Build a reusable pie chart in Motion by giving each circle-based sector numeric start and end controls, then publishing those controls to Final Cut Pro. This walkthrough creates four original sectors and explains how to enter proportions without gaps or overlaps.

The task is for a Mac editor who wants an adjustable chart clip in the Final Cut Pro timeline. The controls below use cumulative percentages around the circle. They do not automatically normalize four raw values: calculating the boundaries is an explicit part of the workflow.

Choose the template and control model

Use a Final Cut Generator project. Apple documents this template type for graphical content that can appear above other timeline clips or stand alone in the primary storyline. Saving the template makes it available in Final Cut Pro’s generator browser. Create a generator template in Motion.

Use compatible installations of Motion and Final Cut Pro. Apple’s current generator-editing instructions say to update both apps and specify that both must be Apple Creator Studio versions or both must be one-time purchases. Older tutorials may show different interface wording; select the appropriate version in Apple’s documentation when working with an older installation. Modify Final Cut Pro for Mac generators in Motion.

This design combines documented shape and rig controls into a custom chart. Each sector has a start boundary and an end boundary, measured from the same origin around a circle. Eight numeric controls expose all four sectors individually. The arithmetic and chart construction are a worked design derived from those controls, rather than an Apple-supplied pie-chart preset.

For example, a sector starting at 40% and ending at 70% occupies 30% of the circle. Entering 30 as its end boundary would not produce that result. Keep this distinction visible in the control names: use Sector B Start (%) and Sector B End (%), rather than an ambiguous Sector B Value.

Build four matching sector graphics

Create the project through File > New from Project Browser, select Final Cut Generator, choose the project settings, and click Open. For an illustrative desktop project, use 1920 × 1080 and a ten-second duration; choose a higher resolution if the intended edit requires it. Apple recommends creating templates at the highest resolution you will use. Create a generator template in Motion.

Create one circle before making copies

Choose the Circle tool in the canvas toolbar and hold Shift while drawing to constrain it to a circle. Press Escape when finished. Apple documents both the circle tool and the Shift constraint. Draw simple shapes in Motion.

Name the layer Sector A. Center it in the project and keep its horizontal and vertical dimensions equal. In the Geometry pane of the Shape Inspector, leave Curvature at 100% and set equal Radius values for both axes. These controls preserve the circular path used by every sector. Geometry pane controls in Motion.

In the Style pane, turn off Fill, enable Outline, and choose Solid for Brush Type. Set Start Cap and End Cap to None, and choose a solid Brush Color. Apple documents the outline width, cap choices, and the First Point Offset and Last Point Offset controls used to trim the outline. Style pane controls in Motion.

The construction uses a very thick circular outline to form a filled sector. As an illustrative starting point, use a circular path radius of 150 pixels and an outline width of 300 pixels. Geometrically, a centered stroke with half its width equal to the path radius reaches the center; its outer radius is 300 pixels. This is the reasoning behind the construction, not a separately documented pie-chart command.

Before building the rig, set First Point Offset to 0% and Last Point Offset to 25%. Inspect the result: it should be a quarter-disc with straight radial ends. A hole at the center means the outline is too narrow for the path radius. Projecting or rounded ends mean the cap settings need attention. Check this single sector before duplicating it.

Duplicate the geometry, then change the boundaries

Make three copies of the unrigged circle and name them Sector B, Sector C, and Sector D. Keep their position, radius, rotation, outline width, and layer duration identical. Give them distinct neutral colors—for example, blue, orange, green, and gray—and place them together in a group named Chart.

Use these illustrative values for the initial four-sector chart:

Sector Share First Point Offset Last Point Offset
A 40% 0% 40%
B 30% 40% 70%
C 20% 70% 90%
D 10% 90% 100%

Every sector starts where the previous one ends. All layers must share the same path orientation; rotating one sector independently changes its relationship to these boundaries. Keep the artwork simple while establishing the controls, with no labels or decorative animation competing with the geometry.

Rig numeric start and end controls

Motion rigs contain widgets that drive assigned parameters. Apple documents creating a widget from a parameter’s Animation menu through Add To Rig, or by dragging a parameter row onto a rig. Name each widget in the Layers list before publishing it. Work with widgets in Motion.

Configure one complete slider mapping

Start with the first boundary on Sector A:

  1. Find First Point Offset in the shape’s Style pane. Open its Animation menu and use Add To Rig to create a rig with a slider widget.
  2. Rename the widget Sector A Start (%) in the Layers list.
  3. In the widget’s options, set Range Minimum to 0 and Range Maximum to 100.
  4. Select the left endpoint snapshot tag. Record the controlled offset as 0%.
  5. Select the right endpoint snapshot tag. Record the controlled offset as 100%.
  6. Set the segment’s Interpolation to Linear, then return the widget to the chart’s intended default value.

Both mappings matter. Apple explicitly states that Range Minimum and Range Maximum change the numbers displayed beside the widget; they do not change the underlying parameter values. Mapping the snapshots to 0% and 100% establishes the one-to-one relationship needed here. Linear interpolation keeps intermediate boundary values proportional. Slider widget in Motion.

To record a snapshot, select its tag, click Start beside Edit Mode, change the intended parameter, and click Stop Rig Edit Mode. Repeat for the other endpoint. While recording, adjust only the intended parameter: changes to additional parameters can add them to the widget. Apple describes this recording sequence and the resulting joystick indicator beside rigged parameters. Create and manage snapshots in Motion.

Repeat the mapping for all eight controls

Create a separate slider for each remaining offset, using the same 0-to-100 snapshot mapping. Add them to the existing rig, but keep each offset assigned to its own widget:

Widget name Controlled layer Controlled parameter Default
Sector A Start (%) Sector A First Point Offset 0
Sector A End (%) Sector A Last Point Offset 40
Sector B Start (%) Sector B First Point Offset 40
Sector B End (%) Sector B Last Point Offset 70
Sector C Start (%) Sector C First Point Offset 70
Sector C End (%) Sector C Last Point Offset 90
Sector D Start (%) Sector D First Point Offset 90
Sector D End (%) Sector D Last Point Offset 100

After configuring each widget, inspect its assigned parameter list. A slider intended for one boundary should not also change color, radius, or another sector. Set the defaults shown above only after completing the endpoint mappings.

Eight controls provide direct access to each sector’s boundaries, but the editor must maintain matching adjacent values. For a simpler interface, an alternative design can use three shared boundary widgets: one drives A’s end and B’s start, another drives B’s end and C’s start, and the third drives C’s end and D’s start. Motion supports mapping multiple parameters to one widget. That arrangement reduces repeated entry, although the three boundaries must still remain in ascending order. Intro to rigging in Motion.

Calculate boundaries from the values you want to show

For nonnegative input values with a positive total, calculate each share as 100 × sector value ÷ total. The start boundary is the sum of all earlier shares; the end boundary includes the current share. These are chart calculations, performed before entering the controls.

For the synthetic values A = 40, B = 30, C = 20, and D = 10, the total is 100. The boundaries are therefore 0–40, 40–70, 70–90, and 90–100. Their angular spans are 144°, 108°, 72°, and 36°, totaling 360°. These arithmetic results were checked with a small deterministic calculation.

Suppose the next chart uses values 5, 3, 1, and 1. The total is 10, so the shares become 50%, 30%, 10%, and 10%. Enter A as 0–50, B as 50–80, C as 80–90, and D as 90–100. Update both sides of each changed boundary when using the eight-control interface.

Keep unrounded cumulative values where practical, and make the final end boundary exactly 100%. Treat a zero-valued category as absent and verify that its equal start and end settings leave no visible mark. If every value is zero, there is no valid percentage total; choose different sample data before building the chart. Negative inputs do not fit this sector model.

The documented rig mechanism interpolates stored parameter states. This setup contains no calculation that divides each entered value by the sum of the other values. Renaming a slider Amount or changing its displayed range does not add that calculation. Use the boundary workflow when a manually calculated chart meets the editing task. Slider widget in Motion.

Publish the controls and use the generator in Final Cut Pro

In the Rig Inspector or Widget Inspector, Control-click each widget’s control name and choose Publish. Select Project at the top of the Layers list and open Publishing to review the exported controls. Save the template for those published widgets to become available in Final Cut Pro. Publish rigs from Motion to Final Cut Pro.

For the first save, choose File > Save, enter a distinctive name such as Four Sector Pie v1, select a category, and click Publish. This is Motion’s local template-saving operation. Create a generator template in Motion.

In Final Cut Pro, locate the template under Titles and Generators and add it to the timeline. Select the generator clip, position the playhead over it, open the inspector with Command-4, and click the Generator button. Adjust the published controls there while watching the chart. Adjust generators in Final Cut Pro for Mac.

For a practical instance check, add the generator twice. Change only the selected clip’s boundaries, then select the other clip and inspect its values. This confirms the intended per-clip editing workflow in your installed app versions before you use the template throughout an edit.

Preserve the boundary between clip edits and template revisions

Opening a generator in Motion is a different operation from adjusting its published controls in Final Cut Pro. Apple distinguishes Open a copy in Motion for a Final Cut Pro preset from Open in Motion for a Motion-created template. The latter opens the original template project. Modify a Final Cut Pro generator.

Apple also distinguishes the saving operations: File > Save overwrites an existing Motion-created template, while File > Save As creates a copy. Its documentation explains that modifying a preset does not change earlier timeline uses of that preset, but later changes to a customized template can affect timeline instances using that template. Treat template revisions as shared changes. Modify a Final Cut Pro generator.

For a different chart composition, adjust the selected clip’s numeric controls. For a different template structure—such as six sectors instead of four—use File > Save As and give the revision a new name before continuing. Keeping both template versions available makes the distinction between chart data and template design visible.

Diagnose the chart before reusing it

Check the geometry and control mappings in this order:

  • A full disc obscures the other sectors: Check that Fill is disabled and that the intended outline is being trimmed.
  • A central hole remains: Compare outline width with the circular path radius before changing the rig.
  • A gap or overlap appears between sectors: Compare one sector’s end value with the following sector’s start value.
  • Typing 50 produces the wrong boundary: Check both endpoint snapshots and confirm Linear interpolation.
  • A slider changes several unrelated properties: Inspect the widget’s assigned parameters for changes accidentally captured during recording.
  • Controls are missing in Final Cut Pro: Confirm that the widgets are published and that the template was saved.

Finish by checking the default 40/30/20/10 chart, the alternative 50/30/10/10 chart, and two separate timeline uses. Once the boundaries, snapshot mappings, and template version are clear, the generator provides a repeatable way to edit individual sectors numerically while keeping the chart’s proportions explicit.

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