• Apple Motion

  Working with initial length of clips and files

  Posted by Josh Veazey on May 28, 2010 at 7:06 pm

  I apologize if this is a very elementary question or a redundant one (although I did search pre-existing posts first). But I’ve been using Motion for three months now, and it’s bugging the hell out of me.

  When you insert a new object or behavior into the project, it always begins at wherever the playhead is, and then goes on and on until the end of the universe by heat death. Sometimes I will extend the length of my project just so I can track down the end of object and pull it back, and it will be hundreds of frames after the out point! Is there a simple way that I’m missing to easily control how long a new thing inserted into a project is? Comparable to the way you set “in” and “out” points in Final Cut Pro?

  Thanks

  Josh Veazey, Partnership for Affordable, Clean Energy

  “Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”
  Jean-Luc Godard

  Josh Veazey replied 15 years, 11 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
• 3 Replies

• 

  Zak Peric

  May 28, 2010 at 8:22 pm

  First you can change where your assets are being placed by going to Motion then preferences/project then change to CREATE LAYERS AT : Start of the project.

  Also if you place your yellow tooltip or scrubber to what ever point in your time line use letter I to set IN Point or O to set out out point of a layer or a group.

  I hope this helps.

  P.S IF things go wrong with Motion and you have to delete motion preferences you have to change your assets to begging as I have explained it above.

  I have some video tutorials for Apple Motion: https://www.embryo.me.uk
• 

  Andy Neil

  May 28, 2010 at 10:34 pm

  In specific, what objects? Some motion content has a fixed length which, when added, may extend past the project end. However, behaviors when applied, are only ever as long as the layer they are applied to. The exception to this are some of the text effects which are a specific length no matter the length of the layer.

  Still, if you’re adding captured media into Motion rather than using the send to Motion command in FCP, then the layer will be the length of the overall media. If you don’t want that, hit O on the keyboard to trim the out point wherever you’d like.

  Andy
• 

  Josh Veazey

  June 2, 2010 at 4:40 pm

  So simple. Thank you.

  I’m working with nothing but images and generators right now. Their entire respective layers go past the project length for hundreds of frames.

  Josh Veazey, Partnership for Affordable, Clean Energy

  “Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”
  Jean-Luc Godard

Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up