Take one image, put a title on it and show how you did it - please? Thanks much!

Could someone demonstrate how to do one clip -- a simple clip. One ten second image, one title supered over it -- step by step explain how to do it, save it, export it to FCP, etc. Thanks a million.

Hello, Filmman.
It's really easy, but as it happens to all of us at some point, you're probably a bit frustrated right now and can't see it. Someday we will laugh about it

Meanwhile, I think your main problem must be this and just this. When Motion starts, it just hides some of the most important windows. So, it's probably just a matter of making sure they are there.

Let's see.
Create the project with the video standard/setting you need. Like DV NTSC, HDV 60 or whatever.

Import a clip. Just drag it to the main window.
Since you want the text to be on top of the clip, you want to reveal the Layers tab. Just like in Photoshop, the Layers tab is where you set the vertical hierarchy - which things are on top or beneath others.
The Layers tab is part of the Project window. To make it appear, press the Project button on the upper right corner (or hit the Apple key and 4).

On the upper left corner of the main window, select the Text tool.
Now simply go and type some text on the main window.

Obviously you will want to customize the look of the text: set the typeface, font size, etc.
In Motion there are usually two ways of setting up any item: a basic, simplfied one and the full thing. The simplified one is the Dashboard, which you bring by pressing the D key. It's contextual, this is, if you select text, it shows text parameters, for example. The full thing is the Inspector. What is the Inspector? It's the term that Motion, DVD SP and other programs use for the main parameter window for all elements. While FCP or Photoshop have specific palettes, for example, the Inspector is great because it means the same window changes to show the specific parameters relevant for each kind of element. The Inspector is usually in the left window. If it isn't, hit the Apple key and 3.


One more thing: You wan to make sure that both the clip and the text element both are 10 sec long and they start and end at the right moments. In other words, you need to reveal the timeline (if it's not already there). Again, you could press the Timing button on the upper right corner, or press the Apple key and 7 (By the way, we Mac geeks take pride in calling the Apple key "Command".

If the video clip or the text element do not begin where you want... select it, move the playhead to where you want and press I (In point). Obiosuly, in the other side, press O (Out point).

Do you want the text to animate? Sure. There's a lot of fun and really exciting stuff to learn there. But meanwhile, you could use one of those pre-made Text Behaviors as an example: select the text element and in the Library go to the Text animation behaviors. Just drag one of those to the text in the main window. Press play to watch it work in real time.

Now... how to export it.
You don't have to export it! I'm not teasing you. When they released Motion, they added a very cool feature to FCP: the ability to understand Motion projects as if they were video cips. Yes, they have to be rendered inside FCP, but that opens a lot of possibilites. So, to "export" it just save the project and then import into FCP. Isn't that cool?



Hope this helps!

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com

Oh, thank you! I'm flying in the air with joy. I printed the instructions out. I'm going to try my hand at Motion tonight.

And thanks for telling me that the "command" key is the Apple Key. That's one of the main reasons I can't figure out the manuals and all those great articles I read here and there. I'm used to the PCs and the command key is the CONTROL KEY on the lower left side. And the Mac has a CONTROL KEY -- which I thought WAS the command key. Can you believe that?

I'm glad you found the message useful.

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com