Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 58)

Note: The Background pop-up menu in the General tab of the Project Properties dialog
must be set to Solid in order to export the background color with the project. This
option creates a solid alpha channel on export (when exporting using a codec that
supports alpha channels). When the Background pop-up menu is set to Transparent,
the color is visible in the Canvas, but does not render as part of the alpha channel.
• Transparent: Shows the background area of the Canvas as transparent. A checkerboard
pattern appears by default where no images block the background.
• Alpha Overlay: Displays the image in normal color, but adds a red highlight over
transparent areas of the image.
• RGB Only: Displays the normal mix of red, green, and blue channels but displays
transparent areas (including semi-transparent areas) as opaque.
• Red: Displays only the red channel as a range of black to white.
• Green: Displays only the green channel as a range of black to white.
• Blue: Displays only the blue channel as a range of black to white.
• Alpha: Displays the alpha (transparency) channel of the layers in the Canvas.
• Inverted Alpha: Displays an inverted view of the alpha (transparency) channel.
Render pop-up menu: The Render pop-up menu controls the quality and resolution of
the Canvas display, as well as facilitating the enabling/disabling of certain features that
can significantly impact playback performance.
If you have a complex project that is causing your computer to play at a very low frame
rate, you can make changes in this menu to reduce the strain on the processor. This frees
you from waiting for the image to be rendered at full resolution each time you make an
adjustment, allowing you to watch complex projects at high frame rates while you’re
constructing projects.
Note: These options are also available in the View pull-down menu (View > Resolution,
Quality, or Render Options).
The Render pop-up menu displays the following options:
• Full: Displays the Canvas at full resolution.
• Half: Displays the Canvas at half resolution.
• Third: Displays the Canvas at one-third resolution.
• Quarter: Displays the Canvas at one-quarter resolution.
• Draft: Renders objects in the Canvas at a lower quality to allow optimal project
interactivity. There is no antialiasing, and 32-bit (floating point) footage is truncated to
8-bit.
Tip: When working in your project, work in Draft or Normal for better interactivity.
When you are ready to export your project, use Best or Custom.
58 Chapter 2 The Motion Interface