5.5

213Motion User Guide
You can manipulate any of the following light properties: type of light, intensity, and color.
A light bulb, the sun, and lighting in a dance club have different appearances. You can use
lighting properties to simulate these differences. You can use multiple lights to mix color.
If one red and one blue spot light are pointed at a white object, they mix to make magenta.
Each type of light has its own attributes. It may take a combination of light types to achieve
a specific effect. For example, you might want to combine a dim ambient light with a spot
light to add depth or prevent total darkness where the spot light’s effect drops off.
Add lights in Motion
You can add a lights to your project one at a time, or you can add sets of lights that have
been predesigned to create specific lighting styles.
Add a light to a project
1. In Motion, do one of the following:
• In the toolbar, click Add Object, then choose Light from the pop-up menu.
• Choose Object > New Light (or press Shift-Command-L).
If your project contains no existing 3D groups, the following dialog appears:
If your project already contains at least one 3D group, go to step 3.
If you select Keep as 2D, a light will have no effect until you create at least one 3D
group at the root level (not a 3D group nested within a 2D group).
2. Click Switch to 3D.
A light object is added to the Layers list, canvas (represented there by a wireframe icon),
and Timeline; the 3D Transform tool in the canvas toolbar becomes active; and the Light
Inspector opens.
3. Adjust the light in the Light Inspector.
Add a preset lighting style
You can add a group of lights all at once by selecting one of Motion’s preset lighting styles.
1. In Motion, do one of the following:
• Click Add Object in the toolbar, choose New Light Setup, then choose one of the
preset lighting styles.
• Choose Object > New Light Setup and choose one of the preset lighting styles.