Mastering Motion's Camera
Becoming an effective motion graphics designer and/or animator in Motion 4 requires a solid understanding of how to control and direct the camera in 3D space. Mastering Motion's Camera teaches intermediate to advanced Motion users all the key fundamental techniques for placing, framing, moving and directing the camera for maximum visual impact.
Mastering Motion's Camera is presented in 12 individual lessons with a running time of just under 4 hours. Each lesson teaches you the most effective ways to control your camera using framing, sweep, dolly, focus and move behaviors. You'll also learn how to animate your camera with keyframes and how to combine keyframes with behaviors. This tutorial removes the mystery behind creating popular cinematic look via Motion's depth of field and angle of view controls.
Experience our Training on the iPad
The iPad is revolutionizing the way people access and interact with media. Video training is therefore a natural fit for people who want their training on the go or on a separate device from their main system. Because of the limited storage capacities of the iPad, we have labored to keep the movie sizes as small as possible while maintaining our high standards of image and sound quality. And perhaps best of all, you don't need to be connected to the internet to watch our tutorials on your iPad.
Available Now in iTunes
We realize you may have a question or two, so we created a short FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page to answer them.
Click here for iTunes FAQ
Who is this Tutorial for?
This tutorial was designed for users who are already fluid in Motion 4. As an intermediate-level tutorial, it assumes you are comfortable with Motion’s user interface and the basic process of compositing and animating in Motion 4. It also assumes that you are familiar with the concepts of 2D and 3D groups, and the 3D overlays including the Camera menu, the 3D view tools, and the Compass. Users who are new to Motion should purchase Motion 4 Fast Forward before working through this tutorial.
Table of Contents
Setting up a 3D Scene for Animation
- Project Organization
- Inspecting Sets with the View Commands
- Isolating Layers
- Changing Views without Affecting the Camera
- Planning Camera Moves
Cutting Between Cameras
- Understanding the Active Camera View
- Positioning Cameras in 3D Space
- Stacking and Staggering Cameras
- Hiding Cameras
- Adding Camera Movement with Sweeps
Camera Animation with the Framing Behavior
- Framing Behavior Basics
- Customizing the Frame
- Customizing the Camera Path
- More Framing Controls
- More Camera Path Controls
- Altering the Camera Path
Combining Framing Behaviors and Keyframes
- Applying and Adjusting the Dolly Behavior
- How Dolly and Framing Behaviors Work Together
- Creating a Dolly Move with Keyframes
- How Keyframes and Behaviors Work Together
- Checking Keyframe Interpolation
Combining Framing and Sweep Behaviors
- Adjusting the Sweep Behavior
- Duplicating, Moving, and Trimming Behaviors
- The Additive Nature of Sweep Behaviors
- Avoiding Jump Cuts
- Overlapping Sweep and Framing Behaviors
Using Depth of Field
- Enabling Depth of Field
- Using the Focus on Object Command
- Adjusting Depth of Field
- Using the Focus Behavior
Viewpoint vs. Framing Cameras
- Understanding Camera Types
- Changing Camera Types with the Framing Behavior
Camera Animation with Parameter Behaviors
- Combining Behaviors
- Adding an Audio Track
- Applying the Audio Parameter Behavior
- Adjusting the Audio Parameter Behavior
Camera Animation with Keyframes
- Breaking Down the 3D Project
- Keyframing the First Camera Move
- Moving Keyframes
- Keyframe Interpolation
- Adjusting Keyframes
Camera Scaling
- Creating a 360 Degree Camera Sweep
- Changing the Scene Framing
- Scaling Instead of Dollying the Camera
- Reframing a Completed Camera Animatioin
- Keyframing Camera Scale
Using Angle of View
- Understanding Angle of View
- Using the Zoom Layer Behavior
- Creating the Vertigo Effect
- Fine-Tuning the Vertigo Effect
Camera Animation with the Move Behavior
- Image Importing Options
- Keyframe Scale and Position
- Changing Keyframe Interpolation
- Switching to 3D
- Applying and Adjusting the Move Behavior
- Using Multiple Move Behaviors
Minimum System Requirements for Viewing Tutorials
- Mac Computer with 1.25 GHz or faster G5, Intel Core Duo or Intel Xeon processor
- MacOS 10.4.11 or Mac OS 10.5.5 or later
- iTunes 8 or later
- SuperDrive for backing up the iTunes lessons
- 1 GB or more of RAM
- QuickTime 7.5.5 or later
- Monitor Depth - Millions
- 1280 x 800 screen size or better
Minimum System Requirements for Following Along in Motion 4
- Mac Computer with Intel Core Duo or Intel Xeon processor
- ATI or NVIDIA Graphics Processor with 128 MB of VRAM
- Mac OS Mac OS 10.5.6 or later
- SuperDrive for backing up the project media
- 1 GB of RAM (2 GB - 4 GB Recommended)
- QuickTime 7.6 or later
- Monitor Depth - Millions
- 1280 x 800 screen size or better
