Keeping object perpendicular on motion path?

Hello:
I was wanting to see how to keep an object perpendicular to the motion path. I applied a curved motion path to a small photo and of course the photo travels on the path but always in the upright position. I would like the rotation to adjust to stay perpendicular to the path.
Suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Jeff in Palmetto, FL

You can use the Orient Along Path option.

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Imported Photos keep freezing during a motion path across the screen

Today is the first day I am using Motion since upgrading to Leopard about a month ago. I am working on a project where I have various photo images floating around or across the screen. For some reason, I keep getting hiccups when the image moves across the screen. It moves, then pauses for a second or two then continues on. I scaled the image down, added a motion path and a Fade in/Fade out behavior and that is it.
I am not sure if it is a Leopard thing or something I need to adjust in the parameters but I have used Motion plenty of times before the upgrade and it never paused in the middle of move. Its annoying pause. At first I thought it kept hitting a spot on the timeline that needed to be rendered but I keep looping the timeline and it keeps pausing at the spots. Not every picture does this either.
I have enough memory to run the whole Final Cut Studio with no problem so I am still not sure what is up. I may just export it and see if it corrects itself.
Any suggestions you all may have will be appreciated.
C.

In the Motion manual or tutorial or something from Apple, they tell you to put one of the Glow filters on a clip, saying that no system could play it back full speed. So you have enough to run the programs, but that doesn't mean you have real time playback.
Here's a tip- right click the bar right below the toolbar, and check "Frame Rate" in the menu. Now, when you play back your video, it will tell you how many frames per second it is playing back. It will play every frame (this is not how FCP works).
So if you aren't getting smooth playback, RENDER! Then you can see how it will play when exported.

How do you create a looped 'conveyor belt' effect with objects on a motion path?

I am trying to efficiently create the following looped
effect: a bunch of shapes constantly following a motion guide (a
closed circle). Basically the object could be a conveyor belt or
something else.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i302/Cablestein/dfg.jpg
I want to avoid having to do it the old-fashioned way of
multiplate layers and symbols. I do not want to see the triangles
skip or jitter while moving along either.
Is there an obvious way to do this with action script? Some
way to simply start with a single symbol and motion guide, then
applying some script (copy-paste).

Thanks.
A circle is easy enough, sure, but I would like to make all
kinds of curves in that circle actually. Everyone knows about
rotating a basic circle. This is beyond that. Imagine all kinds of
turns, waves and spirals in that line.
I have tried Illustrator, and there's potential solutions
there... like the text-on-path tool (why doesn't Flash have that
yet?) which works fantastic. Still a lot of manual work, and will
be a ton of manually copied frames. I wanted something more
efficient.

Object with Motion Path Disappears On Layers

I have placed an image on the stage that I want to move from one object to another. (In this case, a "cookie" to move from a website image to a computer image.)
I have placed the cookie image on top layer, and on top of the web site image.
I have set up a motion path to move the cookie to the computer.
When I preview, the cookie image literally disappears, in a "wipe" motion.
I moved the cookie image to a plain area on the stage, and it moved just fine. It disappears only when layered with the other images, even though it is the top layer. There is no "white space" that I should be dealing with on any of the images. The backgrounds are transparent.
Any ideas?

Here's a screenshot with the motion path:
And here's a screenshot from preview. I left the background on here, and it actually looks like the square of the image is moving along the path, but the image itself moves out of the boundaries of the picture to the left (it's a .jpg file). That makes absolutely no sense. This image has been resized (original is larger than the stage), but not cropped. I have deleted and re-added this image several times.

2D animation. Motion path+Appearing/Dissappearing Object

Hey everyone, Looking for a simple (Flash is very complex-Power Point is too simple to do what i want) 2D animation software with Motion Path and "Appearing/Disappearing" objects. I have been looking for something that is actually easy to use but everything i find has a learning curve the size of titanic... I'm new to the subject (2d animation) and had no idea where to ask for help :/
- I made a GIF showing something similar to what i want, it's a very simple GIF but should give you an idea of what i want to make.
After watching i hope you will also understand why i am not happy about having to learn how to use something like Adobe EE or Flash.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=39aic&s=8#.VPTr-PmG-PY
Thanks!

Are you asking for help in learning AE or are you asking for an alternative animation tool?
If you want to learn AE, it's pretty complex, but not impossible. I'd go through these resources first: Getting started with After Effects

Motion Path Madness

More specifically, the start and end points of the motion path. They are driving me crazy. Maybe I am overlooking something that is so ridiculously basic I am not finding it, but here's my issue. I've got a motion path on an object. The start point has a position of X: -77, Y: 16. I'd like the end point to be X: - 77, Y: 50, but everytime I try to move the end point, it ends up moving the X axis to something ridiculous like -77.78, clearly and visibly making my path something other than a straight line. Is there a way to get around this? I experience this issue quite a bit and have been unable to successfully find an answer. Perhaps I am just not using the right search terms? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Q*bert,
Thanks for the tip. I've also found that if you hold the Option key while dragging a point it seems to keep the coordinates at whole numbers. I was getting my problem with the snapping turned on as well, though I wasn't always at the beginning of the timeline when attempting a move.
I haven't been using keyframes just because I haven't really thought about it since getting Motion. The behaviors are just so much nicer to work with and the ability to scale and move them without worrying about the keyframe position is nice.

How do you add the motion path of a tracking point to a separate clone stamp?

How do you add the motion path of a tracking point to a clone stamp without the clone stamp assuming the same initial/continuous positions of the tracking point?
Is there a way to keep the clone stamp's initial position and then add the path onto it?
I am using the clone stamp to remove unwanted duct tape that was used to keep lights on a wall.

I have spent two days trying to find a solution to this exact same problem. I have seen some overly complex solutions that probably work but trying to figure out the explanations is like trying to understand someone describe drag coefficients of rotary wing aircraft. While I am sure they work, they are way above my comprehension. I wanted an intuitive and straight forward solution for something that shouldn't require some arcane technique to fix.
What I did:
1) I used the Clone Stamp tool to paint over the spot on the wall I wanted to remove.
2) picked a more easily discernible point of reference for Tracking. In my case, I used a poster on the wall.
3) As per the instructions here, https://www.video2brain.com/en/lessons/removing-an-object-with-clone-stamp, I pasted the Attach Point data from the Tracker into Clone -> Transform - > Position
However, that didn't work for me as the object I was painting was not the object I was tracking. The solution from the video was simply moving my cloned spot to the tracked object instead of leaving it where I wanted it. So...
4) I then manually adjusted the Anchor Point of the Clone back to the original spot I wanted to cover.
I played footage and the cloned region successfully moved with the spot I was covering.
This is what I was able to figure out. I'm not an advanced user. I only use After Effects every couple of months when I need to fix minor things in footage, so I've only learned to use what techniques I need for the job at hand. No doubt, experienced users may shake their heads at my simplistic fix. I'm sure my technique would be wholly inadequate for situations far more complex than fixing spots on a gray wall, which is why my eyeballs cross when reading suggestions that seem way more involved than one would expect for something as seemingly minor as this. It's just a spot! It should be super easy to remove, right? Well, that's what I was looking for and that's what I came up with. I hope it helps.

Motion 4 - copy motion path?

Hello All,
Is there a way to copy an object's motion path to a paint stroke for write-on?
I have an object that moves from point A to point B in a nice arc (keyframed path)
I want to use this exact path, and have a stroke/paint stroke write on as the object moves from point A to
point B following the arc from the objects motion path.
I can do this with a straight line, etc, but have not yet discovered how to have my "line" follow my moving
object. I have also done this by "drawing" a line, but I cannot match the path well drawing freehand, etc.
I thought this would be "easy".
thanks,
eholz1

Hello Todd,
I think I have tried this, but perhaps not from the keyframe editor.
I will give it a shot, and let you know if it works.... Stand by ... trying now...
Well, almost figured out - but tricky (at least for me!) This is only for the path, I have not
figured out how to add a stroke to the path, etc.
I did the following:
I created a new layer called "Tracking Line". I added a "link" to the position parameters of the moving ball (with
the arc path) Right click position under the object's parameters in the inspector. I selected the moving ball for the shape parameter for the link.
Then I got a path that follows the arc, but. I had to change the offset parameters for x and y for the link.
So I have a path of sorts that matches the arc.
I have yet to see how to add a stroke to this. It also my be all wrong!
Thanks and keep me posted.
eric

How can I mass move symbols with their motion paths without creating new keyframes?

I want to move a lot of symbols all at once if they are off centered or just need to be moved around to see differenr styles across the document, but I can't seem to move a lot of the symbols at once, only one at a time slexting their motion paths. It's rather annoying when I have items coming in at different times and have to re line everything up one by one if I want to move things even over by 1 px. Every time I slecect all my symbols and try to move them it just creates a new keyframe that they follow. Is there any tool or certian way to select the symbols and/or thier motion paths and move them without creating new key frames?

Hi,
There's no direct way of moving all the symbols/ motion tweens begining at different frames altogether, but the following steps should help you do it -
1. Select a motion path on stage, goto Properties panel > Options menu (top left corner) and enable - Always show Motion Paths.
2. Enable - Edit Multiple Frames option in the Timeline.
3. Adjust the frame-markers in Timeline to show all your symbols, motion paths etc.
4. Now that you see all your symbols and motion paths together, Select-all and Move them together. Or, use Shift + click to selectively select the Motion paths/objects and move them.
Let me know if you have any doubts..
Regards,
Nipun

Sometimes Circles -- Sometimes Bowen Knots: Motion paths made in Illustrator

I am doing a very meticulous animation in after effects CS6. To execute this project I made all paths in illustrator CS6. Think of the shape as being the Earth, and the motion path as being Earth’s orbit around the sun. I parented the shape (the shape that will follow the motion path; Earth) with a null object, the shape parented by a null object will then be parented by another null object (the path I created in illustrator CS6, at this point I paste the shape (motion path; Earth’s orbit) into Transform: Position.
The problem:
Some motion paths go around the originally made circle, in a perfect cyclical motion. This is what I want. Some motion paths go around the four paths in a square direction, resembling the command symbol on a mac keyboard, also know as the Bowen knot. I do not want this.
My questions:
How do I make every motion path (the perfect circle I made in Illustrator) to function cohesively and dissimilar to the original circle, and not like the command symbol? Why is the conversion doing this to some, but not all shapes?
Best,
Chris

Everyone – thank you to all who responded.
A personal thank you to Rick for spending time and executing a visual explanation.
It turns out my video wasn't published originally, if you need more information click: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1dba60_a-letter-1_creation
To answer your questions: the Earth's orbit refrence is a simile.
I understand the process seems irrational; I being with illustrator because I’m trying to find the exact angle to the center point, in addition to the size of the circle. In other words, a circle has four points, turn the circle the correct amount of degrees and one point starts on the center point (the black dot), the other half ends on the colored dot. The only way I know how to do that is by using a plug-in with illustrator (to get the angle from the colored dot to the center point, and the size of the circle), an analog of this plug-in is not offered in after effects.
My original question: why when I paste the circles (that are already made in illustrator) into the null: position in after effects, some give me a perfect circle, some give me a Bowen knot? I appreciate the suggestions about only in after effects, unfortunately the circle paths were already made in illustrator.
Best,
Chris

How do I get different layers to follow a motion path but start at a different time?

I'm doing a project where I need to have several credit cards come in from the bottom left, move to the middle right, loop up and come back down to exit bottom right. I can make one card do that with a motion path but every time I make the cards follow it, it just follows the null object wherever it's at. How do I make those cards start at different times so it looks like the cards are trailing? Once it gets to the loop the cards still need to stay behind as well.
I've been using AE for years and I feel like I should know how to do something as basic as this but I've been drawing a blank now for days. Thanks for your help!

Meaning the speed is constant for the duration?
Rove Across Time feature would help.

Flash CS4 - motion paths

Hi,
Im confounded to why this is happening and when it looks so much like a program error, it is sold on the shelves as a final product.
My frustration at CS4 is that the new motion paths are already on the object, identified by a dotted line which you can edit to change the direction of the motion. When I want an object to go from A to B and then on to C, trying to select the object and position it to B is impossible. I always seem to select a bezier point. After attempting to mvoe it to B and then C, zooming in to take a close look at the path its a mess, overlapping in many points and jsut a MESS.
Am i doing something wrong?
To get round the problem I've copied the object in it's location and made another layer and continued the object motion on to B or C.
I'm animating a mouse curser over my visuals and I've now got multiple layers of the cursor object because of this pathing issue.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
thanking you

The above advice is good. It sounds like you have created some kind of motion path, and you are wanting to further edit it. There are many ways to edit, and some will work out better than others. Editing a motion path differs greatly depending on what kind of path you have.
1) If you started with a path where you have pasted, say, a stroke as your path (you drew something with the pencil or pen, and pasted it onto your tween), you will be dealing with a lot of auto-generated keyframes -- especially if you used a pencil line instead of a pen line. If you drag your object around, where those keyframes are will affect the resulting path. What to do: Try to modify the path using the Pen tools, or start with a pen drawn path. This way you have fewer keyframes to accomodate for. If you have a pencil-drawn path, try removing keyframes and then adjust the path using beziers. Alternatively, paste the motion path as a raw path on a new layer, adjust it by bending, and then repaste it onto the tween.
When you ask Flash to auto-keyframe a pasted path, there's really no way around this. Flash has to create keyframes for you, and isn't able to know how you may want to further edit it. So the above ways are necessary, and unfortunately it's a bit of work whatever way you go.
2) You may have a path that you have curved, but you want a linear path "down the road" (later on the tween). In this case, the motion tween is inserting curve property keyframes, because you have curved the path. To make the line straight, you need to convert the points to linear points. You can do this on the path or in the motion editor using the Convert Anchor point tool. Or, you can go in the motion editor, right-click the keyframes and choose "Corner point" or Linear Left/right as needed.
3) You applied an ease and you're dragging the instance on the Stage. This can be tricky. What you've asked Flash to do when applying an ease is for motion math to take over an animate the position of the instance in relation to values (the original path). The instance is controlled by the ease, and Flash accomodates each time you move it. Oftentimes you can't really tell what's going to happen, especially on the Stage (Flash is doing what's mathematically correct and necessary, but it might not be what you actually want!). In this case you probably want to turn off the ease, create your motion path, and then re-enable the ease and see how that affects the path. Adjusting your work in the motion editor might be easier, as you can see the dotted eased values in the graph, which tell you what's actually going to happen to the motion (the "real" value post-ease).
4) You used the transform panel or Free transform tool on the motion path, which gave wacky results and then you're moving the instance and things are getting worse. This is one area where motion paths can have less desirable results, as it's using a traditional tool not really designed for the new feature on a new feature. My recommendation is to avoid the transform panel, and use the Free Transform tool instead. In a nutshell, the Transform panel traditionally deals with shapes, and the motion path is not a traditional shape - so there are a lot of calculations swapping back and forth behind the scenes to try and give you what you want. Things can get wacky here, so if you already have something very complex (such as a pasted path with tons of keyframes), your transformations may not be what you actually wanted. Free Transform is better, or even better, manually adjust the beziers. Another alternative is to, again, copy the motion path as a static raw path, transform it and make your adjustments, and repaste it onto your tween.
Let me know if you need additional help, or are running into something else entirely.
Thanks,
Jen.

Motion path on rotated ellipse?

Hi, I'm an experienced animator (with Flash) but relative newbie to Motion, and so finding some things very frustrating but also empowering. I've got a series of ellipses kind of like an atomic symbol which I'm trying to rotate small objects (spheres) around in 2D - pretty basic - just three orbits. At first I tried drawing a path and then attaching to the sphere graphic (as in Flash) but then found Add Behaviour > Basic Motion > Motion path which was actually much easier and powerful than Flash. But now I have an 'angled' ellipse (45 degrees) but I can find no way to rotate the motion path to match the angle. I can adjust each of the circular path's axis, but no way to rotate about a central point. All I want is an angled elliptical path! Is there any easy (or difficult) way to do this? Thanks for any help.
Chris

You're going to love how easy this is:
Add Behavior/Basic Motion/Motion Path to your sphere. In the behaviors tab, change the path shape to Geometry. Drag the elipse layer into the Shape Source well and make sure the Attach to Shape button is checked.
Now the sphere will follow around the elipse no matter how it's positioned. And if you change the shape of the elipse, it'll update in the motion of the sphere.
Also, in the behavior you'll see areas to change the interpolation of the motion, as well as a Looping parameter for multiple orbits.
Hope this helps.
Andy

Custom speed not working in motion path behaviour of emitter

I am trying ot make a custom speed motion path along an open spline. Any amount of adjusting of keyframes and percentages produce no movement at all along the path. The emitter is stuck at the beginning of the path. All the other speed options work except for custom, in the motion path behaviour. What's going on here?

What's going on is a little complex.
When you first add a Motion Path and select Custom Speed, you get a "default" 0% - 100% over the life of the behavior [basically the same as Constant]. If you try to add keyframes in between, it can mess things up pretty good. The results you get can be unexpected.
If you "clear" the automatic default keyframing, then the Custom speed stays at 0% (there are no keyframes). If you move the playhead and change the Custom parameter, nothing "takes" since no original keyframe is set.
In order to make a Custom Speed on a path, you need to first, clear the default keyframing (on the right edge of the column, click on the disclosure triangle and select Reset Parameter). Then, set the position you want your object to start at and Set a keyframe. Then you can advance the playhead and move the Custom Speed control to position the object on the path.
HTH

How do you modify a motion path?

I'm going through the Motion manual, and am in the Behaviors chapter. I can apply a motion behavior to an object, but the instructions for creating a curve don't seem to work. I can't create any bezier points either by double-clicking or option-clicking anywhere on the motion path (i.e., in the canvas??) as the manual instructs. I have looked through the archives, and I see that someone has asked this before, but the responses don't seem to answer the question. It doesn't seem to matter which selection tool I use. I know I can keyframe this, but I want to learn to use the Behaviors. I'm sure this is simple but I'm darned if I can figure it out...
Thanks,
Steve S.

hi,
have you checked that the Handles option is on in the View pop up menu?
Also is the motion pth selected in the project? If so the tool mode changes automatically to an edit mode?
Hope this helps.
regards
adam
moojoose ltd

Keeping object perpendicular on motion path?

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