Lack of FCPX Round-Tripping is Motion 5’s Fatal Flaw

Why this critical feature was removed from the new Apple video suite (FCPX, Motion 5, Compressor) is mind boggling. Motion 5 is basically the backbone of FCPX. And yet you have to subject yourself to the cumbersome, time-consuming, error-prone process of exporting individual clips from FCPX, then manually import them into Motion, then export a new clip from Motion and then manually import it back into FCPX **for every new iteration of an effect edit you want to do**. WHAT? The FCPX/Motion 5 combo would be a viable After Effects competitor if they brought this feature back! (YES, it used to exist in the former FCP7/Motion 4 days! Why, oh WHY did they get rid of it?!?!).

Otherwise, it is a fantastic program and a real value as an After Effects alternative. The best part of Motion is being able to customize FCPX effects/transitions/etc. and create new ones to use inside FCPX.

It’s been 5 years since the new Apple video reboot, and still no round-tripping. There must be some essential part of the software’s design that prevents this feature from working, otherwise I can only imagine Apple would have included it. Maybe it’s still on the roadmap. One can dream, right?

Aimless Idler about Motion