Apple Motion 2 Tutorials - Manual (Page 50)

50 Tutorial 1 The Motion Interface
Note: Pressing Shift constrains the movement to 90-degree angles.
A red path appears indicating the direction and distance that the layer travels. This is
called an animation path. You can change the shape of keyframed animation paths
using onscreen controls. When behaviors are applied to an object, a behavior
animation path appears that displays the projected path of the object. This is very
helpful in determining the effect of the behavior on the object to which it is applied.
Behavior animation paths cannot be edited onscreen.
6 Disable Record (press A).
7 Play the project (press the Space bar).
Both sets of boxes fly in opposite directions, overlapping in the middle.
Keyframe Basics
You animate an object by creating at least two keyframes for a parameter, such as
Opacity, at different points in time in a project. A keyframe is a point in time that
records any change in the value of a parameter. For example, to create an animation
in which an object is completely transparent at frame 1 and becomes completely
opaque at frame 120, you create two keyframes: an Opacity keyframe set to a value
of 0 percent at frame 1, and an Opacity keyframe set to a value of 100 percent at
frame 120. The image fades in from 0 percent to 100 percent over the 120 frames. The
smooth, fade-in transition between the two keyframed values is called interpolation.
All keyframes for a specific parameter (such as Opacity or Rotation) are positioned on
a line over time. Different values for the keyframes change the shape of that line and
create what is called an animation curve. The type of curve from keyframe to
keyframe (interpolation) can be changed to create different animation effects. For
example, keyframes set to Bezier create smooth transitions in values. Keyframes set to
Linear create straight lines between the keyframes, for sharper changes in value. You
can modify keyframes and their animation curves in the Keyframe Editor, located in
the Timing pane. For more information, see Chapter 6, “Keyframes and Curves,” in the
Motion User Manual.