Mixing different kinds of quicktime files, Still image files – Apple Motion 4 User Manual
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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: Apple ProRes 4444, Apple ProRes 422 (HQ),
Apple ProRes 422, Uncompressed 8- and 10-bit 4:2:2, Pixlet, None, Animation, Apple
M-JPEG A and B, Apple DVCPRO-50, Apple DV/DVCPRO.
Some 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
Importing Movies from Final Cut Express or Final Cut Pro
Unlike Final Cut Express or Final Cut Pro, Motion processes video in RGB color space.
Video clips that have been captured in Y
′
C
B
C
R
color space are treated as RGB clips when
imported into a Motion project.
Important:
Mixing clips with different frame rates may result in undesirable motion
artifacts.
Still Image Files
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
.
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Chapter 6
Creating and Managing Projects