Creating a simple DVD from start to finishNeed to produce a DVD quickly? Gather your video files and follow these simple steps. You'll go from concept to disc in no time. The key is using the menu templates included with Adobe Encore DVD. The templates let you jump-start the design phase and move directly into creating your DVD. All you need for this project is some digital video files (MPEG-2 or AVI files) and an idea for your DVD. (The application DVD contains sample video files that you can use.) ![]() 1. Plan the DVD project Think through your DVD project. Decide how many video clips you want to include and how you want the viewer to access the video clips. Regardless of the complexity of the project, it is helpful to work through the flow of your project and how the elements link together before you begin creating it. Some DVD authors use flow charts, and some use spreadsheets. Whatever your preferred format to plan your project, it is valuable to draft possible navigation scenarios and anticipate problems before you start. If you sketch each of the elements and draw the links between them, it can help you clarify how you want your project to be viewed. We've sketched a small flowchart to lay out our simple project. The main menu leads to two videos. The videos lead back to the main menu. ![]() 2. Prepare the video If you captured your video from a DV camera using the default settings for frame size, frame rate, and aspect ratio, you can import your files directly into Adobe Encore DVD. If you have not yet transferred your video onto a computer, you can use video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere, to capture the video. While you can trim video clips in Adobe Encore DVD, it is best to do more extensive editing in video-editing software where you can also add transitions and combine footage. Use compositing software, such as Adobe After Effects, to add animation and apply effects to your video. If your video files come from different sources, make sure they all use the same television standard: either NTSC or PAL. For best results, the frame rates and frame sizes should match. The NTSC standard is generally used in North America and Japan. NTSC video files can have a frame rate of 29.97, 30, 24, or 23.976 frames per second (fps) and three possible frame sizes: 720 x 480 pixels, 720 x 486 pixels, or 704 x 480 pixels. The PAL standard is common in Europe. PAL video files must have a frame rate of 25 fps, with a frame size of 720 x 576 pixels or 704 x 576 pixels. You can use Adobe Premiere to verify the attributes of your video. 3. Open Adobe Encore DVD Open Adobe Encore DVD and create a new project. When prompted to select a television standard, select the standard appropriate for your video files and project. Look at the workspace. Adobe Encore DVD has displayed the toolbox, the Project window, the Properties palette, and the Palette window. Notice that the Project window and Palette window each have tabs that display other kinds of information as well. (If you don't see all these windows and palettes, choose Window > Reset Palette Locations.) As you begin to create your project, the Project tab will list all the audio, video, and image files (or assets) that you import as well as the menus and timelines you create (more about timelines in step eight). The other tabs in the window provide more detailed information about the project. The Palette window holds several palettes. In this tutorial, you will use the Library palette to choose a menu template. Click through the tabs to get an idea of how they look. While out of the scope of this tutorial, you will eventually become familiar with the Layers palette (for quickly selecting the objects in a menu) and the Character palette (for formatting type in menus and subtitles). (SeeLooking at the Adobe Encore DVD workspace.) ![]() 4. Import the video files Import as assets all the video files that you plan to use in the project. Adobe Encore DVD lists the files in the Project tab. Each file has an icon preceding it that identifies it as a video asset. Note: If you are prompted to choose a transcoding preset, select the setting that best meets your needs. See Understanding transcoding. We've imported the footage of a sailing race and a snapshot gallery of the competitors. ![]() 5. Choose a menu template Click the Library palette tab to bring it forward. It lists predesigned menu templates, backgrounds, and buttons. Three buttons at the bottom of the palette toggle the display of the different items. Click the Show buttons and Show Images buttons at the bottom of the palette to hide those items and view only menus and backgrounds. Click through the list to view the preview of the menu in the palette. Select the template you want as your main menu and click the New Menu button at the bottom of the palette. Adobe Encore DVD creates a new menu based on the template and displays it in the Menu Editor window. (Notice that the Project tab also lists the new menu.) The Menu Editor window is your canvas for creating and editing menus. The top selection tool in the toolbox lets you select an entire button set. A button set is the group of elements that make up a button, generally an image and text, as well as a hidden image used to highlight the button when the viewer selects or activates it. The direct select tool lets you select individual objects in the menu, including the individual elements of a button. You can move, scale, or delete button sets or objects in a menu using these tools. You can also use the text tools to add either horizontal or vertical text, as well as to edit and reformat existing text. ![]() 6. Customize the menu Delete or duplicate buttons as needed using the selection tool and the commands on the Edit menu. Next, click the horizontal text tool in the toolbox. Select and retype the button labels to suit your project. Modify other text on the menu as needed. We deleted the third and fourth buttons from the Blue Grid Menu template and reworded the button text. ![]() 7. Link the videos to their buttons Arrange the windows so that you can see the Project tab, the Menu Editor window, and the Properties palette. You are now ready to begin linking each video to its buttons. In the Project tab, drag a video file to the appropriate button in the Menu Editor window. (Be sure to release the mouse when over the button, otherwise Adobe Encore DVD places a new button on the menu.) When you drag video to a button, Adobe Encore DVD automatically creates a timeline for the video and links it to the button. Using the selection tool, select the button in the menu. Note that the Link field in the Properties palette now contains the link to the video's timeline. Use the same drag-and-drop technique to link the remainder of the videos to their appropriate buttons. We've linked our Race! button to the racing video and the Competitors button to the snapshot gallery of the competitors. (See Setting button navigation and properties.) ![]() 8. Open a timeline Notice that the Project tab lists the new timelines. Double-click a timeline to see what it looks like. The timeline is where you combine a video with audio and subtitle assets. Timelines contain a track for video, and you can add multiple tracks for audio and subtitles. The video track of the timeline can contain either one video clip or multiple still images. If the video file you dragged to a button in step seven was an AVI file, Adobe Encore DVD automatically placed the audio portion of the video on the first audio track. If instead the video was an MPEG-2 file, you need to import as an asset the WAV file and then drag it to just below the video track. Adobe Encore DVD creates an audio track for the WAV file. Click a timeline in the Project tab. Look at the Properties palette. The End Action field contains the name of the menu to which you linked the video. The End Action controls what gets displayed once the video is over. Adobe Encore DVD automatically sends a video back to the source menu. In a more complex project, you might want another video to play once this one ends or might want a different menu to appear. The pick whip lets you change this field by dragging directly to the timeline or menu in the Project tab. ![]() 9. Preview your DVD Preview a simulation of your DVD (choose File > Preview). Use the mouse or simulated remote control buttons to test the links and videos. Walk through the entire DVD to make sure that each button leads to the correct link and that each timeline moves on to the correct menu or timeline. If you find that any links lead to the wrong destination, select the button or timeline in the Project tab. Then, open the Properties palette and set the link to the appropriate location. (In more complex projects, you will also want Adobe Encore DVD to check for missing or broken links throughout the project. See Finding missing links and unassigned assets.) ![]() 10. Build your DVD Click the Disc tab in the Project window, and name your DVD. (This name will appear in Microsoft Windows Explorer if you view the DVD on a PC.) From the pop-up menu below the name, choose the size of media you are using. Notice that the Disc tab lists the size of the DVD project and the space available on the media you've selected. Insert a blank DVD into the appropriate drive, and then click Build Project. (If you prefer to build this first DVD to a folder, rather than to a disc, use the Build command on the File menu instead.) When prompted, save the project. (If you are warned about broken or missing links, check the links, and then click Build Project again.) In the Make DVD Disc dialog box, make sure that the correct recorder is displayed. Click Next. In the Summary window, note your build parameters, and click Build to begin the build process. When the Progress panel indicates that the build is complete, your DVD is ready! ![]() |