DVD motion menus

If you know the basics of After Effects, Photoshop, and DVD Studio Pro, then you're well on your way to creating a fantastic-looking DVD. Static menus can be boring and don't look as professional as motion menus, so why not take your disc to the next level using motion menus and motion transitions?

This tutorial takes you step by step through the process of setting up menus and menu loops in After Effects and then preparing those files for import into DVD Studio Pro. Your finished DVD will contain an intro animation that seamlessly transforms into your main motion menu. This main menu will loop perfectly, and you will create buttons that link to other menus and/or video clips within your DVD.

You'll be using After Effects to animate graphics for your menu loops, Compressor to encode your After Effects renders into MPEG2 video clips, and A.Pack to encode your music or sound effects into AC3 audio.Both Compressor and A. Pack come bundled with DVD Studio Pro. Next, you'll create simple overlay images in Photoshop and import them into DVD Studio Pro to be used as menu buttons. Of course, there are other ways to build menu buttons for use in DVD Studio Pro, but if you're working with motion menus, overlay images - sometimes called sub pictures - are the only way to go.

Finally, you'll import your MPEG2, AC3, and overlay images into DVD Studio Pro, which will be used to link together and test all of your elements. Once everything is working, you'll be able to output and burn a final DVD master of your project, make a bunch of copies and take over the world!

Click here to download the tutorial for free