Metadata as Text Overlay?

Hi All

Does anyone know a simple way to generate a text overlay or effect that is automatically made of metadata like the Project name, today's date, file source name, etc or text variables that are user-defined? I've been looking for ways to do it that avoids manually typing out or changing a text overlay every time I do a new output (eliminates user error, e.g.)

Any thoughts?

You can use XML of a final project the to map those values to a title template.

-Andreas

But not with live data within the project itself? What I'm talking about is similar to how FCP lets you use metadata to batch rename assets using existing live metadata from within the project.

What's the best way to create a title template?

That may require FxPlug coding or something.

Not being a Motion guy, is there anything in Motion that does something like this?

What I'm describing is akin to a word processor header set-up where it can auto enter Today's date, the Filename, Filepath, and other variables like Page numbers.

I can see the utility of this where you set it up once and then it adapts to what's there. For example, if I wanted to output a sequence with an overlay of each source file name over each cut in the edit and today's date, an overlay of the project or sequence name etc.

In such a metadata-centric application as FCPX, this seems like an area ripe for development....

BenB: That may require FxPlug coding or something.

That's true, there is no other way.
And I doubt its possible at all with the current version of FCPX.

-Andreas

The name of the current project and its associated metadata isn't sent to the plugin system.

That makes it hard for any plugin to take this information and display information of your choice in an overlay (or to use the information to control colour and other parameters).

So, there's no "simple way to generate a text overlay or effect that is automatically made of metadata like the Project name, today's date, file source name, etc"

The complex way is to export the project in XML format and use a custom application to process the XML so adds titles using field values from the XML.

@Alex4D

Motion is not a metadata engine, just a motion graphics app. FCP X is the metadata engine. But to be able to design according to standard metadata would be nice. I never thought about that before. Time to fill out the feedback page again.

Thanks all, for your clarifications.

I figured there was probably something simple I was overlooking, but it seems more like a low-level issue. I like the idea of dynamically color coding assets based on keywords (hmmm.... Mavericks just introduced this, sort of...) and other ways to mine the information that's already there. There's already some level of this functionality in how batch renaming currently works with pucks or tokens of metadata that can be assembled in a user-defined string, so it stands to reason that you'd be able to generate an overlay with much the same information in much the same way. Something for the suggestion bin!