Change the duration of a project

Change the duration of a project

By default, a new Motion project has a duration of ten seconds. You can change this duration to match the needs of your project.

The project duration is displayed at the bottom of the Motion window. You can also display the duration in the timing display in the toolbar.

Display project duration in the timing display

Do one of the following:

  • In the timing display, click the downward arrow, then choose Show Project Duration from the pop-up menu.

  • in the timing display, click the clock icon to switch between project duration display and current time display.

Change the project duration

Do one of the following:

  • With the timing display set to Show Project Duration, double-click the number, type a duration value, then press Return.

    When the timing display is set to Show Timecode, you can type a precise timecode value in the HH:MM:SS:FF format (hours:minutes:seconds:frames).

  • With the timing display set to Show Project Duration, drag left or right over the number to decrease or increase the duration.

  • Choose Edit > Project Properties (or press Command-J), then change the value of the Duration field in the Properties Inspector.

Note: Click the downward arrow to the right of the numbers in the timing display and choose Show Frames or Show Timecode to switch between viewing the project duration in frames or timecode.

Change the default project duration

  • Choose Motion > Preferences (or press Command-Comma), then enter a project length in the Project Duration field.

    Note: The duration of any open project is not changed. This setting only takes effect in projects created after the preferences are set and Motion is quit and reopened.

Change the duration in seconds, minutes, or hours

  1. Click the downward arrow in the timing display, and make sure that the pop-up menu is set to Show Timecode and Show Project Duration.

  2. Double-click the timing display, then do any of the following:

    • Set the duration to an exact timecode value: Enter a specific timecode value in the HH:MM:SS:FF format (hours:minutes:seconds:frames), including a colon between each double-digit number.

    • Set the duration in total seconds: Enter the number of seconds followed by a period, then press Return.

    • Set a duration in total minutes: Enter the number of minutes followed by two periods, then press Return.

    • Set a duration in total hours: Enter the number of hours followed by three periods, then press Return.