Apple Motion 3 - Manual (Page 288)

288 Chapter 3 Basic Compositing
About Rasterization
Some operations, as well as the application of certain filters or a mask, cause a group to
be rasterized. When a group is rasterized, it is converted into a bitmap image.
Rasterization affects 2D and 3D groups in different ways. When a 2D group is rasterized,
the blend modes on objects within the group no longer interact with objects outside of
the group. In addition, when a 3D group is rasterized, the group as a whole can no
longer intersect with objects outside of the group. The rasterized 3D group is treated as
a single object and uses layer order (in the Layers tab), rather than depth order when
composited in the project.
Note: When a 3D group is rasterized, cameras and lights in the project still interact with
objects within the rasterized group.
For more information on rasterization and 3D groups, see “ 3D Compositing ” in the
Motion Supplemental Documentation PDF.
Important: Lighting in a 2D group does not pass beyond the boundaries of that 2D
group, whether it is rasterized or not.
Changes to the following parameters trigger rasterization of a group:
2D Groups
 Making Blending changes (Opacity, Blend Mode, Preserve Opacity)
 Turning on Drop Shadow
 Turning on Four Corner
 Turning on Crop
 The application of any filter
 Adding a mask
 Adding a light
3D Groups
 Blending changes
 The application of certain filters
 Adding a light to a 3D group with the Flatten parameter turned on (in the Group tab
of the Inspector)
Once an operation triggers rasterization of a group, the following occurs:
 A rasterization indicator (resembling an LED) appears next to the parameter in the
Properties tab.
 A small outline appears around the 2D or 3D group icon (to the left of the group
name) in the Layers tab and Timeline layers list.