Mac Or Pc For Motion Graphics 2018
The decision between buying a Mac or a Windows PC has become easier. Because so much of what we do on our computers now is browser-based and cloud-based and because the software programs that were once developed for one platform are now developed for both, it is really a matter of personal preference.
For years, Macs were preferred in the design world, while PCs running the Windows operating system dominated the business world. When looking at the two for graphic design work, the focus is on the handling of graphics, color and type, the availability of software and overall ease of use.
Graphics, Color, and Type
The handling of graphics, color, and type is a significant portion of a graphic designer’s job. Because of Apple’s long history of being the designer’s computer, the company focused on improving its handling of colors and fonts, especially when going from screen and file to print. If you had to choose between a Mac and a PC on this factor alone, Apple still has a small edge. However, the same results can be achieved on a PC. For web design, neither wins out, although you need to have access to both operating systems to test your sites across all platforms.
Mac vs. PC Software
The operating systems of both platforms are robust. Windows 10 offers touch screens, window management, and Cortana. Apple still lags in touch screens, but Siri is available on desktop and laptop computers now.
- Just wondering what is standard for motion graphic industry? Do jobs require the use of a mac? And what would be better? I currently have a decent PC, with 2 monitor set up, 16 gigs ram, i7-950k processor, and an AMD Radeon 7970 video card, (not very good for ray-traced rendering), and am running on an SSD.
- Whether you're a Mac user or a Windows wizard, you'll find something in this list that suits your needs. Generally speaking, the more you pay the better the machine. But don't worry if you're on a tighter budget – we've picked the best cheap computers for graphic design, too.
- Motion Graphics template Mac to PC. Jonnys65924227 May 17, 2018 1:55 AM I have made some motion graphics templates files in a Mac with Premiere 12.1.1. When we import them into PC with Premiere 12.0.0 they can be imported, have thumbnails, can be drag-n-dropped into timeline.
- A freelance graphic designer and owner of Eric Miller Design, a web development and graphic design studio established in 1998. Updated November 16, 2018 The decision between buying a Mac or a Windows PC has become easier. Because so much of what we do on our computers now is browser-based and cloud.
- Motion Background Starter Pack+ Downloads. MOV QuickTime for Mac or PC. Church Motion Graphics Inc. Motions; Templates; Social; Free; Christmas. Christmas; Blog; Account; SUBSCRIBE; Motion Background Starter Pack+ Downloads. MOV QuickTime for Mac or PC. WMV Windows Video for PC.
Jun 08, 2017 Hi, I work in motion graphics and have used a 2013 iMac for the past 3.5 years. My needs are very close to yours apart from C4D work, and that's really an important bit of difference.
Microsoft Office 365 made the most popular Windows applications in the world available to Mac users. Windows PCs still have the edge in gaming software, and while Macs got a jump start on music with iTunes, GarageBand, and the Apple Music service, the field leveled when iTunes and Apple Music became available on PCs. Both offer access to the cloud for storage and collaboration, while the third-party video-editing software available for MacOS is more robust.
As far as graphic design is concerned, there is no significant difference in the software available for the Mac or PC. All the major applications, including the Adobe Creative Cloud applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are developed for both platforms. Because the Mac is often considered the designer’s computer, there are some handy tools and applications that are Mac-only. Overall, though, more software is available for the PC, especially if you are focused on a particular industry, gaming or 3-D renderings for architecture.
Best to do list for mac 2018. But I do love to play, so I keep five or ten of these apps installed on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Some I use, and others I play with from time to time. I have a keen interest in OmniFocus and used it as my main task manager for a few years. Bottom Line: With a clean and simple UI, excellent collaboration features, and support for plenty of platforms, Todoist is one of the most feature-rich to-do list apps, and a clear Editors' Choice. In 2018, the best Macs are capable of more than ever before. Read on to see which Mac should be on your Black Friday list. Best to-do list apps of 2018 for managing tasks for the Mac The best to-do list apps for MacOS will help you organize your tasks and lists, get event reminders, and collaborate on projects with.
Ease of Use
Apple focuses its operating system on ease of use, introducing new features with each release that improve the user experience. The integration from application to application enables a clean workflow. While this is most apparent in the company's consumer applications such as Photos and iMovie, it continues through to professional tools and third-party products. While Microsoft has improved the user experience in the Windows operating system, Apple still wins in the ease-of-use category.
Mac vs. PC Decision
The choice may come down to your familiarity with either Windows or MacOS. Because Apple makes all its own computers, the quality is relatively high and the computers are relatively expensive. Microsoft Windows runs on powerful computers and on not-so-powerful computers. If you only need a computer for email and web surfing, a Mac is an overkill.
The drawback of the Mac used to be the price, but if you want a Mac and are on a tight budget, check out the consumer-level iMac, which is powerful enough for graphic design tasks. In the end, especially when starting out in design, you are probably just as well off with a PC running Windows 10. With smart shopping, you can get a powerful unit for less money than a Mac, and you can use the same design software on it. Your creativity, and not the cost of your computer, determines the outcome of your work.
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Apple Motion 4

Final Cut Studio
Show MoreApple has been steadily adding sexy features with each new version of Motion, and version 4 is no exception. A high-profile feature in version 3 () was 3-D, and in Motion 4, Apple continues to enhance the realism of motion graphics with new rendering capabilities to simulate shadows, reflections, and depth of field. Behind the scenes, there are improved tools for camera framing behavior, as well as the ability to link parameters together to simulate complex relationships between objects. Text handling capabilities have also been enhanced with new manipulation controls over individual text characters, and there is a new credits tool called Scroll that will bring a sigh of relief to TV and film editors. As with previous versions, you can never have too much RAM, CPU, and GPU horsepower—Motion can use just about every resource you can throw at it, as it is probably the most resource-hungry tool in Final Cut Studio. Let's take a quick look at the notable new features.
3-D shadows and reflections
Motion 3 added 3-D capabilities, but objects didn't interact with each other in a visually realistic fashion. Now, by default all objects can cast and receive simulated shadows from lights in your 3-D compositions. Also, any shape, video plane, or paint stroke can simulate reflections from objects around them. As with shadows, parameters such as edge softness and falloff can be tweaked and animated to your heart's content. Both of these effects are simulated, and while they look good, they don’t always behave like their real-life counterparts. I found the feature to be tricky to work with—I experienced an odd clipping of shadow and reflection edges in one setup I tested—see the screen shot a little further down.
Depth of field
Depth of field is a popular technique used by photographers and cinematographers to direct our attention to specific parts of a composition. This is the ability to bring objects at a particular distance from the camera into sharp focus, as objects closer to or further from that point become progressively and increasingly blurred. Previously, it has been possible to simulate this effect by painstaking manipulation of manual blur settings. But with Motion 4, it is a “set it and forget it” type behavior—let the rampant rack focusing begin!
Credit Rolls
Credit rolls have long been a painfully awkward part of post production. Now, you can import a Rich Text Format credits file and set behaviors for automatic scroll speed, flicker control, or opt to start off-screen. There’s even a viewer that shows you what section of the credits you are looking at relative to the entire list, much like the zoom feature in iPhoto ().
New ProRes
ProRes (see the Final Cut Pro 7 review) has a new family member, ProRes 4444. With up to 12 bits of accuracy, 4:4:4 chroma sampling, support for up to 4K resolution files, and a 10 bit alpha channel, this is the high-quality compressed codec with alpha channel support that compositors have been badly needing for years. Rejoice!
More updates
It’s the little things that can make your life simpler and happier, and your motion graphics work smoother and faster. New Camera Framing Behaviors let you more easily and smoothly control and transition where the virtual camera is looking. A new Adjust Glyph Tool lets you tweak an individual letter as you would any graphic. The Sequenced Text Behavior picks up on this as well—you can adjust any single character, and those attribute changes ripple through the rest of the characters in that text element, which makes custom animation of text much easier. The new Link Parameter Behavior lets you pick an attribute from one object and have it control attributes in another object, such as linking the rotation of a car wheel to the lateral position of the car on screen.
As with Final Cut Pro, the new Easy Export function, accessed from File->Share, allows for easy export to the most common formats, and can even burn DVD and Blu-ray discs directly from your composition. New text generators, support for all of the new ProRes codecs, a Bad Film filter, multi-touch gesture support, and support for the 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator () (a 3-D controlling mouse) round out the major enhancements to this version.
Bottom line
Motion continues to get more robust with this new version. If you have a fast new machine, especially with a high powered graphics card like the ATI Radeon HD 4870, you can get complex work done amazingly quickly, while previewing as you work. For motion graphics, Motion is now a serious rival to Adobe After Effects () in terms of speed and the ease with which complex animations can be set up. With shadows and reflections and depth of field, the results are also now more photorealistic than before, closing the gap between Motion and After Effects for certain kinds of work. Under the hood, Link Parameters, Camera Framing Behaviors, and other tweaks allow for easier control of more sophisticated animations. As someone who started doing motion graphics about 15 years ago, I’m very happy with this upgrade.
[Mike Curtis has been pushing pixels for a living for more than two decades, and presently consults on Final Cut Studio and other post production issues in Santa Monica, California. He writes for Macworld, his own HDforIndies, as well as ProVideoCoalition.com.]
Apple Motion 4
Pros
- More powerful compositing environment for graphics than Final Cut Pro
- Share feature aids file exports
- Depth of field, credit rolls, and other features enhance and speed production of visually rich content
- 3-D shadows and reflections
Cons
- Render times can still be long as with any complex compositing application
- Shadows, reflections, and depth of field look simulated instead of fully realistic and can be difficult to work with
- Beefy computer required for best results
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