WHAT ARE APPLE MOTION PUBLISHED PARAMETERS
In Apple Motion, published parameters are controls within your templates that editors can adjust in Final Cut Pro. This essentially allows editors to customize your Motion templates without needing to go into Motion itself.
Here’s a breakdown:
Motion Templates: Pre-made animations, graphics, titles, etc. you create in Apple Motion.
Published Parameters: Specific controls within your Motion template that you choose to make accessible for editing in Final Cut Pro. Editors can then tweak these parameters to customize things like colors, text, positions, and more.
Essentially, it’s like offering knobs and dials on your template that editors can use to fine-tune it for their project.
Below is an example of published parameters, Motion Templates(left) and FCP Templates(right):
Every template contains different sets of published parameters. In Motion templates, you can check where the published parameter came from, unlike in FCP templates you can’t. Another thing you can do when editing Motion templates is that you can unpublish some parameters that you don’t need. Unlike in FCP, once you open or apply a template, you cannot remove the published parameters.
There are different parameters in a template’s published parameter. The most common parameters in a template’s published parameters include a checkbox, a slider, a text field, color picker, drop down list, and a drop zone.
In Apple Motion, a checkbox is a type of **widget control** used within rigs in Motion. These widgets allow editors in Final Cut Pro to toggle between different states of your template.
Here’s a deeper look at how they work:
Checkbox as a Switch: Unlike sliders or pop-up menus that offer a range of options, a checkbox acts as a simple on/off switch.
Linked Snapshots: Each checkbox is linked to two **snapshots**, which are essentially saved states of your project’s parameters. For example, a checkbox might control the color of a shape, with one snapshot making it red and the other blue.
Toggling Between States: When an editor in Final Cut Pro selects or deselects the checkbox widget, the associated element in your template switches between the two saved snapshots. This allows them to easily change the look and feel of your template without needing to edit the animation itself.
As for my experience, I usually use a checkbox when I want to toggle between states. For example, I have a logo, the first state shows the logo without a fill effect applied while the other state is the original color of the logo.
Next is the slider widget, In Apple Motion, a slider widget is a powerful tool for creating customizable elements within your templates. It allows editors in Final Cut Pro to smoothly adjust specific parameters between pre-defined states.
Here’s how it works:
Interpolation Between Snapshots: Unlike a checkbox which offers two options, a slider provides a range of values. This range is defined by snapshots, which capture specific values for various parameters in your project.
Snapshots and the Slider: You can add multiple snapshots to a slider widget. Each snapshot represents a different state for the parameters you link to the slider. For instance, you could have snapshots for a text element’s color, ranging from red to blue.
Smooth Transitions: When an editor in Final Cut Pro drags the slider, the linked parameters in your template change gradually. The animation interpolates between the values defined in the assigned snapshots, creating a smooth transition effect.
Here are some key points about sliders:
Customizable Range: You can set the minimum and maximum values for the slider, allowing editors to control the extent of the parameter change.
Multiple Parameters: A single slider can be linked to control multiple parameters simultaneously. This lets editors adjust complex animations with a single, intuitive control.
It might sound complicated but as a beginner, you can think of a slider as a range controller. Let’s say I have a rectangle with a rounded edge. We can use a slider to control the maximum and minimum rounded edge of our rectangle.
Next on our list is the Pop-up Widget. The Pop up widget is similar to checkbox widgets but allows you to save more than two parameter states (snapshots). Each item in a pop-up menu widget represents a snapshot. When you choose an item in the pop-up menu, the affected parameters in your project toggle to a different saved state.
This widget is quite interesting to use, because you can have a long list of “states” when using the Pop-up widget. For example look at this template,
The pop up list shows the different animation origins of the bullet list. We have a total of 10 animation origin styles for the bullet list. The pop-up widget is really useful when you want your animation to contain different variations.
Text fields, as the name suggests, contain a text area. You can change the font style, font size, line spacing, tracking, and other text properties. The text field can be a Type (default), a paragraph, inside/outside a path and lastly scroll.
Color picker lets you select your desired color for an element, shape, text in the composition. You can use the eyedropper tool to specifically select a color on your composition. If you select the color window, a small pop-up window will appear. In this pop-up window, you can choose either to use the color wheel, color slider, color palette, image palette or pencil. In my case, I usually use the Color slider and then put the hex code of my desired color.
Lastly on our list is the Drop Zone. In Apple Motion, a Drop Zone is a special type of layer that acts as a placeholder for media (videos, images) within your project. It allows you to easily replace content while preserving any effects or animations you’ve applied. Here’s a breakdown of what Drop Zones offer:
Functionality:
Placeholder for Media: Imagine a box where you can drag and drop videos or images. The dropped media fills the Drop Zone area.
Preserves Effects and Animations: Let’s say you add effects or animations to a video clip. If you create a Drop Zone containing that clip, you can then replace the video with another one while keeping all those effects intact. This saves time and effort.
Flexibility: Drop Zones can be resized, repositioned, and masked (defining the visible area) to fit your needs.
Benefits of Using Drop Zones:
Efficiency: Quickly swap out media in your project without redoing effects or animations.
Organization: Maintain a clear structure for your project by separating content from applied effects.
Customization: Adapt the Drop Zone’s appearance (size, shape) to seamlessly integrate with your project.
Thanks for joining me on this exploration of Apple Motion! I hope this blog post has sparked your creativity and helped you on your motion graphics journey.
P.S.
Remember that you cannot open or edit a Motion Template unless you have Motion installed on your Mac.