Instruction Manual

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3D compositing overview
Motion includes a robust set of tools for creating projects that display objects in a true three-
dimensional space. You can arrange objects in a 3D environment so they intersect and interact
with one another. You can also employ cameras and lighting, and apply related eects such as
depth of eld, shadows, and reections.
Real-world coordinates
3D compositing introduces a number of new concepts to the art of motion graphics. At rst
glance, these concepts might seem daunting. However, because you move around in a real three-
dimensional world, you’ll likely nd the virtual 3D world of the Motion Canvas intuitively familiar.
The position of any object in the real world can be described using a simple coordinate system.
For example, you might describe your computer’s position as being four feet across from the
door, three feet up from the oor, and ve feet in front of the window. In a coordinate system, the
three numbers used to describe an object’s position correspond to a coordinate axis. The place
where the zero values along each axis meet is called the origin. In this example, the X equals 4, Y
equals 3, and Z equals 5.
Coordinates and object position in space
The location of an object in Motion can be described in these terms as well. The coordinate
system used by Motion species the center of the Canvas as 0, 0, 0. Moving an object to the left
subtracts from the X value, while moving to the right adds to the X value. Moving an object up
adds to the Y value, and moving an object down subtracts from the Y value. Moving an object
closer adds to the Z value, while moving further away subtracts from the Z value. The main
dierence between a 2D scene and a 3D scene is that in a 3D scene, you can change your point
of view, so that moving an object up doesn’t always mean increasing its Y Position value.
Note: In a new project, the Canvas is oriented with the Z axis pointing straight at you. This
orientation preserves the traditional two-dimensional orientation of the X and Y axes, which span
the default Canvas from left to right (X) and top to bottom (Y).
3D compositing
67% resize factor
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