Adding an Audio File
To work with audio in Motion, you start by adding an audio file to the project.
To add an audio file to a project
Do one of the following:
µ
Drag an audio file from the File Browser or the Finder into the Layers list, Timeline, Canvas,
Audio Timeline, or Audio list.
The audio file is added to the project and appears in the Audio Timeline, Audio list,
mini-Timeline, and Media list.
Note: To display the Audio Timeline, click the Show/Hide Audio Timeline button in the
lower-right corner of the Motion project window.
Click to display audio
tracks in the Timeline.
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In the Audio list, click the Add button (+), locate the file you want to add in the Import
Files dialog, then click Import.
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The audio file is added to the project and appears in the Audio Timeline, Audio list,
mini-Timeline, and Media list.
To add an audio file from iTunes
1
In the Library, select the Music category.
2
Select a playlist, then select a song in the file stack.
3
Do one of the following:
• In the preview area, click Apply.
• Drag the file to the Layers list, Canvas, Timeline, Audio Timeline, or Audio list.
Note: Rights-protected AAC files cannot be imported into Motion and do not appear in
the file stack. This includes non-iTunes Plus music purchased from the iTunes Store.
The audio file is added to the project and appears in the Audio Timeline, Audio list,
mini-Timeline, and Audio list. The start point of the audio file is determined by the Create
Layers At preference in the Project pane of Motion Preferences. If set to “Start of project,”
the file is placed at the beginning of the project. If set to “Current frame,” the file is placed
at the current location of the Timeline playhead. A HUD for the audio appears.
Note: If the HUD does not appear, press D or F7.
You can also add an audio file to your project without having it appear in the composition.
For example, you might want to archive an audio file for later use. You do this by dragging
the file into the Media list.
To add an audio file to a project for later use
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Drag an audio file from the File Browser or the Finder into the Media list.
The audio file is added to the Media list, but not to the Audio Timeline or Audio layer. If
you later decide to add the file to the active composition, drag the audio layer from the
Media list to the Canvas, Timeline, or Audio Timeline.
When you drag a QuickTime movie into the Canvas or the Layers list of the Project pane,
the movie’s video and audio tracks are imported into your project. You can choose to
add only the audio track of a QuickTime movie.
To add only the audio track from a QuickTime movie
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In the File Browser or in the Finder, locate the QuickTime movie file, then drag it into the
Audio list of the Project pane.
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The audio track from the movie is added to your project, without the video footage. The
video footage is added to the Media list.
If the QuickTime movie contains multiple audio tracks, drag the file over the Audio list,
the Canvas, or the Timeline layer list, holding down the mouse button until the drop
menu appears. To import the file with a single audio track, choose Mix To Stereo. To
import the file with individual tracks, choose Import All Tracks. For more information, see
Importing Multichannel Audio to Motion
below.