How to Solve an Error with Motion not Opening? | Pixel Film Studios Help Center

Motion Won’t Open or Is Slow to Launch

If you’re having trouble opening Motion from the Dock or Applications folder, there are a few common causes. This guide covers why it happens and how to get Motion running normally again.

Motion Templates and Launch Performance

Motion loads data from your Motion Templates folders when it starts. These include:

Effects
Generators
Titles
Transitions

If you have a large number of templates installed, Motion may take longer to open or appear unresponsive during launch.

Important Note

Pixel Film Studios plugins are designed for use in Final Cut Pro, not Motion. Because of this, having many plugins installed in your Motion Templates folders can impact Motion’s performance. undefined

Solution: Use “Extra” Template Folders

To improve launch speed, you can temporarily move templates out of the main Motion Templates folders while using Motion.

Step 1: Create additional folders

Inside your Motion Templates directory, create the following folders:

Effects – Extra
Generators – Extra
Titles – Extra
Transitions – Extra

Step 2: Move templates when using Motion

Move templates from the main folders into their corresponding “Extra” folders
This reduces the amount of data Motion loads at startup

Step 3: Move templates back when needed

When returning to Final Cut Pro, move the templates back into their original folders

Reset Motion Preferences

If Motion won’t open or crashes, resetting preferences can help resolve the issue.

Before you begin

Open Motion Preferences and note any custom settings you want to keep

Reset steps

Quit Motion
Hold Command + Option
Reopen Motion while holding the keys
Click Delete Preferences

This resets Motion to default settings without affecting your projects or media.

Reinstall Motion

If Motion is still not working, reinstalling the application may resolve the issue.

Steps:

Open Finder → Applications
Locate Motion and move it to the Trash
Open the App Store
Download and reinstall Motion

Additional Resources

For more detailed troubleshooting, visit Apple’s official support page:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203475