MO2
OK, so MO2 isn’t an app… it is actually a plug-in that works inside of Final Cut and Motion. Considering it’s just a plug-in… it’s pretty amazing considering how much it can do.
I used this app a lot for animating “Action Time Action Unit” and has been a go-to for many Motion Graphics related projects as well.
I found the Render quality to be pretty good. I’m not sure it looks life-like, but it sure does a good job simulating a view through a lens. I liked the ability to add my own models, and adjust the textures. I ended up purchasing several of the add-on packs for MO2. I found the additional textures to be excellent. It comes with a wide assortment of models so you can play around with it right after downloading and install which is handled by their own M-Installer app (much like Adobe Creative Cloud installs). Being able to layer things with MO2 with existing Motion and Final Cut content is huge as well. You can also set up Drop Zones so external content can be dropped into the 3D scene as well.
There are some drawbacks to using this plugin. If you have a large scene with a lot of stuff moving around, it can get slowed down a bit more than some dedicated 3D app like Blender. Some of the more tedious clicking around in the Plug-in comers from the fact that it is a plug-in running inside of whatever project you want. Scanning my mouse across my list of custom Generators in Final Cut has to slowly instantiate the plug-in just to show you a preview which can get annoying. I’d recommend putting any MO2 generators you make into their own folder so they wont be listed with the rest of your filters, and Generators in Motion or Final Cut.
Being able to instance objects really give this thing some firepower in making some cool Motion Graphics. Set up several objects along a line, gird, or even on vertices of another object and affect settings based on their proximity to another object. This plugin really is capable of a lot of advanced things. I have not tried using it with mTracker plugin, but it has features to work side by side with it.
Overall, having this available from Final Cut Pro, and Motion is a huge bonus to quickly add some 3D elements into an existing project without leaving the app and is totally worth the $199 asking price in my opinion just for the workflow benefits alone.
From what I can tell they will not be making an Apple Silicon optimized version of MO2, but will likely have an upgraded version down the road that is made to work on your M1 Mac. You can run it on Apple Silicon, but only if you laugh Motion or Final Cut in Rosetta mode. I will certainly be getting more use out of this plugin once they’ve got an Apple Silicon version complete.