Skipping first video clip as a montion menu

welchb · Post by **welchb** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:24 pm

Hi All,

Been a while since I posted or answered (not sure if that's good or bad) but still have a read of this board which is ever helpful...... anyway.....

VS9 question please.

Just finishing a small project and I've created a small (30 sec) compliation clip of the content of the longer video.

I want to use this compliation clip the motion menu when I create the DVD but don't then want to play the 1st clip/video.

Does anyone know if I can do this with VS9

Would appreciate the help ?

Cheers,

Brian

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:20 pm

Hi Brian

If I understand what you want correctly - just do not import your small compilation clip into the "Create Disc" timeline - only put the video you want thumbnails of in there, - DO NOT check the "use first clip as introductory video" box - then after you have clicked on "Next" and get to the window where you set up your DVD menu , under the preview screen click on "Background" and choose "Select a background Video for this menu" - you can then browse to your compilation video and select it and then click 'open' - that should give you your compilation video playing behind the thumbnails.

Don't forget to set the duration immediately under the preview screen to the length of your compilation or else it may get chopped or give you a black background depending on whether you set to short or to long. (this will also affect the length of time the thumbnails show before resetting to the beginning again)

welchb · Post by **welchb** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:15 am

Hi Brian,

I did post earlier but not sure this updated so apoligies if this dupes.

Anyway, not sure this is quite what I want.

I actually want the compliation to play within the "montion menu" and not as part of the background.

I will check out what you say in case I've missed the point but I have a picutre as background and music on the menu and only want the thumbnail menu showing the highlights of whats about to follow.

When the uses press's play I then want the main video to play and the complation is skipped.

I'm thinking that perhaps VS9 does not have this capability and perhaps I need something like Ulead's DVD workshop ?

If you or someone can assist further I would be garetful.

Thanks,

Brian

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:48 am

No I don't think you can do that in VideoStudio - if you put your compilation at the beginning of the video so that it plays in the thumbnail then when the viewer presses play they will see the compilation first before the main event.

Hopefully some one knows different ?

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:56 am

welchb wrote: I'm thinking that perhaps VS9 does not have this capability and perhaps I need something like Ulead's DVD workshop ?

I believe you are correct -- DVD WS 2.x will allow you to drop your small video onto the menu thumbnail to become the motion for that thumbnail...

Regards,
George

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:50 pm

GeorgeW is correct, it cannot be done with Video Studio and can be done with DVD Workshop.
There is an explanation here of how I use a thumbnail other than the one which is the start of the chapter concerned.

http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=10900

It uses a small easy to use program named Menu Edit
http://www.dimadsoft.com/menuedit/

Briefly using DVD Workshop you create your DVD but burn it to the hard drive, make some small and easy alterations with Menu Edit then burn to DVD with your favourite burning software.

Steve J

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:59 pm

I can't try it at the moment, but I believe Ulead included a new function in MovieFactory 4.0 that allows you to have a motion button, but start the motion at a different section than the chapter mark. I wonder if they included that function in VideoStudio 9's Authoring program

I'll try it later tonight...

The OP wanted to use an entirely different clip as the motion button -- I don't think menuedit will let you do that -- but it might be possible to do it in DVDRemake Pro...

I agree -- that program (menuedit) is a neat utility

Regards,
George

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:57 pm

GeorgeW
I've just taken a brief look through Movie Factory 4 and also VS9 but cannot see an option to play a thumbnail from anywhere other than the start.

To do what I suggested with MenuEdit you have to include text below (or wherever you prefer) the thumbnail. the thumbnail can be his looping video. You link the real chapter to the text, now create the DVD.

You then use MenuEdit to remove the button effect of the thumbnail.
You then end up with a motion thumbnail (That cannot be selected) but the text next to it acts as the link to the correct chapter.

Regards

Steve J

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:33 pm

sjj1805 wrote:GeorgeW
I've just taken a brief look through Movie Factory 4 and also VS9 but cannot see an option to play a thumbnail from anywhere other than the start.

To do what I suggested with MenuEdit you have to include text below (or wherever you prefer) the thumbnail. the thumbnail can be his looping video. You link the real chapter to the text, now create the DVD.

You then use MenuEdit to remove the button effect of the thumbnail.
You then end up with a motion thumbnail (That cannot be selected) but the text next to it acts as the link to the correct chapter.

Regards

Steve J

I thought the "different start position thumbnail" function was added to MF4DC -- I'll check tonight (I could be getting my authoring packages mixed up)

I misunderstood what you were doing with menuedit. I get it now. Like you said in your other post, you would need DWS or some other package that allows assigning the buttons to specific scenes...

But if you had that functionality (like in DWS), you could just plop your small video onto the thumbnail, and skip the menuedit step completely...

Regards,
George

Post by **Ken Berry** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:42 pm

You most definitely can start your menu animated playback at any chosen point within the video in MF4, whereas, with VS9, the menu always starts at the beginning of the video regardless of where you think you have moved the 'selector' to... I have been using MF since version 2, and its more sophisiticated menu building, including this specific feature, is one reason I keep buying the upgrades...! (In fact, I thought this feature was added in MF3, but I could be wrong and have it confused with a third party program I was using at the time which also allows fully selectable start points for animated menu icons...)

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:01 pm

Thanks Ken, I thought that function was in MF4. I remember testing for Ulead, and talking about that specific option

But then I started second guessing myself... They say the mind is the 2nd thing to go...

What's the first thing to go you might ask??? I don't remember (baddabump...)

Regards,
George

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 10:43 pm

Ken (Or George)
Obviously I use DVD Workshop 2 for creating my DVDs but when I saw the query I opened up Movie Factory 4 Disc Creator to have a poke around.

I still can't find a way to set the thumbnail start position to somewhere other than the actual start. For the benefit of those without the luxury of Workshop 2 could you perhaps explain how to do it.

I found "Change Thumbnail" in the add/edit chapter part, but that's only good for a still menu. With motion it still played the actual chapter.

Regards
Steve J

Post by **Ken Berry** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:24 pm

It's not too different from what you do in VS9. I open MF4, use Add Media to put in the files I want to burn, making sure 'Create Menu' is ticked. Then click Next. On the next page, I can choose my menu template from the selection along the bottom, and my separate videos appear as icons on the preview screen. I simply double click on a screen icon, and another little preview screen pops up with a slider below it. This is labelled, logically enough 'Start Position'

. You drag this slider to the point in the video where you want the animation to start in the final menu, then click OK and the icon face in the preview screen then changes to that scene. You can do much the same thing in VS9, the big difference being that in VS9, the pop-up screen is really no more than a preview screen, and always reverts to the first frame in the final menu.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:31 pm

Ken,

I tried everything, right click and search all the available options, never tried double click! Many thanks. I bet plenty of others using Movie Factory 4 are unaware.

George, How about moving this over to the Tutorials and I shall tidy it up a bit.

Regards
Steve J
Tutorials Moderator.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:33 pm

Hey Steve, I just noticed your new title!! Congratulations and well deserved!!!