Markers in Motion.
By Estelle MacDonald
Markers are a visual reference. They help you identify specific moments in either a clip or your timeline and they can be used to align objects, tracks, keyframes or simply add reminder notes. There are a few different ways you can add markers in Motion. Let’s explore!
First we will identify the three types of markers - Project Markers, Layer Markers and Object Markers.
1. Project markers are set to a specific timecode value and are located in the ruler area of the timeline.
2. Layer markers are attached to, and move with a layer.
3. Object markers are attached to an object.
Adding Markers.
Wherever the playhead is positioned, pressing M will add a marker. You can add markers on the fly while playing, but remember, where the marker lands depends on what you have selected! Open your timing pane F6 and try it out.
Here are the rules:
- If nothing is selected you will add a Project Marker.
- If a Layer is selected then you will add a Layer Marker.
Note: Shift-M always adds a project marker.
- If an Object is selected you will add an Object Marker.
Adding Markers using the Menu
1. Position the playhead where you want the marker (follow the rules above).
2. Choose the Mark Menu>Markers>Add Marker.
3. A Marker is placed and now we can look at yet another way to add a Marker.
Adding Markers using contextual menus
The only place adding a marker using the good old control + click is in the grey area above the ruler. You can also double click in this area to add a marker.
Editing Markers
There are a number of ways to edit a marker
- Double-click the marker you want to edit
- Control-click on either a project, layer, or object marker.
- Use the Mark Menu>Markers>Edit Marker
- Use the keyboard shortcut Option-Command-M
Note: Remember that shortcuts are dependent on selected elements and you need to be directly on a marker to use a shortcut key for that marker. So if it’s a Layer Marker you want to edit then select that layer and navigate to the next/previous marker by control + clicking on the Layer and choosing next/previous marker OR by scrubbing the playhead in the mini timeline while holding down the shift key – your playhead will snap to the markers.
The Edit Marker dialogue box gives you a variety of options; Name, Comments, Start Frame/Timecode, Duration, Marker Colors and the option to Delete a marker.
There are 8 Marker colors to choose from
And these nifty little arrows down the bottom left hand corner navigate you to the next/previous marker while keeping the dialogue box open.
Happy Marking!
