ISF For Motion Frequently Asked Questions

ISF For Motion Manual FAQ

FAQ

1- Do I need Motion to use ISF shaders in FCP X?

No, you can use the built in template generator to create assets that can be used inside of FCP X, even if you don’t have Motion.

2- Are alpha channels supported?

Yes, but make sure to handle properly in any custom code. In most cases you will also need to disable the ‘opaque’ option from the Inspector for Motion / FCP X to work as expected with alpha channels from shaders.

When exporting movie files be sure to use ProRes 4444 to include alpha channels.

3- How do I add shaders so they show up in the Library section of Motion?

ISF For Motion loads shaders from three folders to include in the library:

  • “/Library/Graphics/ISF” (typically used for shaders installed by apps – available to all applications and users on the system)
  • “~/Library/Graphics/ISF” (typically used for user shaders – available to all applications on the system for the specified user account)
  • “~/Movies/Motion ISF” (shaders installed here will only be automatically detected by Motion)

Links to these directories can be found in the main interface for ISF for Motion for quick access.

Shaders installed in these directories will appear as Generators, Effects and Transitions in the Motion Library.

You can also get to these directories in the Finder by using the Go To Folder option in the Go menu. They can also be accessed easily from within the ISF Editor.

4- How do I add shaders so they show up in the Library section of FCP X?

The ISF For Motion adds ISF shaders to the library in Motion as described in the previous question. These shaders can be included when using Motion to create generator / FX / transition templates for FCP X.

FCP X templates can be automatically generated by ISF for Motion. For more information see the ISF for Motion in FCP X page.

5- How do I remove the watermark?

Launch the ISF For Motion app and use the in app purchase option to remove the watermark from the rendering output.

6- Do I need to run the app in the background when using Motion?

No, after the ISF For Motion app is installed in /Applications, launch it once and it will be recognized by Motion even when not running. After this you only need to use the app to remove the watermark or to create / update templates for Final Cut Pro X.

7- What should I do if I have a problem with ISF For Motion?

Please contact our support email for any issues with ISF For Motion.

8- How can I restore a previous purchase for removing the watermark when switching between computers or re-installing the app?

Use the option in the app to restore previous purchases and make sure to log in with the same Apple ID that was used for the original transaction.

If you have any problems please contact our support email.

Features

  • Over 200 shaders are built in to ISF for Motion out of the box, without any additional installs. This standard set of open source ISF shaders is also available to get started with as a learning resource and remixing.
  • Make your own interactive GLSL shaders to use in Motion and FCP X as generators, FX and transitions.
  • Each individual shader appears in Motion with its own listing in the Library alongside built-in asset types.
  • Automatically generates templates to use ISF shaders in FCP X.
  • ISF allows for publishing shader variables so they can be adjusted and keyframed within the timeline like any other resource in the library.
  • Shaders can be written, modified and remixed using any standard text editor, or with our free ISF Editor tool.
  • Render out complex shaders that can’t be handled in real-time as movie files, at ultra high 8k resolutions.
  • ISF was originally designed for the fastest real-time rendering use cases, and also takes advantage of the graphics card when used in Motion and FCP X.
  • The ISF Specification is an open source format that can be used to create and process video on the web, desktop and mobile platforms, in a variety of different host tools and open source codebase libraries.