Final Cut Pro & Motion
Mark Spencer is a freelance producer, editor, teacher and writer based in the Bay Area. His company Day Street Productions is a production and post studio focused on corporate video. He is an Apple-certified instructor for Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, and Motion, teaching for organizations such as BAVC, Stanford University, DVExpo, MacWorld, and consulting for corporations and individuals. He is the author of the Apple Pro Training Series book Motion Graphics and Visual Effects from Peachpit Press and has written for print and online publicat...
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Steve Martin covers the new features
By Mark Spencer | October 14, 2011
Steve Martin of Ripple Training recently presented his take on the new features in the Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 update. I was particularly intrigued by the new Roles featured. Video follows in two parts.
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If you are using FCP X, here's why you'll want to have Motion 5
By Mark Spencer | October 14, 2011
I recently gave a presentation at the LA Final Cut Pro User's Group on several ways that FCP X editors can benefit quickly and easily by using Motion to modify the effects, titles, and transitions built into FCP X, publishing Motion templates to FCP X, and using Motion's great new keyer. Video is in two parts.
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Going deeper into the new Roles feature in the Final Cut Pro X Update
By Mark Spencer | September 30, 2011
On MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin shows me how you can use the new Roles feature in FCP X to tag audio, video, and titles and then use that metadata to organize and share your projects.
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The Complete "Flare Factory" for Motion 5 and FCP X
By Mark Spencer | September 16, 2011
mFlare is a fascinating and deep new product from MotionVFX.com, the site best known for their extensive colleciton of templates for Motion and After Effects.It's one more reason that every Final Cut Pro X editor is going to want to have Motion 5 as part of their editing and motion graphics arsenal.Rather than a straight review, in this article I'll walk you through a few scenarios for how you might use mFlare in your FCP X projects.
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How to customize the colors of all those templates that came with Motion 4 right inside Final Cut Pro X by using Motion 5
By Mark Spencer | September 09, 2011
In my last video, I showed you how to get all your Motion 4 templates into Final Cut Pro X. That's great, but what if you'd like to change the color of those templates? Motion 5 can help you do that, too. Here's how.
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How to get all those beautiful templates that came with Motion 4 into Final Cut Pro X - as well as your own - using Motion 5
By Mark Spencer | August 31, 2011
Motion 4 contained a large number of SD and HD template themes, accessible via the Template Browser. While the Template Browser doesn't exist in Motion 5, it does contain several of those template. But what if you want to use those templates in Final Cut Pro X? You'll need to publish them. It's easy. Here's a video showing you how.
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How to convert PCT graphics in order to use them in Motion 5 and Final Cut Pro X
By Mark Spencer | August 28, 2011
You may be surprised to find that images you used in your Motion 4 projects no longer appear in your Motion 5 projects. Or, when you look for images in Motion 5's File Browser that you KNOW are there, they just don't appear. Well, it's likely that those images were saved with the PICT format (the .pct) extension. That format is an outdated 32-bit format and can't be used in 64-bit applications like Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5. In fact, you won't even be able to open the image in Preview!
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Apple giveth - and Apple taketh away
By Mark Spencer | June 29, 2011
Last week I wrote about some of the great new features in Motion 5: a sleek new user interface, deep integration with Final Cut Pro X, the ability to publish your own "Smart Templates" along with parameters you specify, a powerful new Rigging feature, and an unbelievable low price. There's also a fantastic new Keyer and a few other goodies that I'll be discussing in future articles.
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Everything has changed - and nothing has changed
By Mark Spencer | June 21, 2011
The new Motion 5 has arrived - and here's the funny thing: while it looks radically different, contains features that represent a completely new paradigm, and will change the way motion graphics are created - it is at the same time no different at all. How can that be? Read on for summary of what I consider the 5 biggest changes in Motion 5, and why they change everything - and nothing at all.
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MacBreak Studio breaks 100 and Motion breaks 50 episodes
By Mark Spencer | November 23, 2010
MacBreak Studio recently aired it's 100th episode covering topics related to Final Cut Studio, production and post. And just this week, we hit our 50th Motion-specific episode. At about 10 minutes apiece, there are enough Motion tips and tricks to keep you full until the new year. To make them easier to digest, I've collect them all on one page which you can view here. Enjoy, but don't over-do it!
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This week on MacBreak Studio
By Mark Spencer | August 13, 2010
On this week's episode of MacBreak Studio, host Brian Gary and I discuss the different uses for custom "shape styles" in Motion. Think of them as ways to create your own "brushes" that you can animate in a variety of ways. Great stuff.
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Learn how to use Motion to create this popular animated text effect
By Mark Spencer | August 07, 2010
I talk with MacBreak Studio host Brian Gary about how to create a constantly evolving text animation effect.
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MacBreak Studio Special Episode
By Mark Spencer | July 21, 2010
On this week's MacBreak Studio, I host Steve Taylor - an LA-based motion graphics designer who's tool of choice is After Effects. I thought it would be fun and interesting to compare how After Effects and Motion handle different motion graphics tasks and so this is the first of a series of "share and compare" sessions that looks at cameras and null objects in both After Effects and Motion. Enjoy.
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Working with Angle of View
By Mark Spencer | July 02, 2010
In this excerpt from Ripple Training's newest tutorial Mastering Motion's Camera, host Mark Spencer explains how to work with the camera's Angle of View.
Motion 4 - Using Angle of View (Movie)
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Reel Excellence
By Mark Spencer | April 02, 2010
Came across this outstanding reel from Nando Costa thanks to Motionographer and just had to share it - what do you think?
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An outstanding "hack" to make your Master Templates flexible
By Mark Spencer | March 26, 2010
On this MacBreak Studio episode, I show Steve Martin a fantastic trick from fellow Motion Guru Patrick Sheffield's new book How to Cheat in Motion that lets you adjust different parts of your Motion template - but directly inside Final Cut Pro. This is a great tip for anyone who works with Master Templates in Final Cut Pro.
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Create an outline around any graphic or video that has transparency
By Mark Spencer | March 16, 2010
I recently saw a question about how to create an outline around a graphic in Motion. It's not as easy as I thought it would be, but it's not too difficult either. Here's a method that is quick and flexible.
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The White House Gets Savvy
By Mark Spencer | March 09, 2010
No matter how you feel about healthcare reform, the government is putting out some nice motion graphics to sell its plan. Yes, it's an overdone technique, but they've still done a good job using text, simple graphics, clean animation, and an appropriate soundtrack to tell a story in an engaging manner.
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And how to find some shy keyframes that prefer to stay hidden
By Mark Spencer | February 17, 2010
Here's a quick tip on how to reverse a keyframed animation, in particular for a shape style preset which doesn't reveal its keyframes to you in the normal manner. In addition, we'll look at how extend or shrink the timing of a keyframed animation with a special little tool in the Keyframe Editor.
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DBA Createasphere