Scripts or Alternative in DVDA Pro 5.2?

hnm wrote on 1/18/2012, 2:01 PM
I think I need scripts to do this. My phone-in contract tells me "nobody here qualified on that--go to the forums". Not finding any discussion. I'll give it a try.

I want to have a menu run a short video, then give a still image for the actual menu (buttons & all). I see this happen on dvd's all the time. Is scripting the way? Or is there something easier? Thanks!

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 1/18/2012, 2:52 PM
Of course you can do this! I'm surprised you couldn't find someone to help you! I even show you how to do it my book..

First, to do this you'll need a short video to serve as your background. Have the last few seconds of the video be your freeze frame.

Then add the video as your menu background and set your Loop Point (the green vertical marker on your Timeline) to the point at which your video freezes.

The Loop Point sets the point at which your navigation buttons and titles appear. So your video will play, then freeze and your buttons and text will show up.

Is that what you're trying to do?
hnm wrote on 1/19/2012, 12:11 PM
Thanks Steve. Yeah, I was surprised too.
---What's the book title?
Yes, that's it. So far, so good. Actually, STELLAR!
"Intuitive"--yeah, right! ;-) I thought "Loop" only meant 'play it again Sam'. Silly me!

Question 1: I don't see how to get my videos to show up in the buttons (I used some DVDA btns for this test).
Question 2 (an extension): I tried adding music to the menu, permitting the music to be longer than the background video. Loop-point marker did not retain the frame of the bkgd like it did w/o the music. What do I do there?

Thanks again!
Chienworks wrote on 1/19/2012, 2:18 PM
DVD structure really doesn't know how to handle audio & video being different lengths. It treats them as a unified object. For example, there's no way to have a continuous audio program keep playing as you switch from one menu to the next. When you add longer music it probably changes how the loop is calculated. You'll have to stick with music being the same length as the video and put up with the music stopping and going back too. If you get really creative you can time the music so that the segue is pleasant rather than jarring.
Steve Grisetti wrote on 1/19/2012, 2:38 PM
My book, by the way, shows you a lot of this stuff and will likely answer most of your questions. You can find it on Amazon. Just do a search on my name or on DVD Architect Studio. And thanks for your interest!

Meantime, you can check out my free 3-part Basic Training tutorial series here:
http://muvipix.com/products.php?searchphrase=dvd+architect+studio&btn.x=0&btn.y=0