Custom Title Page with Play Button?

lisamckayla · Post by **lisamckayla** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:10 am

In my old pinnacle program I was able to put a play button on my title page and have that page recycle over and over until I pushed play.

What I really liked about this is that I could custom make my title page complete with title, details, dates, etc. and have my play button on that page.

Is there a way to do that in VideoStudio 9? I really just want my title page to stay on until I tell it to play. It makes for a great presentation when I have that just sitting on the screen while I talk about what we are going to be watching.

Am I making any kind of sense?

Are my two options either extending the length of the title to say 20 seconds and hope that I can talk fast enough to not have my movie start playing before I finish OR Using a premade menu page and making chapters...and even then I hit play on a chapter and it will just start playing. It (premade title with presentation details) is not going to sit there on the screen like I want it to.

I hope someone out there can decode this message and know what I am asking. <grin>

Lisa

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:58 am

My understanding -- based on experience from VS7 to 10+ -- is that the main menu will indeed just sit there and recycle until such time as you hit the button representing one of the active videos you have recorded to disc. There's no magic involved -- that's the way it behaves. At least it does for me...

The only thing I make certain of is both to set the background music played with the main menu to not quite the maximum of 30 seconds, AND I edit a music track for it either using SmartSound or a third party audio program to make sure the music only goes for, say, 29.5 seconds and ends or fades out at that point: I hate it when the music just cuts off abruptly at 30 seconds and starts again from the beginning. Sounds so 'unprofessional'.

And if you want the movie to start playing immediately you hit the relevant button on the main menu, you don't have to have created a chapter menu either. Just don't select it on the first page of the burning module....

lisamckayla · Post by **lisamckayla** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:54 am

ok, the main menu will sit there until I push play. Can I add any text boxes to the main menu templates. OR better yet, can I design my own?

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:08 am

Hi Lisa

You could use the first play option.
‘Use first clip as introductory video’

Create a short video a few minutes long.
On inserting the dvd the first video will auto play to the end then open the menu page.
Sit on the menu page until you choose a thumbnail/menu.

Trevor

Post by **Ken Berry** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:48 am

With the 'Smart Menu' feature of VS10, you can do virtually what you like in the design of your menu. You can also design your own menu from the ground up using Ulead's Photo Impact program, as the VS templates all use PhotoImpact's .ufo format. However, I am not an expert at this, though there are others on the Board who are...

Or if you want greater control over all aspects of authoring, then Ulead's DVD Workshop will give you that, including great flexibility (and greater sophistication) with menus.

And before you ask, no I don't work for Ulead!!!

lisamckayla · Post by **lisamckayla** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:16 pm

The introductory video?

Does that have to be video or can it be a still photo?

Post by **Ron P.** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:06 pm

It can be a still image. It can be used to play the FBI copyright Warning image or whatever you want..

Ron P.

lisamckayla · Post by **lisamckayla** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:39 pm

ok, I clicked the box that says "Use first clip as introductory video" and now it won't let me go on. The NEXT button is shadowed and the Add/Edit Chapter is shadowed also. Can't click on either one. All it will let me do is CLOSE. I have tried to click on the box titled "Create Menu" and that doesn't change a thing.

Thoughts?

Post by **Ron P.** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 3:38 am

Sorry Lisa I messed up on that. It must be a video file, however can be a short one of nothing more then an image. So if you want to have an image as the first play, then just render the image as a video file, and then you should be able to use it.

Ron P.

lisamckayla · Post by **lisamckayla** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:28 am

ok, thanks Ron...I will try it and see how that works!

Lisa

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:49 am

lisamckayla wrote:ok, I clicked the box that says "Use first clip as introductory video" and now it won't let me go on. The NEXT button is shadowed and the Add/Edit Chapter is shadowed also. Can't click on either one. All it will let me do is CLOSE. I have tried to click on the box titled "Create Menu" and that doesn't change a thing.

Thoughts?

Hi Lisa

The first to play introductory video cannot have a menu.
It just auto plays after inserting the disc into a player.
Then goes to the main menu.

You have to Add your main video to the timeline as a second video.
Treat this as normal creating your menu.

Trevor