Storyline Motion Path, Smooth Start and Smooth End

Jan 30, 2015

Hi Everyone,

Am I correct in saying Storyline does not have "Smooth Start" and "Smooth End" motion paths settings like PowerPoint does?

Thanks in advance!

17 Replies
Keith Kemsley

I might be missing something, but what I need is a NON-SMOOTH start and a SMOOTH ending. (This allows for a fly-in from the side and then an immediate transition to a motion path and then a smooth end; such that it mimics FLASH text movement onto the screen. This is easy in Presenter but struggling to find start/end...number of milliseconds...settings in Storyline.)

 

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Keith, 

Motion paths start and end smoothly by default, meaning the starting and ending speed is a bit slower than the rest of the animation. This is called Easing. You can turn the easing on/off for the starting and ending points using the Direction drop-down, then adjust the subtlety using the Speed drop-down.

Have you reviewed the information here about working with motion paths? 

Keith Kemsley

That's what I had run into from the beginning, which means it can't be done.

(You've seen text fly in at high speeds and then go slow for about an inch or so and then ease to a stop on websites and FLASH marketing presentations, etc. We've always used the "easing" function in PowerPoint to accomplish this. We'll have to get creative and see if there's another way in SL.)

 

Brett Rockwood

Hi Alyssa,

I made a feature request of this a couple of years ago but still have high hopes of seeing it.

One way I use it is with push transitions where I create panoramic images (or a series of images) that span more than one screen. Then with a push from right transition it creates a nice pan to the right side of an image on the next screen. With the easing this panning is very unnatural looking and really spoils the effect of a nice pan. It's kind of hard to describe but it's a nice cinematic effect when done with a slow, smooth transition.

How I do it: Basically I create an Illustrator file that is 3-4 slides wide (or however many I want) and then position the images I want on the artboard. So for a four-slide set up when your SL size is 720 x 540 I make an Illustrator file that is 2880 x 540. I set guidelines in the Illustrator file at 1440 and 2160 which breaks up the Illustrator file into 4 section 720 pixels wide. I then put the artwork in Illustrator and, for the best effect, make sure that each individual image bleeds across the guides. You can build whatever you like in Illustrator across the 4 screen wide panorama. Once everything is all set in Illustrator you can use the Slice function to export four PNG files that are exactly 720 x 540. Then you place them on four slides in SL and set the transition between slides to be a Push from the Right. It's a lovely effect when done smoothly (PPT allows this) but it looks jerky or a bit like whiplash with easing.

Here are two quick samples using panoramic skylines.

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