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Motion-Problems losing motion paths when I reopen project
I have been working on a project in Motion, which I am learning as I go, and I just can’t understand what this weird glitch is that is plaguing me.
I have created an oval motion path that repeats itself on a series of individual 2d flags that follow their path around a globe in an orbiting fashion. Each flag goes around about 2.2 times, so I have repeated the motion path for each layer by placing each path copy back to back on the timeline. In order to make them flow correctly, each flag comes onto the path at a staggered rate, about 7 frames apart.
The problem is this: I created the first proof of this project for the client and all was working well. Each path worked fine and the effect looked realistic. However, as I have been making changes for the client, I have had issues with the project. Each time I go to open it for the next set of changes, some of the flags have lost the smoothness of their motion path.
It seems the points where the curves are created have become points with no bezier handles (non-linear). It has led me to re-copy a motion path that is working and paste it and reposition it to the flag that has lost its correct path (as recreating the perfect path would be nigh impossible). However, each time that I do this and save a “fixed” version of the project, the next time I open it, yet another motion path is displaying the same error. As I have copied a new flag path each time, it is becoming an increasing problem.
To fix this issue, I have tried to save alternate versions of the project as well as thrown away Motion’s preferences. It has not had the intended effect. I have found no mention of this problem in searches of the Internet, so this is my last resort. Can anyone tell me what this problem may be coming from and how to fix it?
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8 Replies
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Howdy,
I remember seeing this a while back on Apple’s Motion forum. If you lock an object, save, then reload, bezier tangents don’t get read in, correctly, and are lost. Unlocked objects don’t suffer this problem (as described on the forum). Were your objects locked?
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Oddly, yes, they were locked. However, since each layer has 3 separate motion paths back to back, I may have overlooked locking one or two, but to have this happen consistently, it’s just difficult to say. My thoughts are that it has happened on a locked path.
Any other ideas?
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Howdy,
I’m confused by your response. I was saying that locking an object will cause all bezier tangents to get reset when the project is next opened. Once the damage is done, however, the zeroed tangents get saved (when you next save) so you can’t reclaim them. Just make sure that everything is unlocked before you save. I just reproed this on my system.
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motion opens and unexpectedly it is closed.
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Actually I did experience this weird behavior when I had (initially) installed Motion 1 on my iBook and Motion 2 on my Powerbook. It only did it for a week and then it settled down and was rock solid. But if it has been running on your Mac for quite a while, then definitely trash Motion’s preferences file. (And if you are using Motion 3, make sure it is upgraded/patched up to 3.02 and trash prefs)
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I gotcha. I had things turned around. It’s the locked beziers that have the problem. I thought you had said the locked ones would be OK. Will try to unlock all (is there a mass unlock feature?) and save again. Will let you know what happens. Thanks!!!!
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Howdy,
Just to clarify: it’s not the locking/unlocking of the bezier handles, it’s the locking/unlocking of the entire object. This is done via the little lock icon in the Layers List or Timeline.
For example, if I animate the position of a shape object and the keyframed motion path is curved, if I lock the shape before saving, the motion path will be linear (zeroed tangents) when I next load the project. Once the damage is done, though, unlocking the shape won’t restore the tangents. I’d need to unlock the shape, then manually set the tangents back to what I want.
In short: don’t lock animated objects if you want them to stay the way you left them.
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well i’m VERY disappointed with this stupid state of affairs. Created Bezier curves are so vulnerable to getting messed up in this new Motion that one needs to lock them, and to then find days of work has disappeared is simply unacceptable for a professional program. I cant believe that in the process of beta testing, no-one closed and opened a locked project and saw this happen – locking a project is supposed to do the exact opposite; it is supposed to protect your moves, not delete them on save – That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard of, and i can’t think of any program in any area of work which uses lock to delete settings!!!… it’s plainly ridiculous.
Also while we’re at it, I am disappointed generally with the inability to move motion nodes in time-line only to see this also destroys bezier curves. So you want to move a main node on the time-line to make some created curves begin slightly earlier and it destroys the curves, not only destroys them but puts in their place huge curves which have to be deleted and redone from scratch – serious bug, not professional at all. I expect a shoddy standard of beta testing in a cheap music sequencer maybe (for some reason music app’s can deliver terrible bugs and get away with it), but not a pro film/tv app’. What other stupid bugs are waiting to be revealed is my problem, one needs confidence to be able to work, knowing that work wil be there the next day.
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