Using text in motion – Apple Motion 3 User Manual
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Chapter 7
Using Text
Using Text in Motion
Motion lets you add text to your project directly in the Canvas—select the Text tool,
click in the Canvas, then start typing. Once text is created, you can edit it in the Canvas
or in the Text editor in the Inspector.
Text can be animated using behaviors or keyframes. Text has two special behavior
categories: Text Animation and Text Sequence behaviors. These behaviors animate text
by generating a range of values in the text parameters specific to titling effects. For
example, drag the Text Tracking behavior onto the text, and the text characters
gracefully spread out across the Canvas over time, even without keyframes. (You can
choose to work with or without keyframes using the Text Sequence or Text Animation
behaviors.)
In addition to text behaviors, you can apply any Basic Motion, Simulation, or Parameter
behavior to text. For more information on these types of behaviors, see “
Although behaviors are designed for graphics, they are an ideal way to test different
text treatments without setting keyframes. You can quickly adjust the rate of an applied
behavior using the behavior’s HUD, and watch as the animation updates in the Canvas.
For more control, you can access all of the parameters for a behavior in the Inspector. If
your project requires specific timing and positioning of text, you can still use behaviors
to test effects, and then create keyframes after you know what you want to do. Or you
can create keyframes from the applied text behaviors by using the Convert to
Keyframes feature. This approach allows you to fine-tune the animation created by the
text behaviors.
Of course, behaviors are not required to animate text. You can create text animation via
traditional keyframing, or by combining both techniques.
Note: Although you can apply keyframes and behaviors to text, you’ll need to think
about the effect you are trying to create because this workflow can defeat the purpose of
behaviors. Mixing keyframes and behaviors can also yield unexpected results. For more
information on combining behaviors and keyframes, see “
Text can be placed and animated on a path, used as an image mask source, or used as
a particle or replicator cell source.