Moving Still Graphics in Motion Template: Drop Zones

I am new to this and it is probably a simple answer. I have a portrait JPG photo to add to a drop zone in a template. How do I adjust the photo only so that it will not cut off the top of the photo. I am using fit in the image properties. It works with stretch but that option distorts the photo and centre makes the photo selection even smaller within the drop zone. The photo is quite large. Do I have to reduce it's size first?
If I move the photo down with the selection tool it does not allow me to move the photo down without cutting off the rest of the photo outside the drop zone box. All I want to do is move the photo down so it fits within the drop zone so that I can see the bride and groom.

hi,
what is the aspect ratio of the drop zone? if it doesnt match your photo then you are going to have to compromise on something. You might lose some picture either at the sides or top and bottom, or maybe you see some blank around the picure.
As Patrick says its a waste of power having a large picture if you are going to reduce its size and pop it in a frame. Further to this you might want to preflight your image to be the right ratio for your drop zone.
Hope this helps
adam

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FCP X / Motion 5 Drop Zone Video Freeze Frames Only!

Hmmm, well, I've followed the other discussions here regarding what appears to be an on-going issue with videos not playing (freeze frame only - usually the first frame of the clip) in a Drop Zone. I'm using the latest versions of both FCP X (10.1.1) and Motion 5 (5.1). I created a video generator in Motion with 15 drop zones for use in an open for a project I just started on. These drop zones are sliding left and right in three bands across the canvas. I can't get any of them to display moving video. I've used drop zones before and had some success with getting video clips to play in them, but in this case I'm batting zero.
Has anyone found a way around this problem? I may just import the videos into Motion and render them there since this open more than likely won't ever be used for any other project; nevertheless, I'd like to be able to use the Motion 5 template as it was designed to be used.
Thanks.

The good news, Russ, is that I've made some progress! To say that using Drop Zones can be a bit quirky is an understatement! Nevertheless, your Pro Res hint seems to have fixed my issue. I've been recutting the clips from the master archived files and saving them as Pro Res 422. The file size is considerably larger that the H.264 files, but since it works I guess I won't argue that point! :-)
I need to do a bit more investigation of this next point, but it also seems as if I need to move a frame or three into the clip before inserting it into the drop zone. I had just been taking the clip and dumping it in as is. When doing that I noticed that in some cases the clip either didn't play (freeze frame) or it started at some random (or at least what seemed to be random) location within the clip. However, since I moved the start point in 2 or 3 frames (end point doesn't seem to matter) so far, at least, the clip plays every time and starts from the proper point.
I don't know if this mattered or not, but I completely deleted the library with the project and event that I was originally trying to edit to. Since it wasn't working anyway there is nothing lost and I felt it was worth starting the project "fresh", so to speak.
So far I've only re-clipped and inserted 5 of the 15 drop zone videos but for now, at least, they are all working!
Thanks again for your help and suggestions.
John

How to remove iDVD Template Drop Zones?

Hi! I'm looking to remove all drop zones from iDVD to have a simple black background that could be replaced with a .mov file.
Essentially, I'd like to remove the 3 drop zones from the "Modern" 7.0 theme.
Please let me know if this is possible, thanks!
Alex

This is from iDVD Help: _Adding or hiding drop zones_
The drop zones in a theme are a permanent part of the graphics or animations included in that theme. Therefore, you can’t add drop zones, delete individual drop zones, or change the location of drop zones on a menu. You can, however, hide all the drop zones on a menu so that they don’t appear in your final project. This is particularly helpful when you want to create a simple custom theme.
To hide all drop zones on a menu screen:
Make sure the menu whose drop zones you want to hide is showing in the iDVD window.
With your pointer over the menu, press Command-I to open the Menu Info window.
Deselect the “Show drop zones and related graphics” checkbox.
The drop zones immediately disappear from the menu, and they do not appear in your final burned project. Some other graphical elements may also be hidden.
You can always show the drop zones and ornaments again after you’ve hidden them. Simply open the Menu Info window and select the “Show drop zones and related graphics” checkbox.
To replace the background, open the menu info window. For full directions, go to iDVD Help, and look up _Changing the background image of a DVD menu_.
I hope this helps.

Motion 3 template drop zone content won't play in FCP

I am new to Motion. I made a custom template and brought it into FCP. It inserts and previews fine. In FCP I place a clip into one of the masked-out "drop zones" under the "controls tab" and here is where I run into the problem:
The clip shows up ok in the template but doesn't play once I render; all I get is a static still from it.
I sense that I am almost there... any suggestions?
many thanks,
Alan
intel iMac, G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi, this problem has been solved over in the Quicktime discussions:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5106282&#5106282
Turns out you need to install Qmaster to play HDV files in QT (without FCP installed).

Apple motion 5 template drop zones play only 1080p video clips. 720p will play outside of dropzone.

I am also getting a -1 error when trying to export with the 720p clip in a dropzone. I bought the clip stock and they didn't offer this one in 1080p. Is there any explanation as to why this clip will not run in the dropzone but does on the canvas?

You shouldn't be "loading" drop zones in Motion. You should be doing that in FCPX (as long as the drop zone source well is published.) You do not have to use Motion to "bake" video for import into FCPX. Install the template for FCPX [ place the effect folder in ~/yourHomeFolder/Movies/Motion Templates/<TypeOfEffect>/<CategoryFolder - create a new one if you want>/<place effect folder here> ]
The types of effects are Effects, Titles, Generators, Transitions.
The effect you bought came in a folder. That folder structure must be maintained for FCPX. That usually means: a Motion document (.moef, .moti, .motr or .motn file), 2 .pngs and a Media folder. If any of these are missing, it will not work in FCPX.
To use the drop zone in FCPX, apply the effect to the clip (or if it is a Title, place the title over the storyline); click on the Drop Zone source well, then click on the clip you want to apply to the drop zone from either the Event browser or the storyline. You'll see a "2-up" display, and you should see an "Accept" button in the viewer to finalize the application to the drop zone.
If you have the same problems in FCPX, let us know!

MOTION 3 - adding photos to template drop zones.

Is there a tutorial on adding photos to the drop zones? New to Motion.
Do I import the photos first? Thanks.

There is a tutorial on dropzones on my You Tube channel. Here's a link:
[Drop Zone Tutorial|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx4wn82jVLw]
Andy
PS: I may receive compensation for my recommendation or link.

Master Template Drop Zone Causes Frame Offset Problem

I created a template in Motion with two drop zones. When I use it in Final Cut as a master template, and drop in two video clips, the clips are offset about 4 frames from the originals. I can see this when I toggle the template's track on and off to see the underlying clips that got dropped in from my timeline. The cut points don't match up to what winds up in the template's dropzones for some reason.
This is a problem, because I'm using the template as a transition between full screen and a PIP-type effect.
The weird frame offset causes a visual glitch that I have to correct by adjusting the start/end points. This is extremely time consuming, as I have to apply the template to a huge number of clips.
I'm using the latest version of Final Cut Studio.

Just discovered that the frame offset increases the further I am into a clip.
I took a part from the beginning.. frame offset = 2 frames.
Took one closer to the end of a 4 minute clip.. frame offset = 14 frames.
The video is encoded in ProRes422 at 29.97 fps, and the Motion template is 29.97 also. Any ideas?

Template Drop Zone

Let's say your adding data to a template. The template has two drop zones (square box with arrow).
You have added the text in the appropriate text fields but you do not want to add any content (photo/video/whatever) to the drop zones.
*However, the drop zones remain in the template which of course you do not want to see in the final canvas.*
How (if possible) can you eliminate the drop zones entirely from the template. Can it be done in FCP (control/filter/motion tabs) or do you need to round trip the template to Motion and back for you to eliminate the drop zone boxes from your template?
Thanks
Dan

Tom
I was meaning templates found in the 'Effects' tab in the FCP browser.
At any rate, I know what you mean about removing them in Motion, Tom.
As a side note : I just dragged some freeze frames into the drop zones. I figured: why not?
Sometimes you just want a totally minimalist look. And I love deleting things to get to that level.
My living space looks that way. Spare, clean, cold, white. A major turn off for many.
Anyway, I like my video projects to look the same way.
.....but I digress.
Dan

Moving an image around in a drop zone in DVD studio

Hi there
I am pretty new to this DVD studio program, and I often am using templates to make my client DVDs. One major major problem I always come across is when I have to drop images in, they always dont fit properly, let me show you one for example
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8978/picture8vt.png
This always happens when I drop images in Final cut. Is there a way I can move my Image around that box?
Thanks in advance!
Message was edited by: blackout2008

if you click on a corner handle of the drop zone then press shift and drag the corner outwards, the drop zone will snap fit to match the format ratio of the image revealing the complete image
the reason you wont be able to move the image sideways is that there wont be any image to reveal-if the image is a different ratio to the drop zone, the image will fit inside the drop zone either by hieght or width
if the drope zones dont provide what you want-its very simple to create your own in a graphics application

Putting video clips in template drop zone

I can't drag my video into the control video drop zone. the computer won't let me drag the video clip anywhere...what could be limiting my ability to do this?

Are you working in FCP or Motion? If FCP, are you working with one of the Motion Master Templates? Also, what is the source of your video and what are it's settings?
-DH

Can i backtime a clip into a template drop zone?

trying to use a transition template but when i drop the clip into the outgoing clip's drop zone well it goes in from an in point which makes aligning the transition with it's ingoing and outgoing clips a major pain in the ***. Ideally I'd like to just back time the outgoing clip. Can i do this? any other workaround suggestions?
thanks

thanks. i'm not sure if i did exactly what you meant, but i found a pretty good workaround. I put a marker in the template where the new clip starts, then i line that marker up with the edit point between the clips, giving me the ins and outs as you said.
cheers

Making stills from clips for the drop zone

How do I make a still picture from an iMovie clip for the drop zone and paste it to the drop zone?

this option is available in iMovie under create still frame from the edit menu. then from there "save frame as" ... i use jpeg.
Like this:
From there you simply drag and drop the jpeg to iDVD.
Good luck and hope this helps. If so, please take the time to mark your question as "Answered."
SDMacuser

Motion 5 / FCP X - Frustrating Drop Zones

I've been (trying) to use Drop Zones lately on a number of projects and while I've been able to kludge things here and there to get them to work properly, they sure have frustrated me. The projects I'm working on need snippets of properly timed video floating around the screen, usually within the opening sequence for the video. The trouble is I've never been able to really figure out the timing for these things.
1) Initially, the logical thought was (for me, at least) to set at least an in point for the video before dropping it into the Drop Zone in FCP X. That certainly didn't work because it appeared as though FCP X totally ignored my clip's in point. I wanted that clip video to start exactly at the beginning of that drop zone.
2) Since that didn't work I did some Internet research and someone posted that Drop Zones ignore clip in points. They said that when selecting the clip for the drop zone to place the cursor on the exact frame where you want the video to start before applying it to the Drop Zone. Well, that works to an extent.
Here's what I found after doing some experimentation in both Motion 5 and FCP X (latest versions of each). First, I created a video with timecode in it so that I could accurately track where the video really started on the first frame of the individual Drop Zone. The video starts with 10 seconds of color bars followed by 5 minutes of burned in timecode, then another 10 seconds of color bars. I created a simple Motion Generator with four Drop Zones - upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right. Each Drop Zone was placed exactly 10 seconds apart. So, for example:
For the first test I placed each Drop Zone within one Group in Motion. Drop Zones start at the following timecode for each location as follows:
UL: 00:00:00:00
LL: 00:00:10:00
UR: 00:00:20:00
LR: 00:00:30:00
After publishing the project, I loaded it into FCP X. I used the same timecode video for each Drop Zone starting it at timecode value 00:01:00:00. Now, one would think that each drop zone window, having been placed exactly 10 seconds apart, would show timecode values for the inserted videos also each 10 seconds apart. But they don't! All four Drop Zones show exactly the same timecode value. They are acting as if all four were placed within the Motion 5 timeline starting at 00:00:00:00. But they weren't.
So, I thought, what would happen if I placed each Drop Zone in Motion in a separate Group? I created four Groups, each one holding only one Drop Zone. It didn't make a difference. The timecode videos in each window were still in sync with one another.
The only way I can get this to work properly is to offset the beginning of each clip by -10 seconds. Unfortunately, if there's not enough "preroll" in the clip to do that, I'm out of luck.
But it gets stranger! Further experimentation leads me to believe that all of the Drop Zones within a project reference themselves to the very first Drop Zone within the project. I picked a new point within the timecode video - in this case, the 2 minute point (00:02:00:00) and dropped it into the UL drop zone. I did the same then for the other three and now they all track based on that 00:02:00:00 point within the video!
But it gets even stranger!!! I tried one more experiment, this time loading the Drop Zones in reverse order. That seemed to work. But still, why should I have to mess around like this trying to sync drop zones in some of weird order?
The question is, why do Drop Zones work this way and what can be done to fix this problem? However I select the first frame of video for a particular drop zone should be what that drop zone references when rendering. Ideally it would be great to be able to use an in point on the clip, but I'm also happy with just moving the clip's cursor to the first frame. It's easy enough to do. Hopefully the software team working on these apps can come up with a solution that makes sense. Thanks.
John

I've had this too and the fix then was to delete my project render files (FCP that is).
Russ

Transforming image inside of a drop zone?

I placed an image into a drop zone in a template in Motion 4, and it is too big to display the whole graphic. I cropped the image and re-imported it into the drop zone, though it is still dot displaying the whole width of the text on the graphic. How can I transform the graphic after placing it in the drop zone so it displays all of the text on the graphic?
thanks.

Check out my tutorial on manipulating drop zones in Motion.
[Drop Zone Tutorial|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx4wn82jVLw]
Andy
PS: I may receive compensation for my recommendation or link.

Drop Zone referencing time code 00:00:00:00

FCPX drop zone is referencing timecode 00:00:00:00 in my Motion template. How can I use drop zone footage with a different timecode?

I appreciate the post Fox and the link to your fine video on using the Comparator Generator; however, what I'm finding is that when multiple drop zones appear in a project clip they seem to reference the first drop zone. (Your example uses only one drop zone. I've never had a problem syncing video with only one drop zone.) My post, that I referenced above, didn't specify using this procedure, but that is exactly what I did. Just to review a portion of that post:
For the first test I placed each Drop Zone within one Group in Motion. Drop Zones start at the following timecode for each location as follows:
UL: 00:00:00:00
LL: 00:00:10:00
UR: 00:00:20:00
LR: 00:00:30:00
After publishing the project, I loaded it into FCP X. I used the same timecode video for each Drop Zone starting it at timecode value 00:01:00:00. Now, one would think that each drop zone window, having been placed exactly 10 seconds apart, would show timecode values for the inserted videos also each 10 seconds apart. But they don't! All four Drop Zones show exactly the same timecode value. They are acting as if all four were placed within the Motion 5 timeline starting at 00:00:00:00. But they weren't.
I perfectly aligned the start point for each timecode clip segment for it's appropriate drop zone, (first one at 00:00:00:00; second at 00:00:10:00; third at 00:00:20:00 and fourth at 00:00:30:00) but found that FCP X ignored the clip's cursor location for all but the first drop zone. Each of the other three referenced that first drop zone and when playing the project back, the timecode readout in each window precisely matched when they should have been 10 seconds apart.
However, I also found that if I loaded the drop zones in reverse, starting with the last and moving to the first, using the exact same procedure, then all four drop zones synced perfectly. Honestly, it's got me scratching my head. I'm now working on a project that uses 12 drop zones and I'm seriously considering creating each drop zone video clip separately, exporting them from FCP X, importing them into Motion directly, then export the Motion project as a video which I can then import into FCP X. I shouldn't have to do that, but at least that seems to work.
John

Moving Still Graphics in Motion Template: Drop Zones

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