Welcome
- What’s new in Motion 5.5
- What’s new in 5.4.6
- What’s new in 5.4.4
- What is Motion?
- Motion workflow
- Motion interface
- Basic components of Motion
- Using input devices
- Intro to creating projects
- Create a new project
- Open an existing project
- Search for projects from the Finder
- Bypass the Project Browser
- Create and modify project presets
- Save, autosave, and revert projects
- Intro to adding and managing content
- Intro to project playback
- Define the play range
- Project playback performance
- Intro to basic compositing
- - Modify layer opacity
- Intro to 3D compositing
- - Intro to 3D coordinates
  - Relative coordinates
- Transform layers in 3D space
- - Create 3D intersection
  - 2D and 3D group properties
- Intro to the Timeline
- Display or resize the Timing pane
- Navigate in the Timeline
- Show and modify keyframes in the Timeline
- - Intro to the Timeline ruler
  - Edit a range of frames in the Timeline
- Edit in the mini-Timeline
- Intro to behaviors
- Behaviors versus keyframes
- - Browse for behaviors
- - Intro to adjusting behaviors
  - Adjust behaviors
- Intro to keyframing
- Add keyframes
- - Add an animation path in the canvas
  - Modify animation paths
- Animate from the HUD
- - Apply keyframes to behaviors
  - Combining keyframes and behaviors
- Use the mini-curve editor
- Animate on the fly
- Simplify a keyframe curve
- Intro to Final Cut Pro templates
- - Template workflow
  - Placeholders vs. drop zones
- - Create a generator template
  - Modify a Final Cut Pro generator
- - Convert a Motion project to Final Cut Pro
  - Convert a template to another type
- Use placeholder images in templates
- Set template resolution
- Add multiple aspect ratios to templates
- Override the Final Cut Pro color space
- Where are templates saved?
- Using masks in templates
- Guidelines for better templates
- Intro to rigging
- How does rigging work?
- Build a simple rig
- Work with widgets
- Control rigs from Animation menus
- Publish rigs to Final Cut Pro
- Intro to Particles
- - Add a particle system
  - Anatomy of a particle emitter
- Create 3D particles
- Particle system timing
- Using graphics in particle systems
- Using filters and masks with particles
- Save custom particle effects
- Intro to replicators
- Replicators vs. particle systems
- - Add a replicator
  - Anatomy of a replicator
- Work with 3D replicators
- Replicator timing
- Using filters and masks with replicators
- Save custom replicators
- Intro to basic text
- Select and modify text in the canvas
- Preview and apply fonts
- Use preset text styles
- - Intro to editing text
  - Display the Text Inspector or HUD
- Convert standard text to 3D text
- Check spelling
- Find and replace text
- Using filters with text
- Intro to 3D text
- 3D text workflow
- - Add 3D text
  - Convert 2D text to 3D text
- Apply a preset 3D text style
- Move and rotate 3D text
- Add a glow or drop shadow to 3D text
- 3D text intersection
- Intro to animated text
- Apply a text behavior
- - Use the Scroll Text behavior
  - Scroll Text controls
- - Use the Text Tracking behavior
  - Text Tracking controls
- - Use the Type On behavior
  - Type On controls
- Animate individual text glyphs
- Animating 2D text in 3D space
- When to use keyframes to animate text
- Adding nontext behaviors to text
- Save a modified text behavior
- Intro to shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- - Intro to complex shapes and masks
  - Draw complex shapes and masks
- Edit fill, outline, and feathering
- Keyframe shape control points
- Convert between shapes and masks
- Using filters and masks with shapes
- Copy shape styles
- Save custom shapes and shape styles
- Intro to using generators
- Add a generator
- - Modify or animate a generator
  - Controls common to all generators
- Save a modified generator
- Intro to filters
- Browse and preview filters
- Apply or remove filters
- - Animate filter parameters with keyframes
  - Animate filters using behaviors
- Publish filter parameters to Final Cut Pro
- Using filters on alpha channels
- Filter performance
- Save custom filters
- Intro to color keying
- - Intro to the Luma Keyer filter
  - Luma Keyer filter controls
- Intro to 3D objects
- Add a 3D object
- Move and rotate a 3D object
- Reposition a 3D object’s anchor point
- Exchange a 3D object file
- 3D object intersection and layer order
- - Intro to 3D object timing
  - Modify 3D object timing in Motion
- Using cameras and lights with 3D objects
- Save custom 3D objects
- Guidelines for working with 3D objects
- Working with imported 3D objects
- Intro to 360-degree video
- 360-degree projects
- Create 360-degree projects
- Add 360-degree video to a project
- - View 360-degree projects
  - View 360-degree video in a VR headset
- - Intro to graphics in 360-degree projects
  - Use graphics in 360-degree projects
- Create a tiny planet effect
- Reorient 360-degree media
- Creating 360-degree templates for Final Cut Pro
- 360-degree-aware filters and generators
- Export and share 360-degree projects
- Guidelines for better 360-degree projects
- Intro to tracking
- How does motion tracking work?
- Motion tracking behavior types
- Analyze motion in a clip
- Stabilize a shaky clip
- Unstabilize a clip
- Use a range of frames for analysis
- Load existing tracking data
- Track shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- Track a filter’s position parameter
- Adjust onscreen trackers
- Save tracks to the Library
- Intro to audio
- View audio files
- Add audio files
- Play audio files
- Intro to exporting projects
- Export a QuickTime movie
- Export audio only
- Export a still image
- Export an image sequence
- Export to Apple devices
- Export to email
- Export using Compressor
- Create share destinations
- Render settings
- View the status of shared items
- Share notifications
- Intro to preferences and shortcuts
- Touch Bar shortcuts
- Move assets to another computer
- Work with GPUs
Glossary
Copyright

What is Motion?

Motion is a behavior-driven motion graphics application used to create stunning imaging effects in real time for a wide variety of broadcast, video, and film projects.

Animate anything, your way

Animate graphics, images, and video clips using any of more than 200 built-in motion, simulation, and camera-move behaviors, such as Spin, Throw, Orbit, Dolly, and more.
Animate the traditional way, using keyframes to create precise timing effects.
Animate individual parameters of graphics and images—such as position, scale, and opacity—to make your visuals oscillate, wriggle, sync to music, dance randomly, and more.
Build sophisticated particle systems to unleash animated swarming effects in 2D or 3D space.
Boost production value by choosing ready-to-use animated content from a library of more than 1,300 professionally designed graphics.

Set your text in motion

Create polished text and then set it in motion to construct effects both simple (lower-thirds and credit rolls) and complex (animated sequences).
Build and animate 3D text with realistic texture, lighting, and shading.

Blow minds, not budgets, with cinematic visual effects

Build stunning visual effects and film looks using one or more of nearly 300 filters such as Glow, Strobe, Slit Scan, and Bleach Bypass.
Create advanced compositing and color key effects (green screen and blue screen).
Stabilize camera shake or create complex motion-tracking effects such as match moving and corner-pinning.
Retime footage to create high-quality slow-motion or fast-motion effects.

Add depth to your production

Orchestrate fluid 3D motion graphics for show intros, bumpers, commercials, or title sequences.
Create advanced 3D compositions by adding and animating 3D objects or moving cameras in 3D scenes.
Import and reorient 360° video, then apply effects and integrate titles or other graphics to create 360° Motion projects or 360° templates for Final Cut Pro.
Create vibrant high-dynamic-range (HDR) content and effects using your Pro Display XDR as a professional HDR reference monitor, or view HDR content on standard-dynamic-range displays using automatic tone-mapping.

Design next-level graphics effects

Draw shapes, transparency masks, and gesture-based paint strokes to build advanced art compositions, then animate them using behaviors or keyframes. You can also rotoscope masks with keyframes to create traveling mattes.
Build complex patterns of repeating elements using the powerful replicator tool, then animate the resulting collages in 2D or 3D space.
Maximize your compositions with royalty-free content, such as vector artwork, animated design elements, image generators, and high-resolution images.

Integrate seamlessly with Final Cut Pro

Create custom effect, transition, title, and generator templates for use in Final Cut Pro. You can also use Motion to customize the effects, transitions, titles, and generators that ship with Final Cut Pro.
Use rigging to map multiple parameters to a single control (for example, a slider that simultaneously manipulates size, color, and rotation of text) in Motion compositions or in templates exported to Final Cut Pro.

Export and share everywhere

Export your masterpiece (or working copy) for use in other apps, publish it to video-sharing websites, or optimize it for viewing on Apple devices such as iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV.

Note: For a complete list of topics covered in this user guide, click the Table of Contents at the top of the page.

Helpful?

Motion User Guide