Tips for Creating Templates
To get the best results when creating custom templates, consider the following
suggestions:
• The first time you save a template that is a work in progress, deselect the Save Preview
Movie checkbox in the save dialog. Doing so prevents Motion from creating a movie
preview each time you save the draft template. (The preview movie appears in the
Motion Project Browser.) When you're ready to save the final version of the template,
select the Save Preview Movie checkbox to create the preview movie.
• When creating complex templates that involve multiple drop zones, use a Final Cut
Generator or Final Cut Title template.
• As with any project in Motion, too many effects (such as filters, text objects, and so on)
adversely impact performance in Final Cut Pro X.
• Create animation using behaviors rather than keyframes. Behaviors are easier to modify
when the template is applied in Final Cut Pro.
• Avoid publishing parameters animated with behaviors or keyframes. Published
parameters allow template customization in Final Cut Pro.
• Shapes are nice graphic elements to add to a template project (outside of the
placeholder), as they can be scaled without degradation. (Shapes added to a placeholder
become masks). However, too many shapes in a template will adversely impact
performance in Final Cut Pro.
• Ensure that “Create Layers At” in the Project pane of Motion Preferences (click
Command-Comma to open Preferences) is set to “Start of project.”
• In the Motion Timeline, ensure that all filter and behavior bars extend to the end of the
project.
• To avoid placeholder duration conflicts, use still images when building templates. Using
still images also prevents lengthy render times and preserves hard disk space.
• Before saving a template, decide whether you want to save or clear preview media,
based on the following considerations:
• Media not cleared is saved with the template, creating longer render times and
consuming hard disk space.
• Media saved with the template is available when the template is reopened in Motion
(via the “Open in Motion” command in the Final Cut Pro media browsers), allowing
you to pick up where you left off in the previous template-building session.
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• When keying green screen or blue screen footage, using a keying template is not
recommended. Footage should be keyed directly in its own project in Final Cut Pro or
Motion. This is because the Keyer filter analyzes the footage it is initially applied to. For
basic keying, use the Keyer or Luma Keyer in Final Cut Pro. For more advanced keying,
build the composite in Motion using the Keyer filter. You can also render a keyed clip
with its alpha channel and add the clip to a Final Cut Pro project. For more information,
see
Keying
.
• Do not use image sequences when creating templates.
• If an object in a template has an applied Link Parameter behavior, do not move the
object to another group. Doing so breaks the links.
• If you publish parameters for an object and then delete that object, all parameters set
to be published are also deleted.
• Do not use deprecated filters (older filters that are no longer supported in Motion 5)
in a template. Although the filter may render correctly in Motion, it may not render
correctly after the template is applied to a Final Cut Pro clip.
• Template placeholder layers cannot be duplicated. If a group that contains a placeholder
is duplicated, other objects in the group are duplicated, but not the placeholder.
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Although behaviors are ideal for instantly adding complex motion or effects to an object,
keyframes provide additional precision and flexibility. Keyframes ensure that a specific
event happens at the exact frame you choose.
When a movement or effect is timed to match a musical beat or a word in the soundtrack,
a keyframe is the best tool for the job. Further, any effect where multiple objects are
affected in a coordinated way is usually the result of keyframing.
Motion provides two different keyframing methods that allow you to animate using the
workflow you are most comfortable with. The first option is to turn on the Record button,
which creates a new keyframe whenever you adjust any parameter. The second option
is to manually add a keyframe to a parameter. After a parameter contains a keyframe,
any further adjustment to that parameter adds a keyframe at the current playhead position,
regardless of the Record button state. For more information on keyframing methods, see
Keyframing Methods
.
This chapter covers the following:
•
Keyframing in Motion
(p. 566)
•
Keyframing Methods
(p. 570)
•
Applying Movement to an Object in the Canvas
(p. 573)
•
Animating Using the Inspector
(p. 580)
•
Animating Filters
(p. 586)
•
Animating Behaviors
(p. 588)
•
Combining Behaviors and Keyframes
(p. 589)
•
Working with Keyframes in the Timeline
(p. 590)
•
Animating in the Keyframe Editor
(p. 593)
•
Filtering the Parameter List
(p. 601)
•
Modifying Keyframes
(p. 606)
•
Modifying Curves
(p. 617)
•
Mini-Curve Editor
(p. 627)
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