First Motion Project

I'm about to start on my first motion project, which is going to be a three minute segment set to music with some video and images, which I'm going to add as a chapter to a DVD.
My question is, can I create the whole three minute as one motion project or will the file size me huge?
Apologies for what must seem like a really dumb question!
Peter

hi,
Peter is right, 3 mins is a very long time for a motion project. depending on the complexity of the project i doubt whether you would be able to view the whole project back in real time. I even have trouble sometimes on much shorter projects to playback in real time even when it is rendered. In this case you have to export as a movie and watch it. very tedious.
It would be better to plan out what you want to achive and to break it into segments. Cut the video and images to the track in FCP. If you need to treat specific shots you could export them to motion, play around and then bring it back in to FCP. or if you need generalised imagery to be created in motion, try to create shorter bits and comp then in fcp.
Every job can have a different workflow, so try it first and see what happens.
good luck
adam

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Problems rendering motion projects in Final Cut.

When I import a motion project into final cut, and attempt to render it once it's on the timeline, i just get a black screen.

Here's an inelegant workaround I've used when having these kinds of troubles:
In your FCP timeline, create a slug the exact duration of the Motion project you're trying to import. Then control click on that slug, and choose Send To>Motion Project. It will launch Motion, with all the correct project properties assigned to the Motion file. Copy all your work from the first Motion project (the one that renders black), and paste it into this new Motion file that FCP has created. Hit Save in Motion. Then try rendering again in FCP. (Also, in FCP's Canvas, make sure Image is selected in the upper rightmost dropdown, or you might just get black.)

Motion project with inverted dominance

Hi all,
I'm working in PAL DV, and I have a credit roller saved as a Motion project, to be added to my FCP sequence.
It needs to be field-based, but I notice when I import the project the fields are in the wrong order (inverted dominance)
I've checked my FCP seq settings (standard DV PAL preset, with lower first)
and my Motion project settings (standard DV PAL preset, with lower first)
I can fix it with the "shift fields" filter or by changing the Motion project settings to Upper first, but why do I need to do this ????
Can anyone else duplicate this problem, or is my system in trouble?
cheers
Jamie
G5 dual 2.5Ghz 2Gb RAM Mac OS X (10.4.4) FCP 5.0.4

Hi David,
Thanks for your reply.
I created test projects for FCP and Motion, and (as per my orig. post) I still have to change the Motion project to Upper to make it work correctly in FCP
You said there was a bug in Motion1 where the field setting was reversed?
I would say that is what I am experiencing in Motion2...
Jamie
G5 dual 2.5Ghz 2Gb RAM Mac OS X (10.4.4) FCP 5.0.4

Advice on best workflow for large Motion project

I am a part-time video editor/designer/motion graphics creator/etc. Normally, I work on projects with pieces no longer than 5 minutes, even if the projects themselves might be 30-40 minutes of total material--mostly video support for conferences and awards shows.
Right now I am embarking upon a mark larger project--10 30-minute segments, each of which is 100% motion graphics. They all involve a speaker against a green screen for the entire segment with the motion graphics keyed in front of and behind him.
We recorded this directly to hard drive in a studio that had a VT4 (Video Toaster) system, so the best Mac-compatible codec they could provide me for clean green-screening was full-resolution component video. This is giving me great keys, but I also have about 500 GB of raw footage.
In this project, I need to first edit all the takes from each episode into a clean 30-minute piece, and then add the motion graphics. And this is where my question comes in. It seems to me FCP is much better for editing the raw video, but that Motion is where I want to do just about everything else. I need to somehow bring the video into Motion, because I want to create "real" shadows against my background from my keyed footage.
When working with a long project, and with a full-resolution codec, what is my smartest workflow? I am trying to spend the least time possible rendering back and forth, and also avoid generating huge in-between files each step of the way. It seems that any way to approach it has plusses and minuses, so I want to hear from people who have been there which path gets me to my goal with the least hassle.

I need to somehow bring the video into Motion, because I want to create "real" shadows against my
background from my keyed footage.
"Real shadows are only faked in Motion. You have many options including a simple drop shadow or a copy of your matte layer filled with a gradient and a gradient blur applied with a distortion filter so it appears to be projected onto the wall. Be sure to take the time to make this a template effect and to keyframe the shadow angle if the foreground subject moves.
When working with a long project, and with a full-resolution codec, what is my smartest workflow? I
am trying to spend the least time possible rendering back and forth, and also avoid generating huge
in-between files each step of the way. It seems that any way to approach it has plusses and minuses,
so I want to hear from people who have been there which path gets me to my goal with the least
hassle.
Well, you've got two conflicting interests. One, you have to sync the Motion work with the video of the keyed speaker and, two, you have to edit. But it seems to me that your planning must include lots of design work up front, media you can re-use or modify slightly, text formatting that can be precomped, a large stock of effects you will apply over and over again. Do all of this stuff first.
You also want to explore working at lower rez through your planning and roughing stages. for instance, there's no reason to pull a full rez copy of your foreground into Motion if all you need to do is sync to his audio and get rough positioning. You can put him over black and export all of his clips using any medium to low rez codec at reduced frame rates and just use the Screen Blend Mode to drop him roughly onto your Motion projects.
You'll get lots of advice over the next few days. If you're posting to other Motion or motion graphics forums, please do us all a favor and return someday to all of your threads and tell us what you did and what you learned.
bogiesan

Feather Edges of a Video Clip in a Motion Project?

Is there a way to feather the edges of a video clip used in a motion project?
(That is, feathering in the sense of making it gradually more transparent as you approach the edge of the rectangular image frame.)

you create a feathered mask by, first creating a mask with the mask tool, and then adjusting its feathering parameter to taste. You create regular shaped masks or more complicated ones if you use the bezier mask tool.
of course thinking about it now, if each layer is scaling and animating separately, simply masking the group may not work. You may need to set the anchor points of each layer say to the left hand side, that way they will scale out the other side and not evenly around the anchor point. it may be easier to lock down the sides you want to match.
hth
adam

Importing Motion project into After Effects

I am attempting to import a Motion 4 project in After Effects CS4. I am using the suggested instructions:
1 In After Effects, choose File > Import > File.
2 In the Import File dialog, choose All Files from the Enable pop-up menu.
3 Click to select the Motion project you want to import.
4 Choose QuickTime Movie from the Format pop-up menu.
5 Click Open.
Motion does not show up in After Effects. What went wrong?

You could check this for instead
http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/motiongraphicsvizfx/story/moveprojects_from_fcp_to_ae_seamlessly_andfree/

Importing Motion Project into DVD Studio Pro

I'm new to Motion and I'm using it to create an animated DVD menu. I have an overlay layer for the DVD highlights in my Motion project. Now, I understand that I'm importing my Motion project as an asset. How do I tell DVDSP to use that overlay layer or do I need to export the layer as something else and import it into DVDSP?

You need to export your overlay as a still image, then import that image into DVDSP, drag it onto the menu, and select set overlay. Make sure you turn off the visibility of the overlay back in your Motion project so it doesn't appear as part of the menu.

FCP wont open motion projects on tileline anymore

I have been using the FCP suite by creating motion projects and imoporting the project file onto my fcp timeline, I really like doing this it cuts out allot of wasted time. However I just installed the new itunes and the new quicktime update and suddenly whe i try to change a motion project in fcp via "open in editor" teh OS crashes. says I need to restart...AHHHH.
Any ideas?
I use FCP 5.0.4 and Motion 2.0.1

Ouch. The OS crashes? Kernel panic? Also read what TheXlab has to say about kernel panics.
It sounds like the QuickTime update might be the source of your problems. I don't know if FCP 5.0.4 and Motion 2.0.1 are friends with QuickTime 7.1.3.
I would take advantage of the $99 crosscrade offer while it's still there
http://www.apple.com/universal/crossgrade/

First Java Project - Document Management and Workflow

We are about to embark on our first java project around document management and workflow.
I would be interested to know how others have approached similar projects – Open Source applications or other tools/APIs.
It would also be good to know of any issues encountered along the way.
Thanks,
Steve

Hi Husein,
I appreciate your interest in procuring a Document Management/Workflow solution for your AP department...its a very smart move toward streamling that process!
I sent an email today to Richard Braddock about our solutions. I would be happy to discuss them with you.
My office phone number is 215-646-8000
-Martin

Problem with importing a Motion project into FCP if it uses a Boris filter

Had an odd and highly frustrating experience. Was using a Boris Continuum filter (the posterizing one) on the background of a Motion project (was using it to age a background of a brick wall to age it and give it a more 'nighttime' look).
When I imported the file into FCP to use as an intro there, the background disappeared entirely. After an hour of troubleshooting, finally figured out that it was the Boris filter that was causing the problem (it also was probably responsible for the random crashing of FCP I was experiencing), as when I disabled the filter and re-saved the project, it worked beautifully.
Is this a 'normal' problem when using Boris filters? Do I have to export every Motion project into a Quicktime file before importing it to FCP (and possibly DVDSP) if it uses a Boris filter?

Thanks! Now the frustrating thing is that the client doesn't want to use what I created after all...bah humbug
It's not the RAM (which is either 8GB or 16....not sure on that computer). Got an e-mail from Boris Support that implied that this will happen all the time...that you have to export all projects before you use them in FCP or DVDSP or the Continuum filters won't work (loved how the support person suggested that I just use the filter in FCP...which defeats the purpose of creating something in Motion! But I digress...) Told me I had to buy a $500 program called Automatic Duck to get things to import properly...and that Boris filters won't work with the latest upgrade of FCP, btw.

Edit Motion project as Motion template in FCP timeline?

Hi,
I'd like to know is it possible to turn basic Motion project into Motion template in Final Cut Pro timeline? If not possible I think this would be a great feature because it simply takes too much time to copy motion projects for example to 10 edits /library/motion... folder to have them accessible as templates. I know it wouldn't be possible to see preview videos this way but I wouldn't care. Motion templates are a great tool but this way a little bit too slow to use for simple text animations etc.

In FCP, right-click the Motion project and choose open in editor. In Motion, choose save as template.

Save motion project preset?

Is there a way to save a custom motion project preset?

hi
open a new project. go to Edit menu-> project properties. From Preset menu choose custom. create as you se fit. You can save this as the default one to open with. although you may have to have the preferences set to welcome screen or create new project to see this.
this is all covered in the manual, and it might give you some more detail
hth
adam

720p Motion project stretched vertically on Quicktime export...why????

Everything is fine in my HD 720p24 Motion project. But when it comes to exporting it as a Quicktime movie, the project gets vertically squeezed...as though Motion were squeezing 16x9 into 4x3.
Does anyone know the solution to this problem??? Isn't there a letterbox option in Export settings so that the exported movie remains 16x9???
- Nicholas

Or keep it as 960x720 if you want to continue using it in FCP...
Patrick

Convert motion project into title template

I started working on a motion project, not sure what template to use, so I created a standard motion project. After working on the project for about 20 hours, I am now realizing that the title template would probably be the best option for this project even though I am not doing any actual titles. I was able to convert the project to a video effect template, but this is not really what I want. Is there some way to convert this project to a title template? Even if I have to copy/paste everything over to a new project, that would be a lot better than redoing the 20 hours that I've already spent on this thing. Since I can only have one project open at a time, I don't think copy/paste is even possible.

I think this will work for you.
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-Drag and Drop the group(s) from the Library>Favorites into the new Final Cut Title project.
Save and enjoy.

Motion project to FCPX

I created a logo animation to go at the end of a commercial. how do i import this into FCPX?

Since your project is very specific to a set logo, exporting as ProRes 4444 is perfectly adequate. If you were designing a logo-style watermark or similar design, then you would want to be able to edit the text elements, and perhaps be able to change the color of the background elements from inside FCPX. In that case, you would "Publish Template" from the File menu. In the popup Publish dialog, you would check the bottom checkbox: "Publish as Final Cut Generator" -- provide a category (or select one from the Category dropdown) and give your Template a name. In FCPX, you would find it (immediately available, BTW) in the Generators > Category you saved it to.
If your final destination for Motion projects is FCPX, when you start a new project, you would select one of the available projects from the opening dialog. Normally, a "logo style" design project would be a Title project (but it doesn't necessarily have to be as a Generator is also a viable choice.) If you start your project as one of these specific types (Effect, Generator, Title or Transition) the simple act of Saving the project automatically publishes the project for use in FCPX (you have no other choice to save it anywhere else! You still need to provide the Category and a Name in the Save dialog [duh].)
If you decide to create templates that are editable in FCPX, those parameters you would want access to in FCPX (for example things like shape colors, opacities, etc.) all you need to do is right click on the specific parameter in Motion and select Publish (if it is allowed!) from the popup menu. You can set default values for your published parameters by selecting the Project layer at the top of the layers list and then the Project pane from the inspector followed by the Publishing tab. (You can find out how to deal with "Snapshots" later on.)
It's easy to create your own custom templates with Motion.
Have fun!

First Motion Project

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