Animating Text with Keyframes
You can create keyframes for most of the text parameters. As with all objects in Motion,
there are two ways to create keyframes: by activating the Record button in the Canvas
transport controls or by manually adding a keyframe to a parameter in the Inspector.
Using Keyframes Versus Using Behaviors
The text animation method you use (keyframing or behaviors) depends on your project,
or more specifically, your timing needs. In general, if you need an action to happen at
a specific point in time in your project, use keyframing. For example, if you want text
to be completely transparent at frame 1, become completely opaque at frame 60,
become transparent again at frame 90, and opaque again at frame 120, use keyframing.
Keyframes apply specific values to an object’s parameters at specific frames.
If the effect you want is more general, use behaviors. For example, if you want the text
to be completely transparent at frame 1, become opaque over frames 60–90, and become
transparent by frame 120, use the Fade In/Fade Out behavior. Behaviors generate a
range of values that are applied to an object’s parameters.
You can combine keyframing and behaviors on all objects in Motion. For example, if
you keyframe text opacity, you can then apply the Tracking behavior to animate text
tracking, or you can keyframe the Tracking parameter. However, if you keyframe the
text Opacity parameter and then apply a Fade In/Fade Out behavior to the text,
unexpected results may occur. For more information on combining behaviors and
keyframes, see
Combining Behaviors with Keyframes
.