IDVD drop zones

Hello!
Even though I bought iLife 5 last year when it first came out, I am just now trying to use iMovie/iDVD. I want to use a still I created in iMovie in a drop zone (the tutorial says I can, all I have to do is drag and drop) but each time I do, the drop zone is totally black, like something is there, but there is nothing to be seen. I am also trying to use an audio clip in the same way (for the main menu), but I cannot get it into the audio box in the 'settings' screen. This audio clip is not in iTunes, I recorded it with Audacity and saved it as a wav file and as an AIFF file, but I cannot drag and drop into iDVD or iTunes for that matter. Any suggestions?

Figured out - you must drop an unedited clip into drop zone.

Similar Messages

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.

IDVD drop zones frozen.

I am using iDVD 7.1.2. When I added music to the main menu I encountered many problems. First the image in the drop zone froze. Next the thumbnail button for a movie displayed the entire film, rather than previewing the first few seconds. I don't know why these problems occurred. Please help me.

What format are the audio files that you're adding to the menu?
Try this basic troubleshooting fix:
1 - delete the IDVD preference file, com.apple.iDVD.plist, that resides in your
User/Home/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete the contents of IDVD'S cache folder: User/Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iDVD.
3 - launch IDVD and try again.
NOTE: In Lion and Mountain Lion the Home/Library folder is now invisible. To make it permanently visible enter the following in the Terminal application window: chflags nohidden ~/Library and press the Return key - 10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder.
If you're running Mavericks, 10.9, go to your Home folder and use the View ➙ Show View Options menu to bring the this window:
If the above doesn't work create a new project and try again.

First Time Mac User: Question Re: iDVD Drop Zone on Standard Theme

Oh My! I love this program and have spent all day on it. How do I add more than just 6 pictures to the watercolor theme? If I put numerous photo's in one drop zone, it only displays one of the photo's? Frustrated!!!! Observe

Two ways to do this is to make up a series of short slideshows in iPhoto or FotoMagico and drop it into each drop zone. Or you can even use YOUR slideshow in each drop zone by just selecting the autofill button on your menu. You can adjust each "movie" to play from different points and also change the "loop" time for your theme so that it only plays for 30 seconds or so (time it to suit the music).

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?
Thanks

The short answer is that you probably do not have your sequence set to match your clip's properties.
bogiesan

Idvd opens....but no drop zones show

Hello everyone, i seem to be having a problem with Idvd. recently ive tried to open idvd, and the program asks me to make a new project, where to save. I would do all the required actions to make the project, but when i think the program is going to open with the drop zones, nothing shows up, but music is playing. I hold click on the idvd icon on the dock, and shows the program as if its hidden someplace else. I click on the Idvd drop zone, and the program magically disappears once again. the music is there, the program is "open", but its hidden somewhere, which has been bothering me. Ive also deleted the program, and reinstalled it, and the same problem occurs. What can i do to fix this?
Thanks everyone

Welcome to the forums!
A good guide to iDVD 7 can be found here:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/idvd_07stone.html

Difficulty positioning drop zone images

I have carefully and repeatedly read the sizing and positioning instructions for images in iDVD drop zones. I am just not "getting it". There must be more info. somewhere about putting predictability into this process. The photo does not appear in the desired size and position.

My apologies to the person I got this from—cannot find it now. But, OT, here's what works great:
1) Open a new Appleworks (or Word) word processing document. I know this is unsophisticated, but this standard 8 1/2 x 11" document seems to be the key to the process.
2) Set the document margins to very thin. like 1/10".
3) Place (paste) your photo into the document.
4) The portion of the picture that you want to show in the drop zone—place it at the top of the document and slightly to the right.
5) Use the "create pdf" function within the print dialog box to create a pdf document.
6) Drag the resulting pdf document into the drop zone well.
7) Look at the results. In the original word processing document, adjust the photo size and position as desired. Then, make another pdf.
8) Drag your adjusted pdf into the drop zone well.
As I said before, this worked great for me after spending a whole day trying to find a solution. I feel liberated. Thanks to the original author, whomever it may be.

How to add more drop zones or movies in an idvd menu

I was building a dvd in idvd and ran out of drop zones to fill but I couldn't figure out how to add more drop zones.
I tried different templates but I could find none that had more than 12 drop zones.
Then I was adding movies to the main menu and idvd refused to allow more movies added when I reached 10 movies. It said that the template did not accept more movies.
I tried a few other templates and could not get it to accept more.
I don't want to add submenus because the movies being used do not lend themselves to being put into different submenus.
Is there some way to add more than the default drop zones in an idvd template and to add more movies in a menu without having to use submenus?
Thanks for any advice.

I couldn't figure out how to add more drop zones
Sorry, the templates 'are what they are'.
I don't want to add submenus because the movies being used do not lend themselves to being put into different submenus.
You need to figure out how to work with what is available.
If you want more freedom, buy Apple's Final Cut Studio and learn to use DVD Studio Pro.

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

Drop Zone Image Adjustment in iDVD '08

I use iDVD 6 for making slideshow DVDs of family functions to send out to my other family members. One of the features that I used in every one of my projects was the ability to drag around any image that you place in the Drop Zone that has been automatically cropped, so that you can pick which part of the image you want to be visible.
In iDVD '08, however, this feature has been removed. What's worse, some of the new themes (Modern, for instance) crop the majority of the images you place into the Drop Zone. I find virtually every new theme in iDVD '08 unusable because of the removal of this feature.
I tried using an old theme from iDVD 6, but I was also unable to adjust the location of my images in relation to the drop zone.
Am I just doing something wrong? In both the toturial vid and the manual, Apple makes no mention of adjusting an image once it's inside the Drop Zone.
In the meantime, I am reverting to iDVD 6. I don't understand why they would remove a feature that was so useful.

*Here's the whole explanation from iDVD Help:*
Repositioning an image or movie in a drop zone
When you drag a picture or movie into a drop zone, the aspect ratio of the image is preserved, but it is scaled larger or smaller to fill the drop zone. As a result, sometimes part of the image is cut off and does not appear in the drop zone. In this case, you can move the image to choose which portion is visible in the drop zone.
_To reposition an image or movie in a drop zone:_
1.) From the drop zone on the menu (not in the drop zone editor), click the image or movie and press Command.
2.) Drag the image until the part you want is visible in the drop zone.
Keep these things in mind as you position an image:
If you drag a narrow image to a drop zone, the image is scaled vertically, and you can move the image up or down only.
If you drag a wide image to a drop zone, the image is scaled horizontally, and you can move the image side to side only.
If you accidentally drag the image too far, you will remove it from the drop zone. (The cursor changes from a hand to a puff of smoke.) Choose Edit > Undo to restore the image to the drop zone.
Repositioning a movie in a drop zone is different from selecting which part of a movie shows in a drop zone (which allows you to select which frame of the movie is displayed in a drop zone). For more information, see Related Topics below.

What is the reason for so many Drop Zones in iDVD?

Thank you Tboake and Terry for helping with my project. Now I am convinced that to create my show which mixes pictures, Text, movie clips and music, as well all the other effects, iDVD is the right way to start.
However I have a question regarding the significance of "Drop Zones". For example if I select as a theme "Reflection White" there are 8 drop zones. What exactly are we supposed to do with these drop zones?
• Do we drop all pictures of a show in one zone?
• Do we drop only one picture in each zone?
• Do we drop the movie clip in the next zone?
• Does each zone represents a different chapter in my show?
• For example if my trip involves 8 cities and I want to make a show for each city do I drop the pictures taken in one city in one zone, the second city in the next zone and so on.
It was very helpful reading "Authoring iDVD 6" by Ken Stone as suggested by you, but even though if he works out all the details he really never explains what these zones are about.
Frank Secco

Frank
Ditto everyone's comments. The menus make for a flashy introduction to the movie itself. If you are planning to give a talk/verbal introduction, for instance, when you "show" the movie, it can help to entertain and tantalize your viewers while they wait for you to finish.
Otherwise, they seem to add a lot of rendering time if the main event is the film itself.
I usually use pretty basic ones for projects that we will not spend a long time waiting to ask to play. My kids use more interesting ones to impress their teachers at school and get better grades! For those we often add a short audio clip/song, to make it less silent as well as animated.
Also, some themes are better than others at providing you with appropriate spacing for your chapter markers. I usually experiment with few different themes to be sure that my chapter markers all fit and don't overlap, etc.
Terri

What is the best resolution for pics in the drop zones of idvd?

What is the best resolution for pics in the drop zones of iDVD?
Also: iDVD always seems to align a pic to the left, can I change this anywhere?
thanks

Hello, Hans.
Re: drop zone pic resolution - I generally don't go below 1000 pixels wide (iDVD will resize these images to a slightly smaller format, but I've controlled the largest part of the downsizing in Photoshop Elements).
The alignment in iDVD is goofy. The best I've achieved is trial and error -- adding blank background or cropping my image in the downsizing process (see above) to position my image.
John

IDVD replaces photos in drop zones

Hi. I have iDVD '08 and I burned a dvd. I was using the "Revolution" theme. It had a picture of my cousin in one of the drop zones. After I burned the DVD, I viewed it in my dvd player and the drop zone that had a picture of my cousin now had a picture of one of my cats. I don't know if I did something wrong, but I made sure it was my cousin in the drop zone BEFORE I burned the DVD. I SWEAR that I did not put a picture of my cat in it. Any ideas of what happened?

You're right. There's not alot of info available on this particular issue regarding invisible slideshow photos. So let's try the following.
You say the photos are showing in the drop zone editor nevertheless ..... correct?
What happens when you add a transition (simple 3 second dissolve for example)?
If that fails to help then add music as well and then set the slideshow to "fit to audio". Post back with your results.
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

IDVD 6 Sliders at the top of Drop Zones

Hi There,
I have created a dvd with the white reflections theme, I used autofill for the drop zones, and it took the main movie file and loops separate segements of th e movie, but I want to change the segment shown and the sliders aren't responding.. if I move them they revert back to their original position
Any Ideas on this?
regards
Chris
G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi Chris,
Welcome to iDVD Discussions.
Just a guess: It may be that the "auto" option "killed" your control...

Photos in DROP ZONE of iDVD 08

Hi there. I used to be able to move photos around slightly (left to right/ up and down) in the old iDVD. When I updated to 08 this is no longer possible.
After a quick search here I found someone mentioning holding down the command button when moving it - but that doesn't make any difference to me - all it does is whoosh the photo out of the drop zone and delete it.
Can anyone give me step by step / idiot guide to moving photos around the drop zone please? I am fed up with them being off centre.
S

When I hold down the Command key (Apple key) I can move the image from right to left.
If you want to move up or down, I suspect you need to crop the image so that it only shows the 'vertical information' you want to show in the drop zone.

IDVD drop zones

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