to use it.

MacBreak Studio: Intro to Motion 5

I give Steve Martin a brief overview of the new Motion 5

Presentation Schedule

If you are interested, here are my upcoming Motion presentations/demos:

MacBreak Studio Live: Thursday, September 21st, 6pm PDT at pixelcorps.com/live

This is our monthly show with Alex Lindsay, Steve Martin, myself and other guests where we talk about all things production and post. We'll be discussing the FCPX/Motion/Compressor updates from yesterday and I hope to squeeze in a few cool Motion tips.

LAFCPUG: September 28th (info here)

I'll be presenting some Motion tips at the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group's monthly meeting next week - if you are in the area, stop by - it's free - just make sure to register, it usually sells out.

MotionFest Pre-conference October 9th (info here)

If you've never heard of it the Motion conference held every October in Albuquerque, New Mexico is a fantastic event for anyone who creates motion graphics for a living. Top-notch presenters and sessions, and great networking opportunities. I'll be doing 2 short sessions explaining how to create and use effects for Final Cut Pro X using Motion.

SFCutters: October 19th (info here)

Come to the monthly meeting of the very first Final Cut Pro users group in San Francisco if you'd like to learn more about Motion 5 - and some other great stuff as well. 

FCP X, Motion 5 Update

Apple today released updates to Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor 4. Fire up the App Store and click the Updates icon.

If you don't see Motion 5.0.1, FCP X 10.0.1, and Compressor 4.0.1, click the Purchases tab. If clicking Install from there won't work, first trash your current version of the appropriate app and try again - that's what worked for me (thanks, Twitter).

The FCP X update is signifcant: media stems export, XML support, Xsan support and more.

What about Motion 5.0.1? Dual monitor support. You can send your Timing Pane or your Canvas to a second monitor (from the Window menu). But it's full frame - you can't manipulate it - and you can't send it to any monitor you wish. Other than that, it's bug fixes. Which ones, I haven't yet seen. More to come.

Customizing Colors of Motion 4 Templates in FCP X by way of Motion 5

If you like the last short video tip on how to get all those great Motion 4 templates into Final Cut Pro X, you'll probably want to watch this one to learn how you can easily customize them in FCP X as well.

Getting Motion 4 Templates Into Final Cut Pro X - Via Motion 5

A short video that explains how to get all those beautiful templates that came with Motion 4 into Final Cut Pro X.

MacBreak Studio: Combining Masks and Image Masks in Motion

 Back on MacBreak Studio, I show Steve Martin how to combine masks using Motion 4. Works in Motion 5 as well. See it on iTunes here or on the web here.

MacBreak: Studio Live

In the first edition of MacBreak: Studio Live, Alex Lindsay hosts Steve Martin and myself in a roundtable (literally, a round table) discussion of Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5. It's over 2 hours long and it takes a few minutes for us to get settled (Steve had literally just walked into the studio when we went live) but we are getting some good feedback about the show. See for yourself by clicking the image above or click here.