Making Frames with Fixed Proportions in Motion

Hi! I'm using Motion to create a template for Final Cut Pro. Basically, in my Final Cut videos, I would like it to look like you're viewing a computer screen. I make a lot of videos where I'm talking or presenting about something, and if I pull up an image, I want it to look like a separate "window." So in the above screenshot, I've got a border around the entire picture (this is just a transparent PNG that I've overlayed). But ideally, I'd like to add a border around the album cover as well. I'd like to create a template that would conform to the size/shape of the album cover (or any other image) that would MAINTAIN THE CORRECT PROPORTIONS (for example, the top of the frame would still need to be the same height as the top of the frame around the entire picture) so that it looks like real computer windows. Does anyone know how to do this?

I'd like to find a way to make a template that would allow me to scale the frame while still maintaining the correct proportions (like the blue bar on the left would always be 10 px wide; the bar on the top would always be 50 px tall or whatever). Does that make sense?

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 4:10 AM

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Mar 27, 2025 2:47 PM in response to dddylan

You probably want to use a drop zone in this case. I'll get to it… last or thereabouts.


How to build a window frame:


Draw a Rectangle/Square. Call it ContentArea. Fill it with a color and turn off the Outline.


Duplicate the shape. Call the duplicate ContentBorder. Turn off the Fill and set the Outline Color (I'll leave the choice of width up to you.)

To ContentBorder > Shape > Size add a Link behavior and apply ContentArea to it.

To the Position parameter add a Link and apply Content Area to it.


Create a new Rectangle (call it WindowFrame and link the Size > Width to ContentBorder > Width and the Size > Height to ContentBorder > Height. Set the Height Offset to 50.

Set the Fill to your Titlebar main color and the outline to Match Content Border (you might just want to link the two.)

Add a Behaviors > Basic Motion > Align To behavior and apply ContentBorder to it. Set the Align and To parameters to Bottom.

Move WindowFrame to the bottom of the Layer Order.


Duplicate ContentBorder and to the copy, change the Outline Color to Black, the Brush Opacity to about 45% and the width to 1. Open the Link behavior for the Size and at the bottom, set Width Offset and Height Offset to -3 (the actual value will depend on how wide you make the window border - so about half that.)


Select this duplicate ContentBorder copy and type Command-Shift-N to create a New empty group.


Window Control buttons:


Select the New Group layer and —

Draw a small square. Size it to fit in the Titlebar area vertically as you want it.

Duplicate the square twice. Arrange the 3 rectangles in a horizontal row as you want it.

You can use these 3 unicode characters to overlay the squares: ✕ ▢ ⎽ (the square will need a different Font Sizes to look visually the same size as the other two -- I used 17 for the ✕ and ⎽ and 14.8 for the box ▢). Line these three characters over the window control boxes.


To the Group (layer), add an Align To behavior. Apply WindowFrame (rect) to the Object with Upper Left for both Align and To. Then Offset X and Y to line up the shapes in their place.


Select the main Group and add a Text Object ("window title"); Alignment = Center . Apply Align To _ Object Window Frame _ Top Top. Adjust Offset Y to bring it down into the middle of the Titlebar region.


For the "Next" area - do basically the same as the window controls; Align To Upper Right/Upper Right; adjust offsets.


The Drop Zone:


Select the ContentArea Rectangle. Go to Add Object > Drop Zone. Right click on the Drop Zone and Add Image Mask. Apply ContentArea. Go to Properties > Transform > Position and add a Link behavior and apply ContentArea to the Source Object.


Resizing, Position, etc.


Everything should be under control of ContentArea - the Size Parameters, the Position of everything. This is the object properties you need to publish to control where onscreen and size, etc.



You can darken up the window control square character by simply duplicating it in place. I used this unicode character for the hamburger menu: ≣


How you color you window will be up to you, just keep in mind that the ContentArea and WindowFrame outline colors should match.


Let me know if you run into trouble...


PS - You can publish the Pan and Scale parameters of the Drop Zone, but first you'll have to add an actual image to the drop zone for those to **appear** (to have access to). Afterwards, just reset the Drop Zone to "Drop Zone" and delete the image you used.

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Making Frames with Fixed Proportions in Motion

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