The Methodology

This book emphasizes hands-on training. Each exercise is designed to help you learn the application inside and out, starting with the basic interface and moving on to more advanced Motion features and design techniques. The book assumes a basic level of familiarity with the Apple OS X operating system. If you're new to Motion, you'll want to start at the beginning and progress through each lesson in order, since each lesson builds on information learned in previous ones. If you're already familiar with Motion, you can start with any section and focus on that topic.

Course Structure

This book is designed to be an introduction to Motion and is not meant for those who have a lot of experience using this program. Video editors, digital photographers, Web designers, and graphic artists interested in expanding to motion graphics will have the most to gain by reading this book. But this doesn't mean that the book's lessons are basic in nature. Motion is sophisticated software, and along with the application, the lessons cover all aspects of motion graphics. A lot goes into building exciting, professional-quality motion graphics, so to help you thoroughly understand the processes involved, this book is divided into four sections:

Lessons 13	Using the Motion interface and building motion graphics
Lessons 47	Working with behaviors, filters, particles, and text
Lesson 89	Editing in the Timeline, mixing audio, and keyframing
Lessons 1011	Managing media, setting preferences, and exporting

In addition, a glossary of motion graphics terms appears on the DVD that accompanies this book.

Using the Motion Interface and Building Motion Graphics

Lessons 1 through 3 lay the groundwork for your work in Motion by introducing you to the Motion interface, windows, and transport controls as you explore the basic elements of graphic design. You'll start with still images, basic shapes, and text and then bring your project to life with moving pictures, behaviors, and particles. Then you'll build a complex layered composite from the background up while learning to import objects and organize layers.

Working with Behaviors, Filters, Particles, and Text

Lessons 4 through 7 focus on Motion's specialized design featuresin particular, behaviors, filters, particles, and text. You'll work on more than a dozen projects in these action-packed lessons as you learn each feature, from the basic to the advanced. Along the way, you'll pick up some motion graphics tips and techniques that you can apply to your own projects.

Editing in the Timeline, Mixing Audio, and Keyframing

Once you've mastered the interface, layers, and primary Motion features, you're ready to move on to some advanced motion graphics techniques, such as Timeline editing, audio mixing, and precision animation with keyframes. Lessons 8 and 9 take your projects to the next level as you explore the Timing pane, Timeline, Audio Editor, Keyframe Editor, and Record button for recording keyframes.

Managing Media, Setting Preferences, and Exporting

Lessons 10 and 11 cover the essentials for successfully managing and sharing your finished projects. These lessons are at the end of the book, so that if you are following the lessons sequentially, you learn in the last lesson how to export your finished projects. However, these lessons are also self-contained, so that if you run into trouble with missing media files or want information on exporting a project, you can do the exercises in these lessons at any time, as needed. Lessons 10 and 11 also include bonus sections, which are in PDF format on the DVD in the MOTION_INTRO Book Files folder. The bonus section for Lesson 10 (Bonus 10) covers Motion preferences that allow you to tailor the interface for different types of projects and customize your workspace. The bonus section for Lesson 11 (Bonus 11) covers additional importing and exporting options, including options to import and export image sequences, work with layered Photoshop files, save a project as a template, and export with Compressor.