Importing the Still Images

The tutorial project uses still images for the Slide Show and the DVD Credits menu. This section contains the following topics:

Importing the Slide Show

The Slide Show consists of four still images; each will display for the default 10 seconds. Slide Show tracks are created by importing the first still image in the Slide Show. After which, the remaining slide images can be imported by dragging them to the Track window.

To import the Slide Show:

If the ReelDVD Explorer window is not visible, select View > Explorer Window.

In the Explorer window, navigate to the “ReelDVD Tutorial Assets” directory on the local hard drive.

To view only the image files, click the Image Files filter button in the top right of the Explorer window.

Drag the first slide image (05_Slide_A.bmp) to an empty space in the Storyboard area. When prompted, select Slide Show and click OK.

The image is encoded and a Slide Show track is created and automatically selected in the Storyboard area. Slide images are assigned a default duration of 10 seconds, which is what will be used for this project.

If the Track window is not visible, select View > Track Window.

If it is not selected, select the Slide Show track in the Storyboard area, so it is displayed in the Track window.

Select the remaining slide images (listed below) in the Explorer window and drag them to the Track window, just to the right of the first slide image.

05_Slide_B.bmp
05_Slide_C.bmp
05_Slide_D.bmp

The slide images are encoded and inserted into the video stream.

For more information about Slide Shows, see Chapter 3, “ReelDVD Work Areas” in the ReelDVD User Guide.

Importing the Still Menu

The tutorial project includes a Still Menu that lists the DVD Credits. It also contains a single button to return to the Main Menu. To simplify the authoring process, the still image was created as a layered Photoshop files so that ReelDVD can automatically create the subpicture mask and button highlights for the menu.

To import the Still Menus:

If the ReelDVD Explorer window is not visible, select View > Explorer Window.

In the Explorer window, navigate to the “ReelDVD Tutorial Assets” directory on the local hard drive.

To view only the image files, click the Image Files filter button in the top right of the Explorer window.

Drag the Photoshop file (06_DVD_Credits.psd) to an empty space in the Storyboard area. When prompted, select “Still Menu with Sub-picture” and click OK.

When prompted with the Select Layers dialog (with “Button #1” enabled), click OK.

The image is encoded and a Still Menu track is created with the subpicture and button hotspots defined. A subpicture overlay file (06_DVD_Credits_sp.bmp) is created for the Still Menu and written to the “ReelDVD Tutorial Assets” directory.

For more information about importing layered Photoshop, see Chapter 4, “Menus and Dialogs” in the ReelDVD User Guide.