Here are some of the limits we ran into testing for use in an actual post-production workflow.
Presumes the following environment:
- Complex timelines with many Motion Graphics templates and many instances of each template both in one sequence and across multiple sequences
- On-the-fly changes being made a) to the design of the templates, b) to the text and properties in the instances, c) quantity of property controls passed from AE to PPRo
#1: The only way we're able to introduce a MOGRT (Motion Graphics) file into the project is by dragging it into a timeline. Can't drag to a the project panel, a bin, or even the Essential Graphics-generated "Motion Graphics Templates Media" bin. Dragging into the timeline is not exactly optimal. Risky. Easy to accidentally over-write existing timeline cuts. This is more of an inconvenience than a deal-breaker. The following are more problematic
#2: We haven't found a way to update an existing Motion Graphic at the PPro project level. If we update a template in AE we're forced to re-import/re-introduce the updated version to our PPro project. It arrives as a new (same-named) template that can't be linked or merged with the prior. In order to update sequences with the new template, we have to select all related instances and execute a "Replace Clip With..." That's ok for smaller, simpler projects. It's a deal-breaker for larger, more complex ones. Why...
- In a complex project there's no easy way to quickly and accurately select all the timeline instances relating to one particular template, shy of using dedicated tracks, or some JSX.
- If there are multiple sequences all sharing multiple instances of Motion Graphics of Templates the prospect of constantly updating all of quickly becomes daunting.
- It's an inefficient, time-consuming process.
#3: Even after updating Motion Graphics timeline instances, the updated instances don't reflect certain changes made at the AE context, namely additions or changes in property controls. The only solution to that we've been able to come up with involves over-cutting the new Motion Graphic into the timeline. That means losing any text entries or property settings. That takes more time, introduces more risk than #2 above.
Curious to know if we're just over-looking something -- that there is some way to replace Motion Graphics at the project level that includes all style and property changes. Would love to know we can overcome these limitations. Otherwise, for our purposes, Motion Graphics are a brilliant, promising new development with great potential but which are self-defeating in a complex, professional post-prod workflow. And yet that's precisely the environment to which Motion Graphics seem best suited.