'Naturally' moving objects in Motion. at DVinfo.net

David Scattergood · October 6th, 2008, 05:31 AM

Hi,

I've been attempting over the weekend to key frame various objects within a Motion project.
On one particular project I'm wanting to animate some Autumn leaves from a still photograph. The still photo has a person standing in the middle surrounded for the most part with leaves. I've masked the subject and animated a leaf (fortunately the exact leaf as on the photo was already a Motion image file) with it 'floating' behind the subject on the photo.
I keyed around 30/40 movements, altering the position and transform/skew etc...but it's still looking decidedly unnatural. The replicate function looked even less natural (I assume if I want a series of 'leaves' I'd have to key separate images?)
I was watching a few of the video copilot tutorials (Andy Kramer) over the weekend and was very impressed with AE's power...but at the moment that program is not an option.
Is there anything within Motion (still Motion 1 unfortunately) I can do to make this a little more realistic, or might it be a case of 'practice keying' until I get it right?
Maybe using leaves wasn't perhaps the easiest choice here either - I can see more 'mechanical' objects being an easier task!

Many thanks.

Dick Nelson · October 6th, 2008, 08:56 PM

Do you want the leaf to settle downward while turning in 3d space? Have you tried using the behavior simulations? Select your object, add behavior>simulations>gravity, run the amount of gravity down some, then add twists and turns to taste.

David Scattergood · October 7th, 2008, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick Nelson

Do you want the leaf to settle downward while turning in 3d space? Have you tried using the behavior simulations? Select your object, add behavior>simulations>gravity, run the amount of gravity down some, then add twists and turns to taste.

There are leaves on the ground already - image wise they match perfectly (the colour and shape..quite lucky there). I wanted the effect of a few leaves 'blowing' around naturally, in front of and behind the static subject (using as mask for the leaves that will appear behind).
Tried the gravity function with the odd twist and turn, but this looked obviously engineered. Although I might be require something like AE to achieve this (possibly?) some of the natural objects within Motion (smoke, flames etc) suggest I could do this effect...as it's a still image an not a camera move, I presume 3D won't come into this.
It must be a case of playing around with behaviours and keying until it gels.
Cheers Dick.

October 6th, 2008, 05:31 AM	#1
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	'Naturally' moving objects in Motion. Hi, I've been attempting over the weekend to key frame various objects within a Motion project. On one particular project I'm wanting to animate some Autumn leaves from a still photograph. The still photo has a person standing in the middle surrounded for the most part with leaves. I've masked the subject and animated a leaf (fortunately the exact leaf as on the photo was already a Motion image file) with it 'floating' behind the subject on the photo. I keyed around 30/40 movements, altering the position and transform/skew etc...but it's still looking decidedly unnatural. The replicate function looked even less natural (I assume if I want a series of 'leaves' I'd have to key separate images?) I was watching a few of the video copilot tutorials (Andy Kramer) over the weekend and was very impressed with AE's power...but at the moment that program is not an option. Is there anything within Motion (still Motion 1 unfortunately) I can do to make this a little more realistic, or might it be a case of 'practice keying' until I get it right? Maybe using leaves wasn't perhaps the easiest choice here either - I can see more 'mechanical' objects being an easier task! Many thanks.

October 6th, 2008, 08:56 PM	#2
Dick Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Silverthorne, CO Posts: 36	Do you want the leaf to settle downward while turning in 3d space? Have you tried using the behavior simulations? Select your object, add behavior>simulations>gravity, run the amount of gravity down some, then add twists and turns to taste.