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Working with Drop Zones in Motion, and... Wow... Huh...???

I am trying to create, possibly, the world's most basic Title template in Motion, but... because it involvesDrop Zones, it is doing my head in.


What I would like to do in Final Cut Pro...

Working in 1920 x 1080, I sometimes must add a screenshot from the web, or even a video clip that is not at all close to 1920 x 1080. When this happens, it is very common to add the clip to the storyline, then copy and paste a duplicate of the clip on top of itself. Then scale up the "underneath" clip to fill the screen, drop a strong gaussian blur on this clip, and then add a "Drop Shadow" effect to the top clip, to make more visible against the blurred background.


I end up needing to do this so often that I decided to try to automate this process with a Title template in motion.


Here is that Title project in a nutshell...


LAYERS

Group

    • Drop Zone: Main Clip
    • Drop Zone 2: Bkg. (Blurred Clip)
      • Filter: Gaussian Blur


And that is IT!!! Super simple. Or... is it?


Drop Zone 2 Bkg Blurred Clip: Works fine in FCP. I published the Drop Zone, so all I have to do is add the Title template to the timeline, select the Drop Zone in the published parameters, click on the clip I want to appear full-screen and blurry, and it works.


Drop Zone: Main Clip: I could add a clip to the drop zone in FCP, and it worked. However I need to adjust the scale and the X/Y position of this "upper" clip to make it fit how I want, where I want without adjusting the "lower (blurred) clip. Someone on this form once told me that I can publish "Pan" and "Scale" features for drop zones, but... in order to make these features available, you first must add "something" to the drop zone in motion. So... I imported a simple colored rectangle (.png file) that is 1920 x 1080. I set this as the source for the drop zones, just long enough to have their Pan and Scale features appear. I published these parameters, and then I deleted the .png file. This may have been a mistake.


But... mistake or not... I cannot find ANY documentation on all these little weird "issues" with drop zones. Now... when I add clips to these drop zones in FCP, the clip appears as a still image. It is as if FCP is converting whatever clip I add to the DZ into a Freeze frame. I went back into Motion, to see what these drop zones were set to, and I reset them to generic "Drop Zone."


Someone suggested I take a training from Ripple Training. I would 100% be glad to. I'd pay twice what they ask for the course... but only if someone would tell me which course to take that "demystifies Apple motion". Having to add something to a Drop Zone in order to "switch on" the pan and scale features of a DZ is, in my opinion, unforgivably hidden and ridiculous.


Also... the fact that you can publish 4-5 "Scale" parameters for any given object... and they will all just show up in Published Parameters as "Scale." I mean... it's almost a joke... right?


Posted on Mar 31, 2023 4:07 PM

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Posted on Apr 2, 2023 4:52 PM

I actually have to agree with you on the documentation. It used to be really good (not great, but serviceable) and it has turned into whatever junk the 'surf-nazis' at Google require to achieve a decent SERP. PLUS! Accordions are for playing music!! Google is solely responsible for dumbing down the internet.


To make matters worse [see this split into a new paragraph which should be part of the first paragraph? — this is a 'new habit' dictated by Google for shorter paragraphs — THEY think everyone on the planet is too stupid to follow a thread] ALL of the old documentation for Motion (versions 1 - 4) are completely missing. I cannot find them anywhere — not even on archive.org. Since Motion has not essentially, or fundamentally changed since, say, version 2, this is worrisome. Version 3 saw the "upgrade" to 3D "space". Version 4 beefed up the app considerably.


Back in those days, the relationship of Motion to Final Cut Pro ("Studio") was that as a separate graphics creation package to which you could do a thing called "Round-tripping". Motion 5 changed all that around so that Motion is now actually an "extension" to Final Cut and instead of prepping single project insertions into a *timeline*, you now Create Once - Use Always ... **Templates**.


Motion 5 *retains* its past via the Motion Project — which saves as a stand-alone "composition". The other 4 options are templates and when Saved, are automatically placed into Final Cut's template system.


Transitions are essentially THE special case template. Their purpose is explicit. The 3 remaining (Effects, Titles and Generators) are considerably more flexible. You can add Text to Generators and Effects and you can create Title templates without any text at all. This is where the lines become blurred... and their purposes can become arguable...


——————————————————


Drop Zones are a PITA, to me at least. I try to avoid using them at all costs. One reason: there's no audio with drop zones. Another, taking an existing clip from a storyline to place in a drop zone frequently results in a Still Frame. You can get around the still frame ("bug"?) by creating another thing I don't like to deal with: a Compound Clip, and using the CC as the DZ Source. Otherwise, use the original clip from the Event Browser.


Another thing that drives me crazy about DZs — they all START playing from the first frame of the template... EVEN IF the drop zone doesn't appear til after the start of the template.


How drop zones have worked in Final Cut has changed two or three times over the years. (They were a real mess in Motion 5.0.) I don't want them changing in any way again so I'll live with how they are now.


I prefer to create an Effect that does to a clip what I would have wanted the Drop Zone to do. There's audio, I won't have to use a compound clip, and it starts and ends where I place it in the storyline.


Just sayin'.





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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 2, 2023 4:52 PM in response to Dolmetscher

I actually have to agree with you on the documentation. It used to be really good (not great, but serviceable) and it has turned into whatever junk the 'surf-nazis' at Google require to achieve a decent SERP. PLUS! Accordions are for playing music!! Google is solely responsible for dumbing down the internet.


To make matters worse [see this split into a new paragraph which should be part of the first paragraph? — this is a 'new habit' dictated by Google for shorter paragraphs — THEY think everyone on the planet is too stupid to follow a thread] ALL of the old documentation for Motion (versions 1 - 4) are completely missing. I cannot find them anywhere — not even on archive.org. Since Motion has not essentially, or fundamentally changed since, say, version 2, this is worrisome. Version 3 saw the "upgrade" to 3D "space". Version 4 beefed up the app considerably.


Back in those days, the relationship of Motion to Final Cut Pro ("Studio") was that as a separate graphics creation package to which you could do a thing called "Round-tripping". Motion 5 changed all that around so that Motion is now actually an "extension" to Final Cut and instead of prepping single project insertions into a *timeline*, you now Create Once - Use Always ... **Templates**.


Motion 5 *retains* its past via the Motion Project — which saves as a stand-alone "composition". The other 4 options are templates and when Saved, are automatically placed into Final Cut's template system.


Transitions are essentially THE special case template. Their purpose is explicit. The 3 remaining (Effects, Titles and Generators) are considerably more flexible. You can add Text to Generators and Effects and you can create Title templates without any text at all. This is where the lines become blurred... and their purposes can become arguable...


——————————————————


Drop Zones are a PITA, to me at least. I try to avoid using them at all costs. One reason: there's no audio with drop zones. Another, taking an existing clip from a storyline to place in a drop zone frequently results in a Still Frame. You can get around the still frame ("bug"?) by creating another thing I don't like to deal with: a Compound Clip, and using the CC as the DZ Source. Otherwise, use the original clip from the Event Browser.


Another thing that drives me crazy about DZs — they all START playing from the first frame of the template... EVEN IF the drop zone doesn't appear til after the start of the template.


How drop zones have worked in Final Cut has changed two or three times over the years. (They were a real mess in Motion 5.0.) I don't want them changing in any way again so I'll live with how they are now.


I prefer to create an Effect that does to a clip what I would have wanted the Drop Zone to do. There's audio, I won't have to use a compound clip, and it starts and ends where I place it in the storyline.


Just sayin'.





Apr 2, 2023 9:02 AM in response to Dolmetscher

Hi Dolmetscher




If you have an objective goal and you can share all relevant information with us about the animation you want to do and the functions you want to set up for use in Final Cut Pro, then we can help you achieve that goal or we can confirm that the goal is not something Motion can do. 


If you deem those solutions and methods that we offer to be non sensical and in violation of your own personal views on what is good and bad software, that is all completely beside the point and I have no enthusiasm for such discussions. You can either be fixated on how Motion should work, or focus on mastering how it actually works.


if you have feedback for Apple, then use the appropriate channel here.


Feedback - Motion - Apple



This forum is for helping people learn Motion and solve the obstacles to their project goals .If your problem is how Apple develops software, then there is nothing we can offer you to resolve that. If the nature of your post is to seek solutions to project goals, I will do all I can to help.


If you have an urgent need to get up the learning curve with Motion, then again, I recommend that you do some comprehensive professional training, and Ripple Training is the best resource for that.




Apr 1, 2023 12:25 PM in response to rowie302

Thank you SO MUCH for your help with this. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into your response. I think I understand 90% of it all. But... I am still struggling with some very basic concepts. I hope you will stick with me, as I think I need to go back to absolute basics when it comes to Drop Zones (and Motion in general).


Pointless terminology confusion...

Within the Motion application... what are you actually creating?


  • Project? - I take this from the fact that you begin each new session by selecting from something called the Project Browser.


  • File? - If you create a "Project," but then wish for it to appear in a different section of FCP, you will need to convert it. In order to do this, you go to: File > [...] so... are we working with files?


  • Composition? - Once you do go to: File > Convert Project to... you will notice that the first option is "Composition" which is grayed out. I imagine this means that you are already working in a Composition... the software just lied to you earlier and called it a "Motion Project". But anyway... once you select a new File/Project/Composition Type...(???), you receive a dialog box labeled: Convery Composition to a Final Cut Pro [insert target type]


  • Template? - Holy S***... we haven't even created a "Hello World" text yet, and I already want to just start Google searching for "Alternatives to Apple Motion..."


This is taken directly from page 16 of the Motion User Guide...


Motion workflow

The basic process of working in Motion is described below.

Step 1: Create a project
* You can create a blank project, open a preset composition, or create a template for use in Final Cut Pro.


Anyway... once you just learn to accept the fact that Apple is not interested in the concept that words have concrete meaning when it comes to software... you can move on and create... something.


And then, right away... needless confusion resumes...


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Drop Zone: Type

Drop Zone vs. Placeholder

When you create a new Title template in Motion, the gray Title Background that appears is a Placeholder.

If you delete this Title Background placeholder, it is not possible to create a new Placeholder... in that, you cannot go to: Add Object > Placeholder or Object > New Placeholder.

Correct?


If you delete the Title Background placeholder, and you want it back, you must create a new Drop Zone, and then go to the Inspector > Image [tab] > under Drop Zone, change the "Type" from Drop Zone, to Title Background.

Correct?


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Placeholders and Project "Type"

The Title Background placeholder is only available when working in a Title project type. From the opening screen (Project Browser), you can select from the following Project types:

  • Motion Project
  • Final Cut Effect
  • Final Cut Generator
  • Final Cut Transition
  • Final Cut Title

If you create a Motion Project, you will not see the Title Background placeholder. If you later decide that you do want this Title Background placeholder, you cannot simply add a Title Background placeholder.

Correct?


If you go to the Inspector > Image [tab] > under Drop Zone, you will see the Drop Zone with "Source Media: Drop Zone, and there is an option (which is not actually an option) labeled "To" with a drop down arrow... which, when clicked... does nothing.

So... when creating a basic Motion Project you cannot add a Title Background placeholder. You would first need to convert the Motion Project... to a Final Cut Title.

Correct?


Project Type Conversion Dialog Box:

Convert Composition to a Final Cut Pro Title

One layer may be used as a placeholder for the clip this title is applied to in FCP.

Title Source:

    • None
    • New Placeholder
    • Drop Zone


To be honest... I don't even have the patience for this anymore. I had a question in here somewhere about creating a Title (file, template, project, composition, file) and why the clip I want to appear in my title does not play... but instead just appears as a static image. But... I can't even sift through the terminology well enough to phrase a properly written question.


I promise, I am not an a**h***. In fact, I am a super laid back and nice guy. But... I need to learn Motion for my job... and I am absolutely sinking. I needed to know all this s*** weeks ago, but not only is none of this "clicking" with me... I'm not even able to ask the right questions, because the terms don't make sense.


Also... all the issues start to stack up.

Some Greatest Hits examples...


The Gradient tool. Start and End Points? X/Y points? And... the X and Y points are labeled in px (pixels). It doesn't matter if your canvas is 720, 1080, or 4 billion... the X and Y of a gradient is between 100 and -100 pixels?!?!?!


Scale? Riiiight!!! Ha ha ha... Do you mean the "Scale" on the Properties tab... on the Geometry sub-sub tab... or the drop zone "scale" that only appears once you've blessed and cleared the drop zone?




Mar 31, 2023 10:16 PM in response to Dolmetscher

Hi


When you add a file to the drop zone to prompt the pan and scale to appear, be sure to go back and use the 'clear' function.


A dropzone has the pan and zoom parameters, and in the properties, it also has position, scale, rotation, anchor points....all of the general property parameters..and so does the group it is sitting in.


You can publish scale for the dropzones asset = quick tip - link the y scale to the x scale so that you only need to publish the x scale for a general scale control. The property scale parameter is a different function than the dropzone zoom parameter - I'm am not 100% on the different but Fox can explain that. if you want to be able to move the dropzone as an asset, in FCP - then publish the dropzone position controls, or the position for the group the DZ sits in.


You don't need to import an image to use in the dropzone to prompt the pan and zoom. There is already an image in the template media that you can use - that is the image file to display the placeholder. Just click the source menu and select 'title background' - that will prompt the pan and zoom to display, and then be sure to use the clear function after that.




As we already covered before, use a mask on the dropzone, either as image mask or mask tool - and use the mask parameters to define and control the area, height, width for your published controls.


A place holder has a different function to dropzones. In a title template, they are the 'title background' asset. In an effect they are the 'effect source'. You use these to apply effects and instructions to the media in FCP.


A dropzone is what you would use to display media within the template.


A placeholder is what you would use to display images and video clips in FCP. When you create a new title template, the placeholder is there by default.


You do not have to use it. You can delete or turn it off.


Any thing you apply to this placeholder - keyframes, masks, filters and behaviors will be applied to the media the template is applied to in FCP. If you put a blur filter on this, then the media it is applied to in FCP will be blurred for example.


Not sure about the issue regarding published parameters means. Note that in the published parameters section you can double click to name them anything you want, and you can also drag them around to change the order.



You could use a double dropzone for this as you have described, 1 full screen and 1 with a defined aspect ratio sitting on top of it and apply the blur to the full screen one, but it sounds like you just need to apply the blur to your title background asset and have 1 drop zone with whatever masking you need to set the area and with the drop shadow active


From your description I think this is what you are describing.



This is the result in FCP


In this case, no need for any full screen dropzone, I can just apply the blur directly to any media that the title template is applied to. That is just my preference for something like this. If I just wanted to apply instructions to the media in FCP, then I would use an effect template instead of a title template.


When you convert to a title, the message is asking what you want to use as the title background asset..the menu is contextual and will only list any items in your project that could be converted - otheriwise by default it is 'none' or 'new asset'. If you have dropzones in your template, you will see them listed in the menu so that you could select one to be converted to the placeholder.


As for Ripple Training, you should contact customer support and ask which courses best suit your needs. It is a sales support channel though, not a Motion help desk, so whoever gets your email is not likely to be able to answer technical questions about Motion.


Just thinking back to when I was in your exact position, I think that the general 'get started in Motion' and the Rigging and Publishing for FCP' are the two courses that will likely set you up for more progress.







Mar 31, 2023 5:02 PM in response to Dolmetscher

Addendum... I think that part of my problem might have something to do with a part of the Motion documentation labeled... "Placeholders vs. Drop Zones"


I think I might be trying to use Drop Zones to display video clips in FCP, when I need to be using "Placeholders." However... "Placeholders" are nowhere to be found in Motion... except for when you convert a Project to a Title. You get a message about designating a Placeholder. However... the wording of that message would only make sense to someone who already has the secret decoder ring. So...

Apr 1, 2023 9:05 PM in response to Dolmetscher

Hi Dolmetscher.


My response here is going to be frank.


First of all, your observations on 'pointless terminology confusion' are just your own subjective opinion and i have no response to that. In general, sweeping generalisations about Apple's competency are of no value and provide no resource for generating solutions.


For us to be able to help we need to understand the goal of the project. If you are moving from A to Z and get stuck at C, then share with us everything about Z, so that we can then lower the rope for you to climb up.


Nothing in Motion has any significance until it is placed within the context of the goal. How text anchor points in Motion work is irrelevant in isolation. The text anchor points only matter in relation to the animation you want create and the functions you want to provide in FCP. We still have not heard from you exactly what purpose the centre anchor point of a text layer was going to serve.


The issue in FCP with the static image sounds like user error. The drop zone will only behave according to the instructions you assign. In this case, you have instructed the media to begin on the last frame - which is what produces a static image. When you select your media for the drop zone pay attention to the range selected and the in point selected.


I think the general point about apple documentation not being very helpful is valid. There are many resources on line that fill in the gaps. Unfortunately providing you with links to these resources, let alone the ones that are good, is not permitted according to forum terms of use.


So that is where we come in. We can help you forward, but as I noted before = focus on the goal and if you need help here, share with us the goal so that we can place everything else into context.


For my part, even though I can empathise in some cases, there is zero enthusiasm or interest in sentiment. Your level of patience is irrelevant to the question of whether or not Motion is capable of achieving the result you want. It seems that you expected to be able to jump right into Motion and understand everything quickly if not instantly because you have experience using other mograph tools and/or vector illustration tools. As far as alternatives for Motion, ..if the production is based in FCP, you have no 'better' alternative. There are workflows for AE to FCP but these are all uphill battles compared to Motion.


To answer your questions


1: Are we working with files? This is a rhetorical question. Anything on a Mac or PC system is a file or a command. Clearly your motion projects are files, what else could they possibly be? I see nothing illogical or misleading about this. Any project is a file. Just like any spreadsheet or music is a file. There is no contradiction here and certainly no objective impediment to learning Motion.


2: Not correct. When you add a dropzone, you are adding a placeholder. Adding a dropzone is the default method for adding a placeholder. The options available after that step are all contextual and depend on the type of project you are working on - title, effect, generator, motion project, or transition.


3: Correct. The way to replace a title background is to add a new placeholder. It will be a dropzone by default and we change the mode to title background. You can add a title background asset to your library and add it to any title background project from there. This is actually more steps to take.


4: If only a title template supports a title background. then why would you expect to be able to 'simply

add one to another kind of project?


5a - if the 'to' menu does not do anything that is because it has nothing yet to do. Add some media to the project and check it again.

5b - Yes correct because only a title template can support a title background.


I don't understand the issue with gradients. The structure of a gradient is based on a 2 point line, the same as any other software. The start and end values for Y of 100 and -100 are just the default values and are not the hard min and max values. So the size of the project is irrelevant.


As for scale. if you have multiple layers that each have a scale parameter then you will have multiple scale parameters to work with. Use whatever parameter is appropriate for the goal. In the published parameters you can rename them and you can move them around. I see nothing contentious here.




Apr 2, 2023 8:26 AM in response to rowie302

Hi @rowie302


Believe it or not, I hate it when people do what I have done in this thread. I've found this forum, which seems to be filled with gracious souls who are willing to take precious time out of their day to help others. But then I've wasted that time with sophomoric complaints that these people (such as yourself) have no control over. So... straight-away, I would like to extend my sincere apologies for that.


So... please... feel free to stop reading this message... because I am going to "get some more stuff off my chest," about Motion and FCP. And... I sincerely mean it when I say that I don't want to waste anyone's time. (*except maybe my own). :-)


I think that part of the problem (my problem) is that, for the past 13 years, I worked for a very large multi-billion dollar software company, where became absolutely inundated and borderline brainwashed into, "how a software company should work."


On top of that, my team was responsible for all the technical documentation and education services. So... I've spent my entire professional life huddled around meeting-room tables, splitting hairs over things like, "weather to call it a "sidebar," or a "tool pallet." Things like this.


I was extremely lucky, in that the company I worked for had a rock solid commitment to pure excellence. Our clients were spending anywhere from a couple of thousand dollars per year, to a couple of million dollars per year on our software... so... there really was no room for, "it's good enough."


So... one thing I have to push back on, with regards to your ideas about FCP and Motion, is where you said this...


First of all, your observations on 'pointless terminology confusion' are just your own subjective opinion and i have no response to that. In general, sweeping generalisations about Apple's competency are of no value and provide no resource for generating solutions.

This is simply not true. My observations on the terminology soup that Motion and FCP swim around in, is not my opinion. This is a very common misconception these days, because we seem to have adopted this idea that everything is subjective opinion, and anyone who points out a flaw, will immediately be told by someone (most people actually) that it is only their opinion. But... very often... it's not.


Example:

Sentence One - The guy began to re-tell a story he'd had already told again.

Sentence Two - The guy began to re-tell a story.


If someone says that sentence one is better than sentence two (or vice versa)... this probably sounds, to 90% of the world, like this is just that person's opinion. But it's not true. Sentence two is empirically, scientifically better than sentence one. Even if 99 people out of 100 prefer sentence one... those 99 people are incorrect. They are incorrect because we, as a society, must have some kind of standard(s), and we must adhere to them. The whole, "Well it's all subjective," trope is a postmodern mind game, because you really can't "argue with it." If 99 people prefer sentence one... then... who's to say that sentence two is "empirically better?" Well... sorry, Karl... but the English language has rules and standards, and everything plunges into chaos when you selectively begin to ignore that paradigm.


Same with Apple Motion. When I boot up a software for the first time, if it categorically unclear from the basic home screen what you even call the file structure... i.e. Template, Project, Composition, File... this is a nuclear explosion.


Apr 2, 2023 8:29 AM in response to Dolmetscher

(continued...)

Then... if you survive this initial blast, and you make it to stage 2... your first project... the instant you are presented with a concept like... There are these things called Drop Zones, where you can insert media. The first thing you see is a "Title Background." This is a drop zone. But... uhmm... not really. It's a special "type" of Drop Zone, called a Placeholder. However... it is only "kind of" called a Placeholder, in that... no where in the software can you find where you can CRUD (create, read, update, or delete) something called a "placeholder." You just have to remember that this is a special Drop Zone, called a Placeholder... but again... it's only called a placeholder on internet forums, because this word does not appear in the software anywhere. Oh... wait? It does? Oh... yeah... if you find yourself in this certain situation and you try to do this or that, then... you will see in the software, where it is asking you a question that uses the term Placeholder. But... other than that... it's a drop zone. Unless it's a placeholder. But... don't worry about that. It's just a drop zone. Oh... unless it's a placeholder. Ugh...



Apr 2, 2023 8:30 AM in response to Dolmetscher

(continued)

If we were talking about some new feature that was added to Facebook, or Instagram... I would not care about any of this. But... when the world's most valuable company... places a series of apps on their website as their "Pro Apps"... I begin to care. And then when I begin to see a small cottage industry begin to blossom around these "Pro Apps" of people writing plugins and workflow apps that are designed to fix all the garbage that Apple won't address... I start to care a lot. And then... when I suddenly find that I have no choice but to learn Apple Motion for my job... and the world's most valuable company has this much garbage in their basic functionality structure... Ugh



Apr 2, 2023 8:34 AM in response to Dolmetscher

(continued)

Also... I am 45 years old... and I remember very clearly, just 20 years ago... how smug Apple users were, because they absolutely loved to proclaim that they use a Mac... because... Mac's just... "make sense." The whole idea was that Windows PCs were ridiculous, and made no sense. My favorite talking point was how ridiculous it was that Windows users had to press Start... in order to turn the machine OFF. [insert smug hipster smirk]. I loved Apple then, and I love Apple now. I always hated Windows, so I was definitely one of these "smug hipsters."


But now that I see that Apple has created the iPhone... and immediately dropped every other ball that doesn't directly lead back to this cash cow... And I begin to see that their "Pro Apps" are so limited and clunky that people are creating open source "stop gaps" and fixes... because Apple doesn't seem to care...


Again... Ugh .



Working with Drop Zones in Motion, and... Wow... Huh...???

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