Motion User Guide
- Welcome
- What’s new
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- Intro to basic compositing
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- Intro to transforming layers
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- Intro to transforming layers in the canvas
- Transform layer properties in the canvas
- Transform tools
- Change layer position, scale, or rotation
- Move a layer’s anchor point
- Add a drop shadow to a layer
- Distort or shear a layer
- Crop a layer
- Modify shape or mask points
- Transform text glyphs and other object attributes
- Align layers in the canvas
- Transform layers in the HUD
- Transform 2D layers in 3D space
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- Intro to behaviors
- Behaviors versus keyframes
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- Intro to behavior types
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- Intro to Parameter behaviors
- Audio behavior
- Average behavior
- Clamp behavior
- Custom behavior
- Add a Custom behavior
- Exponential behavior
- Link behavior
- Logarithmic behavior
- MIDI behavior
- Add a MIDI behavior
- Negate behavior
- Oscillate behavior
- Create a decaying oscillation
- Overshoot behavior
- Quantize behavior
- Ramp behavior
- Randomize behavior
- Rate behavior
- Reverse behavior
- Stop behavior
- Track behavior
- Wriggle behavior
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- Intro to Simulation behaviors
- Align to Motion behavior
- Attracted To behavior
- Attractor behavior
- Drag behavior
- Drift Attracted To behavior
- Drift Attractor behavior
- Edge Collision behavior
- Gravity behavior
- Orbit Around behavior
- Random Motion behavior
- Repel behavior
- Repel From behavior
- Rotational Drag behavior
- Spring behavior
- Vortex behavior
- Wind behavior
- Additional behaviors
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- Intro to using generators
- Add a generator
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- Intro to image generators
- Caustics generator
- Cellular generator
- Checkerboard generator
- Clouds generator
- Color Solid generator
- Concentric Polka Dots generator
- Concentric Shapes generator
- Gradient generator
- Grid generator
- Japanese Pattern generator
- Lens Flare generator
- Manga Lines generator
- Membrane generator
- Noise generator
- One Color Ray generator
- Op Art 1 generator
- Op Art 2 generator
- Op Art 3 generator
- Overlapping Circles generator
- Radial Bars generator
- Soft Gradient generator
- Spirals generator
- Spiral Drawing generator
- Use Spiral Drawing onscreen controls
- Star generator
- Stripes generator
- Sunburst generator
- Truchet Tiles generator
- Two Color Ray generator
- Save a modified generator
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- Intro to filters
- Browse and preview filters
- Apply or remove filters
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- Intro to filter types
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- Intro to Color filters
- Brightness filter
- Channel Mixer filter
- Color Adjustments filter
- Color Balance filter
- Example: Color-balance two layers
- Color Curves filter
- Use the Color Curves filter
- Color Reduce filter
- Color Wheels filter
- Use the Color Wheels filter
- Colorize filter
- Contrast filter
- Custom LUT filter
- Use the Custom LUT filter
- Gamma filter
- Gradient Colorize filter
- HDR Tools filter
- Hue/Saturation filter
- Hue/Saturation Curves filter
- Use the Hue/Saturation Curves filter
- Levels filter
- Negative filter
- OpenEXR Tone Map filter
- Sepia filter
- Threshold filter
- Tint filter
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- Intro to Distortion filters
- Black Hole filter
- Bulge filter
- Bump Map filter
- Disc Warp filter
- Droplet filter
- Earthquake filter
- Fisheye filter
- Flop filter
- Fun House filter
- Glass Block filter
- Glass Distortion
- Insect Eye filter
- Mirror filter
- Page Curl filter
- Poke filter
- Polar filter
- Refraction filter
- Ring Lens filter
- Ripple filter
- Scrape filter
- Sliced Scale filter
- Use the Sliced Scale filter
- Sphere filter
- Starburst filter
- Stripes filter
- Target filter
- Tiny Planet filter
- Twirl filter
- Underwater filter
- Wave filter
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- Intro to Stylize filters
- Add Noise filter
- Bad Film filter
- Bad TV filter
- Circle Screen filter
- Circles filter
- Color Emboss filter
- Comic filter
- Crystallize filter
- Edges filter
- Extrude filter
- Fill filter
- Halftone filter
- Hatched Screen filter
- Highpass filter
- Indent filter
- Line Art filter
- Line Screen filter
- MinMax filter
- Noise Dissolve filter
- Pixellate filter
- Posterize filter
- Relief filter
- Slit Scan filter
- Slit Tunnel filter
- Texture Screen filter
- Vignette filter
- Wavy Screen filter
- About filters and color processing
- Publish filter controls to Final Cut Pro
- Using filters on alpha channels
- Filter performance
- Save custom filters
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- Intro to 3D objects
- Add a 3D object
- Move and rotate a 3D object
- Reposition a 3D object’s anchor point
- Exchange a 3D object file
- 3D object intersection and layer order
- Using cameras and lights with 3D objects
- Save custom 3D objects
- Guidelines for working with 3D objects
- Working with imported 3D objects
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- Intro to 360-degree video
- 360-degree projects
- Create 360-degree projects
- Add 360-degree video to a project
- Create a tiny planet effect
- Reorient 360-degree media
- Creating 360-degree templates for Final Cut Pro
- 360-degree-aware filters and generators
- Export and share 360-degree projects
- Guidelines for better 360-degree projects
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- Intro to settings and shortcuts
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- Intro to Keyboard shortcuts
- Use function keys
- General keyboard shortcuts
- Audio list keyboard shortcuts
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- Tools keyboard shortcuts
- Transform tool keyboard shortcuts
- Select/Transform tool keyboard shortcuts
- Crop tool keyboard shortcuts
- Edit Points tool keyboard shortcuts
- Edit shape tools keyboard shortcuts
- Pan and Zoom tools keyboard shortcuts
- Shape tools keyboard shortcuts
- Bezier tool keyboard shortcuts
- B-Spline tool keyboard shortcuts
- Paint Stroke tool keyboard shortcuts
- Text tool keyboard shortcuts
- Shape mask tools keyboard shortcuts
- Bezier Mask tool keyboard shortcuts
- B-Spline Mask tool keyboard shortcuts
- Transport control keyboard shortcuts
- View option keyboard shortcuts
- HUD keyboard shortcuts
- Inspector keyboard shortcuts
- Keyframe Editor keyboard shortcuts
- Layers keyboard shortcuts
- Library keyboard shortcuts
- Media list keyboard shortcuts
- Timeline keyboard shortcuts
- Keyframing keyboard shortcuts
- Shape and Mask keyboard shortcuts
- 3D keyboard shortcuts
- Miscellaneous keyboard shortcuts
- Touch Bar shortcuts
- Move assets to another computer
- Work with GPUs
- Glossary
- Copyright
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Convert a Motion project to a Final Cut Pro for Mac template
You can convert a standard Motion project to an effect, generator, title, or transition template for use in Final Cut Pro for Mac. When you convert a standard project to a template project, you specify which layers in the project are used for the template’s required placeholders. For example, when you convert a standard Motion project to a Final Cut Transition template, you must identify the two layers that will be used as the Transition A placeholder (incoming clip) and the Transition B placeholder (outgoing clip).
You can also publish a standard Motion project as a Final Cut Generator (without conversion).
Convert a standard Motion project to an effect
A Final Cut Effect template must contain an Effect Source placeholder. When converting a project to an effect, you can choose to add an empty placeholder, or to use an image already in your project as a placeholder.
In Motion, choose File > Convert Project To > Effect.
In the dialog, click the Effect Source pop-up menu, then do one of the following:
To add a new, empty Effect Source placeholder: Choose New Effect Source.
To use an existing reference image as an Effect Source placeholder: Choose an image layer name from the list.
To use an existing drop zone as the Effect Source placeholder: Choose a drop zone name from the list.
Note: If the selected drop zone contains an image, the image is retained in the Effect Source placeholder.
Click Convert.
Choose File > Save, then do the following:
In the dialog, enter a name for the template.
If you don’t specify a name, the template appears in the Final Cut Pro Effects browser as “New Template.”
Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.
You can create a custom category by choosing New Category. Categories represent how the effects are organized in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro Effects browser. Custom categories also appear in the browsers.
If needed, choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.
You can also create a theme by choosing New Theme. Themes let you categorize template types in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro browsers.
To retain unused media in the project (media or audio in the Media list that’s not used in the template but which you may want to include in the template later), select “Include unused media.”
For information on where template-related files are saved, see Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?
If you want a preview movie to appear in the Motion Project Browser, select Save Preview Movie.
Click Publish.
The template is exported to the Final Cut Pro Effects browser, where it can be applied to the timeline and edited like any other effect.
Convert a standard Motion project to a generator
In Motion, choose File > Convert Project To > Generator.
Note: Although you can’t add an Effect Source, Transition A, Transition B, or Title Background placeholder to a Motion project, you can add standard drop zones that let Final Cut Pro users insert customized content into the generator.
Choose File > Save, then do the following:
In the dialog, enter a name for the template.
If you don’t specify a name, the template appears in the Final Cut Pro Generators browser as “New Template.”
Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.
You can create a custom category by choosing New Category. Categories represent how the effects are organized in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro Generators browser. Custom categories also appear in the browsers.
If needed, choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.
You can also create a theme by choosing New Theme. Themes let you categorize template types in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro browsers.
To retain unused media in the project (media or audio in the Media list that’s not used in the template but which you may want to include in the template later), select “Include unused media.”
For information on where template-related files are saved, see Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?
If you want a preview movie to appear in the Motion Project Browser, select Save Preview Movie.
Click Publish.
The template is exported to the Final Cut Pro Generators browser, where it can be applied to the timeline and edited like any other generator.
As an alternative to converting a Motion project to a Final Cut generator, you can publish a Motion project as a Final Cut generator by choosing File > Publish Template.
Tip: You can also save the Motion project as a QuickTime file, then import the QuickTime movie into the Final Cut Pro project like any other footage.
Convert a standard Motion project to a title
A Final Cut Title template contains an optional Title Background placeholder. When converting a project to a title, you can choose to add no placeholder, to add an empty placeholder, or to use an image already in your project as a placeholder.
In Motion, choose File > Title.
In the dialog, click the Title Source pop-up menu, then do one of the following:
To add no Title Background placeholder: Choose None.
To add a new, empty Title Background placeholder to the project: Choose New Placeholder.
To add a Title Background placeholder containing a reference image: Choose an image layer name from the list.
To use an existing drop zone as the Title Background placeholder: Choose a drop zone name from the list.
Note: If the selected drop zone contains an image, the image is retained in the Title Background placeholder.
Click Convert.
Choose File > Save, then do the following:
In the save dialog, enter a name for the template.
If you don’t specify a name, the template appears in the Final Cut Pro Titles browser as “New Template.”
Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.
You can create a custom category by choosing New Category. Categories represent how the effects are organized in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro Titles browser. Custom categories also appear in the browsers.
If needed, choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.
You can also create a theme by choosing New Theme. Themes let you categorize template types in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro browsers.
To retain unused media in the project (media or audio in the Media list that’s not used in the template but which you may want to include in the template later), select “Include unused media.”
For information on where template-related files are saved, see Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?
If you want a preview movie to appear in the Motion Project Browser, select Save Preview Movie.
Click Publish.
The template is exported to the Final Cut Pro Titles browser, where it can be applied to the timeline and edited like any other title.
Convert a standard Motion project to a transition
A Final Cut Transition template must contain a Transition A placeholder and a Transition B placeholder. When converting, you can choose to add empty placeholders, or to use images already in your project as placeholders.
In Motion, choose File > Transition.
In the dialog, click the Transition A pop-up menu, then do one of the following:
To add a new, empty Transition A placeholder: Choose New Placeholder.
To use an existing reference image as the Transition A placeholder: Choose an image layer name from the list.
To use an existing drop zone as the Transition A placeholder: Choose a drop zone name from the list.
Click the Transition B pop-up menu, then choose an option as described in Step 2 above.
Click Convert.
Choose File > Save, then do the following:
In the save dialog, enter a name for the template.
If you don’t specify a name, the template appears in the Final Cut Pro Transitions browser as “New Template.”
Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.
You can create a custom category by choosing New Category. Categories represent how the effects are organized in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro Transitions browser. Custom categories also appear in the browsers.
If needed, choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.
You can also create a theme by choosing New Theme. Themes let you categorize template types in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro browsers.
To retain unused media in the project (media or audio in the Media list that’s not used in the template but which you may want to include in the template later), select “Include unused media.”
For information on where template-related files are saved, see Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?
If you want a preview movie to appear in the Motion Project Browser, select Save Preview Movie.
Click Publish.
The template is exported to the Final Cut Pro Transitions browser, where it can be applied to the timeline and edited like any other transition.
See Create a transition template and Create a transition background.
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