Create a new project

You can create a Motion project from scratch, using the standard project settings in the preview area of the Project Browser. If none of the presets meets your needs, you can create a project with custom properties. You can also create projects prepopulated with selected media. Additionally, you can create projects based on predesigned motion graphics templates or on special templates for use as effects in Final Cut Pro X.

Create a basic project

Open Motion or, if it’s already open, Choose File > New (or press Command-N).
In the Project Browser, select the Blank category in the sidebar, then click the Motion Project icon.
Choose a resolution from the Preset pop-up menu and a frame rate from the Frame Rate pop-up menu in the right column, then click Open.
Important: Frame rates cannot be changed for existing projects.

A new, untitled Motion project opens. The project is not saved to your storage device until you choose a save command from the File menu. For more information on saving project files, see Save, autosave, and revert projects.

Create a project with custom properties

Open Motion or, if it’s already open, Choose File > New (or press Command-N).
In the Project Browser, select the Blank category in the sidebar, then click the Motion Project icon.
Click the Preset pop-up menu on the right side of the browser, then choose Custom.
Additional properties controls appear.
Set the resolution (width and height), field order, aspect ratio, frame rate, and default duration for your custom project.
Click Open.
A new, untitled Motion project opens using the custom properties you specified.

Create a project prepopulated with specific media files

Do one of the following:
- Choose File > Import as Project or press Shift-Command-I.
- Open the Project Browser, then click Create Project From File.
The Import Files as Project dialog appears.
Navigate to and select the one or more media files, Shift-clicking to select contiguous items or Command-clicking to select noncontiguous items.
As you select files, format settings at the bottom of the dialog become available. Settings inherent to the selected files remain dimmed, but propagate to the new project. For example, because movie files have an inherent frame rate, aspect ratio, and field order, those settings are dimmed in the Import Files as Project dialog.
If needed, set the frame rate, aspect ratio, field order, and audio mix settings.
Except for the Frame Rate parameter, these settings can be modified after the project is created, in the Properties Inspector. For more information, see Project properties overview.
Note: If you selected an item from an image sequence, select the Image Sequence checkbox to have Motion use each image as a frame in a movie clip. For more information, see About image sequences.
Click Import as Project.

A new project populated with the media you selected opens.