Exercise 10 · Rig It & Ship a MOGRT

Project 4 · Mixed-Media VFX Spot + Template · Week 15 · Expressions, Rigging & MOGRTs · ~60 min

Practice goal: Build a control rig with production expressions, then package the piece as a MOGRT for Premiere.

Set up: New project. A graphic / lower-third / title to rig (e.g., from Project 1).

Steps

1. New comp Main; add a control Null “CTRL” with Slider / Checkbox / Color controls (Speed, Bounce, Fade, Brand Color).
2. Inertial bounce: keyframe a layer, then add an inertial-bounce expression driven by the “Bounce” slider.
3. Auto-fade: link Opacity to the “Fade” slider (or a time-based auto-fade at in/out).
4. Counter: drive a text layer's Source Text with a slider / time for an animated number.
5. Pick-whip fills to the CTRL Color control so one control recolors the rig.
6. Combine a keyframed base with an expression (keyframes + loopOut() / wiggle()) on one property.
7. Name and comment every control; test by dragging sliders — the rig responds predictably (fix any red errors).
8. Open the Essential Graphics panel; add the promoted controls (text, color, sliders) as the template's controls.
9. Set a poster frame, name the template, and check the supported/unsupported warnings.
10. Export a Motion Graphics Template (.mogrt) for Premiere Pro.
11. Save & render a demo of the rig being driven.

Free tutorials & references

• Intro to Expression Rigs — School of Motion
• One Comp to Rule Them All (rigs) — Workbench
• Create Motion Graphics Templates (official) — Adobe Help

Done when

A one-null control rig with production expressions drives the piece, packaged and exported as a reusable .mogrt with clearly named controls.

Files

Pittman_Ex10_RigAndMOGRT.aep → render Pittman_Ex10_RigAndMOGRT.mov · versions Pittman_Ex10_RigAndMOGRT_001.aep Exercise 10 also exports a .mogrt template — name it to match.

This drill is your in-class activity for the week (worth 2 points) and ladders directly into the project.