Export a QuickTime movie

You can export your project as a QuickTime movie file via the Export Movie command in the Share menu. Use this option when you want to use the media in another application, copy it to an external storage device for a client to review, or publish it to an unsupported website. You can limit what’s exported from your project to objects you select using the Export Selection to Movie command. This technique is useful when you want to export background or foreground layers, but exclude other parts of the composition.

Note: When using the Export Movie or Export Selection to Movie commands, you can export only one project at a time. During export, the Share menu in other open projects is limited to one command—Send to Compressor. All other Share menu commands for those projects are dimmed and unavailable until the export completes. For more information, see Export using Compressor.

Export your project as a movie file

  1. Choose Share > Export Movie (or press Command-E).

  2. In the Options pane of the Share window, choose your preferred export settings:

    • Export: Choose an export format.

    • Open with: Choose a post-export action (Do Nothing, Open with QuickTime Player, or Open with Compressor). You must have Compressor installed on your system for Open with Compressor to work.

    • Include: Choose whether to include video only or video and audio.

    • Duration: If you’ve set In and Out points in the Timeline, choose whether to export the entire sequence or the portion between the In and Out points.

  3. To specify additional Motion-specific options, click Render.

    For more information, see Render settings.

  4. To see details about the file to be output, click Summary.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Enter a name and choose a save location for the exported file, then click Save.

    Motion renders and saves your movie.

    Important: The Export Movie command does not use background rendering, so you must wait until rendering is finished before you can continue to work in Motion.

Export a selected object from your project as a movie file

  1. Select an object in the Layers list or Timeline, then choose Share > Export Selection to Movie (or press Option-Command-E).

  2. In the Options pane of the Share window, choose your preferred export settings:

    • Export: Choose an export format.

    • Open with: Choose a post-export action (Do Nothing, Open with QuickTime Player, or Open with Compressor). You must have Compressor installed on your system for Open with Compressor to work.

    • Include: Choose whether to include video only or video and audio.

    • Duration: If you’ve set In and Out points in the Timeline, choose whether to export the entire sequence or the portion between the In and Out points.

  3. To specify additional Motion-specific options, click Render.

    For more information, see Render settings.

  4. To see details about the file to be output, click Summary.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Enter a name and choose a save location for the exported file, then click Save.

    Motion renders and saves the object you selected as a movie.

    Note: The Export Selection to Movie command is not available when more than one object is selected.

    Important: The Export Movie command does not use background rendering, so you must wait until rendering is finished before you can continue to work in Motion.