5.5

229Motion User Guide
Manage timing
Intro to the Timeline in Motion
The Timeline is where you control all timing aspects of a project. You can set the frames
where objects begin and end, align multiple effects so they occur simultaneously, control
object duration, and even perform common trim operations to edit the objects as you
would in a nonlinear video-editing application. The Timeline is located under the timing
toolbar, in the Timing pane.
The Timeline consists of three areas:
• Timeline layers list: On the left side of the Timing pane, this area displays a hierarchical
list of objects (layers, groups, and effects objects) in your project, mirroring the
contents of the Layers list in the Project pane. You can add media to your project by
dragging it into the Timeline layers list.
• Timeline track area: On the right side of the Timing pane, this area displays color bars
(timebars) that correspond to the object names in the Timeline layers list; the length
of each timebar represents the duration of each object over the course of your project.
You can adjust timing and synchronization by edit by moving, trimming, or slipping
timebars in the track area
• Timeline ruler: Above the track area, this numbered strip measures the timing of objects
in frames. Here, you can drag the playhead to navigate through your project as well as
perform various timing tasks.
In addition to the Timeline, the Timing pane contains two related partitions that can be
shown or hidden: the Audio Timeline and the Keyframe Editor.