Quicktime movies, Still images – Apple Motion 2 User Manual
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Chapter 2
Creating and Managing Projects
QuickTime Movies
Motion supports QuickTime movies using any codec currently installed on your
computer. Examples of QuickTime movies you can import include clips captured with
Final Cut Express HD or Final Cut Pro, stock footage from a CD-ROM or DVD collection,
or computer-generated animation from a 3D animation package.
While you can import movies that use nearly any codec, it’s inadvisable to use highly
compressed clips in your projects if you can avoid it. Clips that are excessively
compressed may display undesirable visual artifacts. Fortunately, QuickTime comes
with many codecs that are ideal for moving uncompressed or minimally compressed
video files between applications, including but not limited to: Uncompressed 8- and 10-
bit 4:2:2, Pixlet, None, Animation, Apple M-JPEG A and B, Apple DVCPRO-50, and Apple
DV/DVCPRO.
Many of these codecs support alpha channels, which define areas of transparency
within the clip. If a particular QuickTime clip has an alpha channel, Motion
automatically uses it in your project.
Mixing Different Kinds of QuickTime Files
You can freely combine clips that are compressed with different codecs in the same
project. Furthermore, you can also combine clips that have different frame sizes, pixel
aspect ratios, and interlacing. To learn more about alpha channels, interlacing, pixel
aspect ratio, frame rates, and frame sizes, see “
Still Images
You can import still image files using virtually every popular still image format in use,
including but not limited to: SGI, Photoshop, BMP, PICT, JPEG, TIFF, TGA, and JPEG-2.
Like video clips, you can mix still image files with differing frame sizes and pixel aspect
ratios. When you create or modify an image in a graphics editor such as Photoshop, it’s
a good idea to keep in mind the frame size and pixel aspect ratio of your project to
ensure that the graphics you create are appropriate for your project. For more
information, see “
Warning:
Mixing clips with different frame rates may result in undesirable motion
artifacts.
Importing Movies From Final Cut Express or Final Cut Pro
Unlike Final Cut Express HD or Final Cut Pro, Motion processes video in RGB color
space. Video clips that have been captured in YCrCb color space are treated as RGB
clips when imported into a Motion project.
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