Corel Move is a simple animation program.  Use Corel Draw and PhotoPaint to produce "actors" and "props," use the ones in the libraries provided, incorporate sound, video and animation in standard formats.  In short, make really neat shows that run on fairly standard Windows machines -- that's what Move is about.  It is also a lot of fun.

Corel bought this program from Motion Works International.  It looks as if it needs a bit more work -- it's nicely conceived, but without being fully thought through.  Move should work well >if< your system is pretty close to generic.  The more your system shifts from that lowest-common-denominator, the less likely it is you will be able to use Move.

If you do find you can use Move, make sure to install it to the fixed disk -- or add a second CD-ROM drive to your system.  You will want to access the substantial library of props and actors that -- at least in principle -- the clip art library represents.  If you do choose to run Move from the CD-ROM while other programs are located on the fixed disk, you will need to use David Brickley's SetDraw 4.0 to adjust path statements in various .INI files; without this step.  Move will have problems finding filters, otherwise, and will not import props and actors except through OLE2.

The trick to >any< animation program is careful planning.  Start with a story board:
You might use Corel Draw to create the basics, with Mosaic as a way to see the whole series as thumbnails.  It's a bit cumbersome; there are better ways, but the idea remains:  Plan the story.

Next, create backgrounds.  These are bitmap images -- you could create a background in Corel Draw and export it, or use PhotoPaint, or it might be a scanned image. Add objects (in Move parlance, "actors") imported Corel Draw or PhotoPaint -- Move is a good OLE client, and lets you open either of the major image-makers from within.  Preexisting objects from AutoDesk's Animator or in Video for Windows .AVI format can be used as well.

Set up a path for the objects using the Path tool (this looks like the Corel Draw node-edit tool -- a bit confusing); as you insert each step in the path, the object you are moving follows the path along.  Play the animation (the controls follow the VCR convention -- strange, since this convention is admittedly not accessible to a lot of people) and watch the object(s) move along the path, or appear depending on the frame they are entered in.

Move can also do cel animation.  The Actor editor can accept multiple cels, and can provide an "onionskin" image against which to compare the steps in the developing movement.  For example, create a crow with wings at the top of the cycle, then use the cel animator to create a series of images with the wings in different points of the flight cycle -- the more cells the smoother the movement, but also the longer the time to show the cycle.

Paste the cel back into the main animation.  Set up the path in the usual way, and as the actor moves along the path, the cels are flipped at each point -- the more points the more natural the movement. 

In our tests the animation tools worked well, within limits.  The sound capabilities proved a problem.  We use MuLaw-compressed .WAV files; until Move, we had not encountered any entry-level Windows multimedia tool that could not use these files.  Move simply will not read these files, which suggests that Motion Works decided to do things its way, rather than using the standard Windows utilities.  

Move is perfectly adequate for rolling demos and shows.  Use the Export-to-Movie command to create a .AVI format version which can be played on any Windows-based system that has the advanced Windows media viewer.