Drop zone and layered menus

Hi,
I have a lovely layered menu made in Photoshop and all works well, but I would like to add a drop zone to it so I can have some of the movie show while the menu is up. I can't get this to work.
I cut out a hole in my psd file and put the movie behind it so it would show through, I then added a layered menu over the top and that works fine except this makes two menus and you can't be in two menus at the same time.
Does anyone have any idea of how to do this?
Best wishes
Michael

Sorry to break this one to you after all your work, but you can't combine video with layered menus - at least, not the way that DVDSP creates a menu from a layered photoshop file.
You can get very close to it though, using a series of menus and sub-menus which you create yourself as standard overlays... this is pretty much how DVDSP will deal with your layered photoshop file anyway. You'll need to create a different menu for each different button state and place the video into each as you want it to appear. However, when you move from menu to menu that video will not be continuous and will start from the first frame each time.
The other thing is why have you used a layered menu in the first place? What is on there that means you have to use layers? Can it be done using standard overlays? If it can, then you will be able to easily add your drop-zone with video to the menu... You might also consider using a layered menu and masking off different areas to simulate the way a layer based menu can reveal different text or images - you can also reveal pieces of video as well - check out the article here:
http://www.editorsbin.com/apple/dvdsp/tutorials/mask_overlay/index.html
There are some limitations with this method, explained throughout the article, but if you can live with these then this might be the better option for you.

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How does one use 'drop zones' in DVD menus?

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I have Premiere Elements 4.0. How does one use 'drop zones' in DVD menus?
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NBK

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I'm trying to burn a dvd from idvd but I keep getting error message, broken assets, but when I check my drop zones and their content there's no error messages on any of them?

I'm trying to burn a dvd from idvd but I keep getting error message, broken assets, but when I check my drop zones and their content there's no error messages on any of them?

Hi
And if You change view - in main "window/view field" so that You see the box-plot structure.
No exclamation marks there either ?
and non at the front page ?
iDVD do not copy Your material - only points to where it is stored. So if on any external hard disks, USB-memories, CDs or DVDs are missing - assetts are broken.
Or if You changed location of any material or directed iPhoto or iTunes or GarageBand to a new Library - Then iMovie/iDVD also get's lost.
Yours Bengt W

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LM
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G

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Is it possible to create a drop zone where the asset is a video clip that contains transparency by way of an alpha channel such that portions of the video allow for the background image to show through?
I am familiar with setting up drop zones and custom shapes and I have used static images with transparency, but I've never done the same with video.
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hi
depending on how complicated your shot is, you may be able to get away with simply placing the image within the frame on top of the background shot. Then resize down to fit. You may then need to tweak its corners using the corner pin tool to get it to sit in the right perspective plane. You may find you need to soften the edges of the top layer image so its not so sharp and hard. For this you probably would need to add a mask and soften its edges. Then you might need to add some noise and/or colour correction to make it sit naturally with the background image. and finally if there are any shadows cast over the picture frame you will need to add them back over the new image. You can use a black shape, with its opacity cranked down with a blur filter on it.
The manual describes all of these process pretty well.
hth
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I'm looking to create a template similar to the Appletv screen saver. I can figure out how to stack the photos in 3D and do motion paths. My question is specifically how to create drop zones into which I can drop either portrait or landscape photos without having to worry about them getting squeezed or cut off. Or is there some other software I need to use?

Thanks so much to both of you. Mark, you are exactly right. I would like to be able to somehow dump a bunch of photos, regardless of orientation, into existing drop zones and have them look correct. I tried placing a portrait photo into the existing drop zones in the appletv motion project and it cropped it. On the actual Appletv itself, it does not crop or squeeze portrait photos.
Do you know of any workarounds to help me do what I would like to do, other than learning how to program core animation?

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This may not be possible with DVD Studio Pro, but does anyone have an idea how to change the size and shape of a Drop Zone and distort them so they look like they are laying on the ground or have some scale.
Refer to a Star Wars DVD where the drop zone is on the deck of the death star, or shaped round, or against a building. Much like the distort tool in Final Cut Pro, but can you do it in DVD studio Pro?
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Thanks

sorry typo, assets
You can use Photoshop, Final Cut, Motion, After Effects or other program you like using, you mentioned the distort tool in Final Cut, and there are similar tools in the other programs.
What you would do is compositie the menu in Motion or AE or FCP (if you want movement) and make the drop zones part of that (or in Photoshop) The drop zones can also just be manipulated by going into DVD SP --> Package--Resources and you can see the actual files, copy and distort the copy to use. Makke sure to use a copy

How do I get pics into Drop Zones for Templates?

I am having a problem that is probably simple, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. I opened a templated in Motion and noticed that some of the templates have drop zones, a la iDVD.
Okay, so I found some pics in the browser but when I went to drag them into the drop zone, the image did not go into into the drop zone, and instead a new layer was created. I've tried this countless times and can't seem to gt the pictures to go in the drop zones.
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The problem is one of interpretation. What you are seeing are grey "replace media" items which need to be replaced with what you want. They aren't 'drop zones' ala IDVD or DVDSP (basically it's an image with a mask or overlay over it giving it that 'drop zone' look)
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2)Click on one of the "replace" files. Then click the "Inspector" tab in the Browser window. Then you'll see a window that says "Linked Objects." and below that "replace media file." Click "Replace media File" and then choose the file you want to insert/replace (you'll have to de-select "Show Matching Names Only" to be able to replace it with your own file)
OR:
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3) Open up that layer (click the triangle) and you will see Replace 1, Replace 2, etc (depends on your template)
4) Drag the image you want to insert/replace into the template to the sublayer called "replace 1" etc.
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Drop Zone Resize

I'm using one of the templates in Motion and when I drop in a photo into the drop zone I'd like to resize the dropped in pic. Can't figure out how to do this.
Can it be done?

Dan,
With your drop zone highlighted in the LAYERS tab, go to your Inspector window, click the image tab. you will see your "drop zone" checked. just beneath it is a parameter called "fit". it has 3 choices: fit, center and stretch. I think FIT: fits the image in the drop zone with the correct aspect ratio, CENTER: centers the image at it's original size, in the center of the drop zone, and STRETCH: stretches the image to fill the drop zone.
chose the one that fits your need. you can also make adjustments to the image in the properties tab after you have placed the image in the drop zone. hope this helps
steve

Can A Rectangular Drop Zone Be Distorted?

Occasionally when I drop a photo on the menu to create a drop zone I would like to distort it slightly to give a feeling of perspective . . . . . as though the picture were at a slight angle (not to be confused with rotating the image).
Is it possible, without putting the image in Photoshop, to generate the distortion?

Yes. You have complete control over layers in Motion. The easiest way to create a rhombus would be to add an image to a Motion project, then adjust Four Corners parameter in the Properties tab of the inspector. There is also a cursor tool that will let you adjust that parameter free-hand.
You can then turn that image into a drop zone and save the project. Then later, you can add any image you want in there (presuming the goal is to create a distorted image rather than a masked image) and export QT movies for DVD Studio Pro.
I'm working on a video tutorial class that shows how to use Motion with DVDSP. It'll be a few weeks before I can get it finished, but hopefully you have enough to go on with.
Andy

Drop zone (transparent) over motion menu problem

Hello.
I've created a semi-transparent photoshop file that I would like to use as a dropzone. When I import the psd file, DVDSP lists it as a "quicktime picture". When I drag the asset over my motion menu the part that is supposed to be transparent is white and covers up the entire motion background. Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong here?
Has anyone had success using transparent graphics in DVDSP 4?
Thanks.

i dont believe you can mix photoshop files the way you are intending with motion menus. I know you can create custom drop zones and patches using photoshop, but this is a more involved process than just dropping a psd over motion. I have exported tga that maintains transparency information and used them to success as drop zones. you could try that.
It would be better to bring you psd into a compositing program like motion, after effects, or even final cut, and create the motion for your menu there. Export it, compress it to m2v and bring that into dvd sp.

How do you resize a photo in an iDVD drop zone?

The themes in iDVD are virtually useless if you can't easily drag a photo into a drop zone and move and resize as necessary. Using the method described in iDVD is ridiculously cumbersome but what's worse is that it doesn't work.
Does anyone have a suggestion for making this task easier? Does anyone know of better software that would replace iDVD?
This problem has been around for years. It's unbelievable that Apple allows the problem to continue.
Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the reply - I've just gotten around to playing with this some more and as you mentioned, I'm now creating a new image in Photoshop that repositions the image so that it places well in the iDVD template (soft frame in this case). Extra work, and it appears to be effective in the iDVD interface, but when I burned a test DVD the images were scaled differently in the final render to disk.
I'm not trying to do anything out of the ordinary here - just want to burn a DVD of my baby boy for the grandparents. This is precisely the type of use iLife is aimed at... But something as simple as putting a picture of my son on the DVD menu took the extra step of composing in Photoshop in order to have his head not cropped ridiculously. Now even that extra work is altered on the DVD.
I'm new to iDVD and might just need to work with it some more, but so far it just seems wrong and inconsistent with the rest of iLife to not have this flexibility.

Drop Zone Problem in Title

I use the "Keynote" for a Bumper Title. I can assign a clip to the drop zone and it displays it in the Inspector (name and thumbnail), but it won't display it in the viewer when I play the segment from the timeline.
I tried different clips (images, videos) and placed the title on the primary storyline and as connected clip. Doesn't show up.
Am I missing something?

Yes you're right. I though the Drop Zone is for that area that moves to the side. However, that area is actually the transparency area of the title clip that incorporates the footage of the primary story line underneath. And of course the title has to be a connected clip on top of it.
Thanks
Edgar Rothermich
Free Manuals
DingDingMusic.com/Manuals

Quality Issues with Drop Zones - Newbie ALERT!

Hello!
First post for me here...
Just started working with Final Cut Studio 5.1 and I have some issues that I have been running into. In DVD Studio, I am grabbing a menu template (Panes Blue) and I am creating a simple text animation in Motion (720x480) NTSC and saving the Motion file then importing the Motion file into DVD studio and setting up the drop zone asset to my motion file. When I preview, the text quality is very poor! At first I thought it was just the preview, but it still looks horrible on the TV when I burn.
How do I get the best quality when creating an animation in Motion that I would like to use in a DVD studio Drop Zone?
Please let me know if you need further info!
Jason

here's the issue:
DVDSP doesn't encode progressive scan. it doesn't matter what your encode settings are. I've done extensive testing on this issue. here's what happens:
I made an element that fits perfectly into a specified drop zone. the menu Background image or movie is rendered progressive scan (not interlaced). I drop the element into the drop zone and hit Simulate. Since the Drop zone and it's element need to be encoded to Mpeg2 in order to play properly, DVDSP interlaces it to make it work. Result: bad image compression and the drop zone area is badly interlaced while the rest of the image isn't.
This was something that frustrated me for weeks while i was trying to find a solution. As far as I know there is only one solution; Since DVDSP uses Compressor to encode files on build, there must be a way of intercepting the process and changing the settings that DVDSP uses to encode it's files. There is no preference for this and since the encoding takes place in the background, there is no way of changing this without getting a programmer to figure out how to do it, and even then, i don't know if it's possible. If someone can figure out how do do this, there'll be a lot of Happy people wanting it.

Idvd 08 Picture looks cropped when I put it into drop zones

On the idvd drop zone , I put a picture in the drop zone and it crops half the person's face, how do I make it fit correctly In the drop zone for the menu pic?
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The short answer is that you probably do not have your sequence set to match your clip's properties.
bogiesan

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