Motion

Duane Martin · August 25th, 2004, 09:52 AM

Peter, did you see League of Extraordinary Gentleman? I believe you will agree that worse fire effects have appeared on screen than what you have created. I am with Bjorn. Getting familiar with Motion quickly will be essential for me to stay competative.

Peter Wiley · August 25th, 2004, 10:20 AM

Duane:

Don't get me wrong. Motion is amazing -- I am sure if I took more time the sequences could be refined and be made much better. I've worked with the program for about two - three hours only. My comments were directed more at my lack of skill than at Motion's capabilities.

When I see what's done locally on TV, it's clear that this product is going to vastly improve the quality of what smaller production shops can do.

Pat Chaney · August 25th, 2004, 11:32 AM

That fire and fog clip looks pretty impressive to me, and I'm sure that with time and practice all sorts of things are possible. I'm currently considering getting either Motion or After Effects but I don't know how they compare.

I realise that Motion is a lot cheaper and far less powerful, but is it generally true to say that these fog and fire effects could also be done in AE, and that Motion is a subset of AE? Or are they quite different applications? And does Motion integrate with FCP any better than AE does?

Peter Wiley · August 26th, 2004, 06:55 AM

OK now I am getting a consistent crash on one project -- an embellishment of the "Dragon" doodle posted above. The only change has been the aqddition of a .jpg file of fish (read dragon) scales to the background layer.

I get a crash every time I open the project file -- several seconds after it generates a formal Apple crash report. Quick read of the report suggests it's the ATI driver thread that's the problem every time.

Jeff Donald · August 26th, 2004, 07:18 AM

Have you been to ATI's site and checked for a later version of the Driver? What version OS are you using?

Ozzie Leon · August 26th, 2004, 08:34 AM

wow nice work, ok gotta get motion not bad at all

Peter Wiley · August 26th, 2004, 09:17 AM

Jeff:

As I understand it, normal Apple Software Updates should include new drivers as and if needed. I did just upgrade to 10.3.5 because I thought this was required to installed the application support that Motion requires.

The Apple support forums are reporting some problems with speed etc. I am still hunting for someone with the same experience/system etc. I suppose this is par for the course on complex and brand new software.

Bjorn C Hagert · August 26th, 2004, 09:48 AM

They where out at the store so I ordered it from Apple. I guess I have it in about 6 ...

weeks.

Jeff Donald · August 26th, 2004, 10:05 AM

Which upgrade did you use? The combo upgrade or simple upgrade? Do the combo update (has to be downloaded from Apple Support) and repair permissions both before and after running the update.

Peter Wiley · August 26th, 2004, 10:13 AM

I did not do the combo. I'll try what you suggest and post the results.

Peter Wiley · August 30th, 2004, 05:03 PM

Take a look at the following article. Seems to answer my questions. I have the same set-up that is described in the first part of the article except that I have 2.5G of memory.

http://www.lafcpug.org/feature_motion_videocrd.html

A better video card seems to make a great deal of difference.

Bjorn C Hagert · September 1st, 2004, 02:40 AM

Yes, it is slow on a dual 2 G5 with 9800pro and 2.5GB ram. It feels just like FCE 1 (that was much smoother in version 2). Also remember the early iMovie days when things where jerky?

It is useful but since it is jerky and slow it is hard to get the timing right.

I ran the same sequence in FCP and in Motion that showed that Motion had trouble running a 2 min clip with a single stereo sound track in a fluent way. I like it a lot but I think that the app is not finished / optimized yet.

Dan Wiencek · September 2nd, 2004, 11:57 AM

Can anyone offer opinions or insight on running Motion on a G4? I've got one of the last dual 1.4Ghz PowerMacs and was thinking of upgrading the video card to run Motion. But it sounds like the program chokes anything short of a 2x2.5Ghz G5. I'm eager to get my hands on this software, but I'm wondering if I'm just going to have to let it go by until I can upgrade my hardware.

Alan Tran · September 2nd, 2004, 05:18 PM

motion runs pretty well on my 15" pb, its all about the video card.
run motion and look at the processor % and ram % and its not even using 50% of it.

Jonathan Lutz · September 3rd, 2004, 07:23 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : If you're buying now, I'd get the nvidia. It's currently the fastest. However, I prefer ATI -->>>

According to the speed test on Bare Feats (http://www.barefeats.com/motion.html) , the ATI RADEON 9800 XT is significantly faster than the Nvidia GeForce FX 5200.

Just wondering about your quote above. Is there something I don't kow?

...

August 25th, 2004, 09:52 AM	#16
Duane Martin Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 41	Peter, did you see League of Extraordinary Gentleman? I believe you will agree that worse fire effects have appeared on screen than what you have created. I am with Bjorn. Getting familiar with Motion quickly will be essential for me to stay competative. __________________ Duane E. Martin Earth to Sky Productions Apple Certified Trainer - FCP

August 26th, 2004, 07:18 AM	#20
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Have you been to ATI's site and checked for a later version of the Driver? What version OS are you using? __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 26th, 2004, 08:34 AM	#21
Ozzie Leon Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: columbus ohio Posts: 68	wow nice work, ok gotta get motion not bad at all __________________ Ozzie Leon

August 26th, 2004, 09:48 AM	#23
Bjorn C Hagert Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Stockholm Sweden Posts: 27	They where out at the store so I ordered it from Apple. I guess I have it in about 6 ... weeks. __________________ //B C

August 26th, 2004, 10:05 AM	#24
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Which upgrade did you use? The combo upgrade or simple upgrade? Do the combo update (has to be downloaded from Apple Support) and repair permissions both before and after running the update. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 25th, 2004, 10:20 AM	#17
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	Duane: Don't get me wrong. Motion is amazing -- I am sure if I took more time the sequences could be refined and be made much better. I've worked with the program for about two - three hours only. My comments were directed more at my lack of skill than at Motion's capabilities. When I see what's done locally on TV, it's clear that this product is going to vastly improve the quality of what smaller production shops can do.

August 25th, 2004, 11:32 AM	#18
Pat Chaney Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 107	That fire and fog clip looks pretty impressive to me, and I'm sure that with time and practice all sorts of things are possible. I'm currently considering getting either Motion or After Effects but I don't know how they compare. I realise that Motion is a lot cheaper and far less powerful, but is it generally true to say that these fog and fire effects could also be done in AE, and that Motion is a subset of AE? Or are they quite different applications? And does Motion integrate with FCP any better than AE does?

August 26th, 2004, 06:55 AM	#19
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	OK now I am getting a consistent crash on one project -- an embellishment of the "Dragon" doodle posted above. The only change has been the aqddition of a .jpg file of fish (read dragon) scales to the background layer. I get a crash every time I open the project file -- several seconds after it generates a formal Apple crash report. Quick read of the report suggests it's the ATI driver thread that's the problem every time.

August 26th, 2004, 09:17 AM	#22
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	Jeff: As I understand it, normal Apple Software Updates should include new drivers as and if needed. I did just upgrade to 10.3.5 because I thought this was required to installed the application support that Motion requires. The Apple support forums are reporting some problems with speed etc. I am still hunting for someone with the same experience/system etc. I suppose this is par for the course on complex and brand new software.

August 26th, 2004, 10:13 AM	#25
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	I did not do the combo. I'll try what you suggest and post the results.

August 30th, 2004, 05:03 PM	#26
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	Take a look at the following article. Seems to answer my questions. I have the same set-up that is described in the first part of the article except that I have 2.5G of memory. http://www.lafcpug.org/feature_motion_videocrd.html A better video card seems to make a great deal of difference.

September 1st, 2004, 02:40 AM	#27
Bjorn C Hagert Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Stockholm Sweden Posts: 27	Yes, it is slow on a dual 2 G5 with 9800pro and 2.5GB ram. It feels just like FCE 1 (that was much smoother in version 2). Also remember the early iMovie days when things where jerky? It is useful but since it is jerky and slow it is hard to get the timing right. I ran the same sequence in FCP and in Motion that showed that Motion had trouble running a 2 min clip with a single stereo sound track in a fluent way. I like it a lot but I think that the app is not finished / optimized yet. __________________ //B C

September 2nd, 2004, 11:57 AM	#28
Dan Wiencek New Boot Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Chicago, IL, USA Posts: 12	Can anyone offer opinions or insight on running Motion on a G4? I've got one of the last dual 1.4Ghz PowerMacs and was thinking of upgrading the video card to run Motion. But it sounds like the program chokes anything short of a 2x2.5Ghz G5. I'm eager to get my hands on this software, but I'm wondering if I'm just going to have to let it go by until I can upgrade my hardware.

September 2nd, 2004, 05:18 PM	#29
Alan Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 121	motion runs pretty well on my 15" pb, its all about the video card. run motion and look at the processor % and ram % and its not even using 50% of it.

September 3rd, 2004, 07:23 AM	#30
Jonathan Lutz Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: McLean, VA Posts: 29	<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : If you're buying now, I'd get the nvidia. It's currently the fastest. However, I prefer ATI -->>> According to the speed test on Bare Feats (http://www.barefeats.com/motion.html) , the ATI RADEON 9800 XT is significantly faster than the Nvidia GeForce FX 5200. Just wondering about your quote above. Is there something I don't kow? ...