Our Verdict
Somewhere between editing video and designing full - blown motion graphics , there are countless problem that require making things move . It may be making titles , manage transitions , moving around video and imaging in two - dimensional and three - dimensional scene , masking , compositing , or generally arranging assets for purposes of usefulness or eye confect .
From its first button , Apple ’s Motion has aimed squarely at this type of activity . It is neither unique in that regard , nor does it do more than other rival tools ; instead , it promises to perform these tasks more cursorily and with less endeavour . In its up-to-the-minute release , fall alongsideFinal Cut Pro X(FCP X ) , it sports a newfangled tone , expanded keying and argument control , and a new under - the - exhaust hood computer architecture for groovy public presentation . It also boasts new capabilities as a Final Cut companion . And then , there ’s the terms .
So , isMotion 5a must - have add - on for the new Final Cut , or even as a full complement to rival editor program or premature version ?
Motion expands on its interactive, live control of visuals by allowing you to consolidate parameters into Rigs. Assign controls, and you can use these within Motion to orchestrate various visual elements at once, or export to Final Cut, where they provide live control for yourself or a collaborating editor.
Motion expands on its interactive , live control of visuals by allowing you to consolidate parameters into cheat . Assign controls , and you may use these within Motion to engineer various ocular elements at once , or exportation to Final Cut , where they supply live ascendence for yourself or a get together editor .
What’s changed
Motion , like FCP X , include changes both seeable and under - the - hood . The engine , now rewritten in Cocoa , incorporate OpenCL living for accelerating computation on compatible graphic cards , 64 - bit architecture for optimize computation and memory access to keen storage resources , and support for Grand Central Dispatch multithreading engineering science — all of which combine to avail you squeeze the most out of your available hardware . As with FCP X and Compressor 4 , there ’s also support for ColorSync color management , and a shared render locomotive engine . These changes brood the whole tool , from plug - In to effects to rendering .
More visible are other elusive but significant enhancements to functionality and ascendency . you’re able to now take advantage of resolution independence — ideal for targeting multiple formats . you’re able to combine parameters into rigs to consolidate live control of your composition , and then publish those control to sassy templates and FCP X. With Final Cut integration , it ’s potential to bring about transition , form of address , and generator that editors can reuse in Final Cut , especially utilitarian for bring forth consistent in - theater templates . On the compositing side , Apple has added greatly improve chroma keying .
at last , as with FCP X , Motion 5 has also gravel a shiny interface remake . Motion ’s transformation , though , is far less extremist ; esthetic allowance aside , it mainly serve to consolidate preferences into panes . substance abuser of premature adaptation will likely chance everything within a duo of minutes , and Motion has never been more usable on a low - resolving power laptop computer display .
The ability to “publish” certain parameters when exporting filters, generators, titles, and transitions back to Final Cut Pro X gives you live manipulation of these elements in Final Cut without re-rendering, or switching to Motion. It also grants you the same capabilities Apple had when generating its Final Cut presets.
The ability to “ publish ” certain parameters when export filters , generators , titles , and transitions back to Final Cut Pro X gives you alive handling of these elements in Final Cut without re - rendering , or flip-flop to Motion . It also grants you the same capability Apple had when generating its Final Cut presets .
Playing visuals live
The natural pulsation is to compare Motion to other tools , like Adobe ’s After result ( ) , that farm motion computer graphic and tote up dynamic visuals to television . However , Motion is a different variety of move graphics programme , one that emphasizes playing with parameters live and in actual - time . The idea is not to choreograph elaborate , planned - out visuals and then see how they look , but to constantly experiment and tweak as the apparent motion plays .
Wrap your head around the work flow , and Motion is , above all else , quick to habituate . First , drop in some media — Motion back PDF , still images , video , and Photoshop PSD with layers , though not EPS ( Encapsulated PostScript ) . It supports PDF import , but Motion retains its own self-governing harvest place setting , so you ca n’t simply crop a PDF externally . Next , hit the gambling push button ; you ’ll in all likelihood want to go away everything in Motion looping all the time so you’re able to see straightaway results . Finally , add filter , generator ( covering a range of visual sources ) , and motion behaviors , and watch as your piece update in substantial meter .
The new keyer chroma key filter is a real joy , far beyond what you ’d expect as a bundled freebie . overleap the filter onto your footage , and compositing to a color ( such as a immature screen ) is effective immediately . To correct the outcome , there are basic but in force and understandable controls for tuning color sampling for the backcloth and edge , all of which nicely complement Motion ’s matte and 2D and 3D compositing tools .
The heart and soul of Motion remains its extensive library of content. While it lacks the open-ended code extensibility of After Effects, in its place you can combine series of behaviors and other elements, for a visual equivalent to coding.
Motion is also an good basic 3D compositor , with control for setting stratum in three - dimensional space and adding light and tv camera controls . 3D compositing is powerful , though if you take aboriginal backup for stereoscopic 3D output , you ’ll need to await elsewhere . Also , one potential downside of the trust on the GPU is you could get dissimilar issue on dissimilar hardware ; the only bugs I encountered were a couple of non - consistent Nvidia GPU - related crash .
Rewards for good behaviors
The heart and soul of Motion remains its extensive library of cognitive content . While it lacks the open - ended code extensibility of After consequence , in its position you’re able to combine series of behaviors and other elements , for a visual equivalent to razz . As before , Apple also bundles a slap-up deal of functionality and content in the box . You get advanced , easy - to - use match move and motion analytic thinking and stabilisation features , inherited from Apple ’s high-pitched - end ( and now defunct ) Shake product . 3D compositing includes the ability to quickly set up a scene with profundity , then contribute movement plainly by dragging and dropping simple motion behaviour . There ’s a powerful , intuitive replicator and particle generator that with After issue , for instance , would want a third - political party MBD - on . Apple has also bundle a vast library of preset message .
Advanced After Effects users will often ( rightfully ) praise the Expression scripting language , which allow users open - ended extensibility by enable innovative move deportment in code . Motion ’s approach is optical rather than textual , but it should not be discount . By combining behaviors , author , and filters graphically — disperse them out across the timeline , and adjusting parameters on the fly — it ’s possible to build more complex structure .
As before , any slider , anywhere — from a crop control in an image to the amount of a filter fuzz — can be manipulated or controlled with keyframes , audio , and even MIDI controller . ( Most audio dominance ironware transmits stock MIDI messages , so you could , for instance , ascribe the floor of an consequence to a knob or Francis Scott Key on a keyboard . ) What Apple has bestow to Motion 5 is the power to capsulize selected mastery into dynamic parameter getup , insure many elements at one prison term . That ’s useful both in the linguistic context of Motion itself , and as a means of exporting smart templates and interactive visual materials to FCP X.
Motion’s new keyer, for chroma key compositing, is easy to understand and use; you’ll often get decent results on the first try, and controls for fine-tuning are straightforward and effective.
If Motion ’s depth lies in lots of live parameter control , rigging combines related to parameters into group that can be operate all at once , greatly simplifying memory access to that force . For illustration , you might modify the display of a video in a 3D writing , adjusting the position of the camera rotate around it , changing its position in space , and altering a colour balance filter on the video . With the rig , you could mix those element and control them together , which could , for instance , greatly simplify adjusting the timing of all those elements against another video or a sound bed . It ’s utile enough that you really do n’t take FCP X to make this lineament alone deserving the upgrade .
To create a tractor trailer , you first select the parameters you wish to control , then assign them , one by one , to a master rig that will control all of them . The rig is composed of convenience — either a pop music - up , checkbox , or luger — which render both an user interface for exported templates published to Final Cut and a means of controlling parameters within Motion itself . you could even snuggle widgets within other widgets . As with other Motion parameters , you’re able to delegate MIDI and audio restraint or behaviors like Wriggle and Random . The result is a kind of productive , modular system of rules for producing dynamical motion event without coding .
As with any in writing arrangement , sometimes this stimulate tasks harder or less direct than with code , and sometimes it makes thing a great deal more apprehensible . If you have experience with something like After Effects Expressions , however , you may find some of these dispute tonic and complemental , and that your background in Expression code transform well to understanding how to make the most of this characteristic .
Motion ’s chew - in computer architecture is n’t yet as broad as After Effect ’s ecosystem , but this appears set to modify , especially with Motion ’s strong-growing pricing and expanded FxPlug2 SDK . Noise Industries , Genarts , and Ripple Training have transport Motion 5 plug - ins already , and other vendors are committed to send updated plug - Immigration and Naturalization Service .
Motion ’s fresh keyer , for chroma key compositing , is easy to sympathise and expend ; you ’ll often get decent termination on the first effort , and controls for finely - tuning are straight and effective .
Motion to Final Cut Pro workflows
Motion make a natural fellow to FCP X , either for editors who require to apace get assets for Final Cut , or consecrated motility artwork designers wish to cooperate with editors using Final Cut . Motion is up to of exporting four form of files back to the latest acquittance of Final Cut : Transitions make habit of Motion ’s various optic candy tool for slick edits between fabric ; generators produce graphics dynamically ( such as particle consequence ) ; titles allow usance of animated text with typographical controls and RTF file import ; and filter allow combinations of image- and telecasting - process effects .
A natural work flow , then , would be to jump into Motion to create some quick form of address , export back to FCP X , and then make adjustments as needed from within the Final Cut timeline . This is where the use of rigs can really shine : Motion stick out the creation of dynamic , intelligent templet . you may prefer not only which parameters to make visible in Final Cut , but even how you wish well to delimit ranges , drop zones for adding received assets , and shut up - down parameters .
For an individual user , this mean you’re able to start your work in Motion , then adjust it in real - prison term in Final Cut to finish the caper , without ever re - rendering or shift apps . For organizations with multiple exploiter of FCP X , it has even big utility , since it intend that even novice editor in chief can specify easy - to - habit house templates with strict parameters for everything from picture effects to titles . On the Final Cut side , your content appear in incisively the way that the presets Apple ships do ; in fact , those presets are as well created entirely in Motion .
In the absence seizure of specific integration features , for process a video clip from Final Cut Pro in Motion , you would select Reveal in Finder , control straight on the video recording cartridge clip , export the results , and re - spell and replace the clip . In other quarrel , you do manually what automatic round - misstep workflows antecedently did . The upshot is that for those not interested in the slick , novel templet lineament , it really does n’t matter whether you ’re using FCP X or another another editor . This workflow does the occupation , too — and given some of the complexities of fancier integration , might even be preferable to some substance abuser . But it entail there ’s some way for improvement , particularly for editors who need to switch frequently between the two tools for genuine , bi - directional desegregation . The workaround to preserving audio is to export a ego - contained Movie , and re - importee as an outcome in Final Cut Pro .
The integration of swindle and templates will likely make the FCP X compounding with Motion very utile in certain state of affairs , such as organization wanting to instal a consistent optical indistinguishability , or individuals who want dynamic control over Motion creations as they work in Final Cut . But give the shared mechanisms for mass medium asset direction and rendering , the degree of integration farewell way for improvement .
Macworld’s buying advice
Motion 5 ( availablefor download onlyon the Mac App Store ) still miss some features that might open up it to consideration as your elemental graphics workstation : tools like aboriginal EPS import ( which Adobe CS5 supports ) , advanced typographical controls , and open - ended scripting .
But that ’s not really the decimal point . As a agency of edifice titles , filters , transitions , and generators for FCP X , Motion is well - suited to the job , and the only elbow room to work up interactive assets for that program . Even before considering its new impulse - buy pricing , it ’s also a suitable investing for anyone front to add a little supererogatory visual power to their creative armory .
Keying is dead - wide-eyed , and rigs elaborate upon Motion ’s already robust , agile optical - sire powers . It ’d be nice to see still - rich bi - directional desegregation with FCP X as it matures , and to build out some of the breadth of Motion itself . But at this monetary value , and with this speed and flexibility , you ’ll be hard - pressed to find an argumentation not to find a place for it on your loading dock — even if you choose to pass on FCP X.
[ Peter Kirn is the editor program of visual technical school blogCreate Digital Motion , a live visual performer , creative person , and teaches at Parsons The New School for Design . ]
