During a Sunday press event at NAB 2004 in Las Vegas, Apple introduced Motion, a new motion graphics design package that provides animation of text, graphics and video, instant previewing of multiple filters and particle effects, and “Behaviors” — natural movement of type and graphics with effects like gravity and wind, without depending on keyframes. Motion is available for US$299.
Motion uses procedural animation to create the natural simulations Apple refers to as “Behaviors.” You can define interaction between objects like attraction and repulsion, leading to the creation of complex or simple effects with relatively little work involved. Motion also sports a Keyframe Editor if you need to plot precise parameter values at specific frames.
The particle engine supports features like smoke, sparkles and fire with included presets; virtually any graphic element on the screen can be turned into a particle and modified. A “Dashboards” interface provides you with contextual, semi-transparent floating palettes to affect changes to the objects on the screen. And the “Project Pane” lets you view all layers, filters, Behaviors, masks and objects simultaneously.
Motion integrates with Apple’s other pro applications like Final Cut Pro HD, Shake 3.5, DVD Studio Pro 3, Soundtrack and Logic Pro 6.
Apple said that Motion will be released this summer. Minimum system requirements call for a G4/867MHz or faster; 512MB RAM; Mac OS X v10.3.3 or later; QuickTime 6.5 or later — visit the Web site for other details.