Looking for app to make motion graphics

[MacBH928]

I am looking for an app that I can use to make simple motion graphics/animations video, like moving images around and resizing, not as in cartoons. Any one recommend a free or reasonably priced app? Think like an iMovie to Final Cut.

I am not up to learning After Effects or pay for it, and Flash is no longer in use. Obviously it has to be able to output a video in the end.

 

[atmenterprises]

Blender maybe?

 

[kohlson]

I think you have a couple of options. Blender is awesome for image-based motion (one of the sample projects is the 20th Century Fox intro, with the searchlights). But Motion from Apple is inexpensive. And Resolve has motion capabilities for free.
All of these will have a learn curve. If you're looking for something easier to learn, Pages and Powerpoint both have graphics-style animation. Use Quicktime to capture.

 

[MacBH928]

Blender maybe?

I think you have a couple of options. Blender is awesome for image-based motion (one of the sample projects is the 20th Century Fox intro, with the searchlights). But Motion from Apple is inexpensive. And Resolve has motion capabilities for free.
All of these will have a learn curve. If you're looking for something easier to learn, Pages and Powerpoint both have graphics-style animation. Use Quicktime to capture.

Blender is an over kill, that thing is made to create Hollywood material.

Powerpoint is genius! Why I didn't think of that. I wonder if Keynote has same capability since I have that one.
What do you mean use Quicktime to capture? Powerpoint already outputs in video format I believe.

and why does Pages have animation? Isn't that for static documents like Word?

 

[kohlson]

why does Pages have animation?

AFAIK, it does not. Another moment where my brain was not fully focused on the task at hand.

Yes, the latest versions of PPT has .mp4 and .mov export capabilities. I haven't used them - I've always done screen capture. But they should work. Note that on my MBP the screen is captured at essentially 4K, as I believe any Retina display will do.

 

[chrono1081]

I use Apple Motion for this kind of thing. It’s easy to use and cheap ($50 I think).

 

[superscape]

Depends exactly the sort of thing you want to do. I make short movies showing people how to use software. Short movie clip captured from screen then maybe a few animated flow charts by way of explanation etc. I find Keynote does the job fine - just export as a movie at the end.

Of course, if you're doing anything remotely fancy then it won't be up to the job. Like I say, depends what you want to do.

 

[Dave Braine]

Powerpoint is genius! Why I didn't think of that. I wonder if Keynote has same capability since I have that one.

Yes it does. The you can export to Quicktime to produce a movie file. I use it all the time for making movie credits to use in iMovie.

 

[The Man]

Apple Motion is comprehensive but a bit complex. Also as Dave Braine already wrote, Keynote & Export as quicktime movie. Use iMovie to edit everything. You can do lots of different things in Keynote.

 

[MacBH928]

Apple Motion is comprehensive but a bit complex. Also as Dave Braine already wrote, Keynote & Export as quicktime movie. Use iMovie to edit everything. You can do lots of different things in Keynote.

I saw a video tutorial on youtube with PowerPoint, and the animation seemed so advanced. You can actually use it to make simple cartoon scenes, not just like a title sliding in or an image fading out.

 

[kohlson]

I saw a video tutorial on youtube with PowerPoint, and the animation seemed so advanced. You can actually use it to make simple cartoon scenes, not just like a title sliding in or an image fading out.

You can. But you are really stretching the limits with PPT. If all you need is basic stuff, it can work pretty well. But more advanced features, such as specific timing when things are happening, you'll quickly bump into limits.

 

[The Man]

Yes, timings are a problem when you use presentation software like Keynote. For longer videos, you will need to make specific segments (in separate files), export them to QuickTime, and make the edit in iMovie to fit narration or music. But I have done short intros timed accompanied with music completely within Keynote. With Apple Motion, or even only Final Cut Pro X, things become easier, but at a much higher cost.