What software do you use to make animated menu's for DVD's?

[tomld]

Hi, I'm a newbie who has set out to make a how-to DVD. It will be comprised of screen capture video and powerpoint-esque menus with text and images. My question is, how do I make animated menus? Such as bulleted text that types out as the narration summarizes it. And also incorporates periodic images and movies. What software should be used to make these menus?

I also have a few other questions...

1. What is the best software to edit and finalize a DVD? Is premier good?
2. When I create the screen capture video, what screen resolution should I capture at, in order for it to be compatible and high quality on a DVD? (ie. 800x600, 1024x768, etc).
3. Can anyone recommend a production company, you can produce small lots of DVD's at an affordable price? Including DVD copying, packaging, inserts, and shrink wrapping?

I'm sure I'll have other questions, but at the moment those are the only ones I can think of. I appreciate all the expert advice I can get.

Thanks,
Tom

[racer-x]

Lets see, you're a newbie that wants to create a How-to DVD. That sound interesting.

You want to make bulleted text appear as you speak. Yes you can do that with Premiere, but it's not as easy as clicking a few buttons. I would create a title with the text, then use a track matte and move it using the transform filter to uncover the letters one at a time. But you said your a newbie and this is advanced video editing. If you're planing on using Premiere, I recomend you spend lots of time here www.wrigleyvideo.com

If you're planning to put the finnished video on a DVD, then I think a screen capture of 800 x 600 should be fine. You'll have to resize it to 720 x 480 anyway.

[tomld]

Just to clarify, I'm not making a how to dvd on how to make dvd's. It's on another subject.

What is the easiest video editing software?

Also is there any applications that are designed to easily produce menus in the manner I previously described?

Thanks
Tom

[racer-x]

Tom, welcome to the real world of video editing. Nothing good is easy to do. You can do everything you want and more with a good video editor like Premiere, but it takes a while to learn how to use it. There are much easier video editors out there, but you will be restricted to what you can do.

When I first started video editing, I used Ulead Video Studio 6. If I remember correctly, it had a title preset that would bring the words in from the side one letter at a time to form the sentence. You had little to no control over the speed and such. They may still have it in the version 7. It is pretty easy to use. You may want to play with an easy to use video editor until you're comfortable enough to try a more powerfull editor.

[tomld]

Just out of curiosity, how much would it cost on average to have a professional produce a 45-60 minute DVD if I provided all of the video, audio, and complete storyboard that shows exactly what I want everything to say and when to display it?

By professional I mean maybe a small company or an experienced freelancer. But of course someone who would produce quality work.


Thanks
Tom

[andkiich]

Check out editstudio

[Specialist]

Have a look at Ulead DVD Workshop 2.0:

http://www.ulead.com/dws/runme.htm

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

Hi, I'm a newbie who has set out to make a how-to DVD. It will be comprised of screen capture video and powerpoint-esque menus with text and images. My question is, how do I make animated menus? Such as bulleted text that types out as the narration summarizes it. And also incorporates periodic images and movies. What software should be used to make these menus?

I also have a few other questions...

1. What is the best software to edit and finalize a DVD? Is premier good?
2. When I create the screen capture video, what screen resolution should I capture at, in order for it to be compatible and high quality on a DVD? (ie. 800x600, 1024x768, etc).
3. Can anyone recommend a production company, you can produce small lots of DVD's at an affordable price? Including DVD copying, packaging, inserts, and shrink wrapping?

I'm sure I'll have other questions, but at the moment those are the only ones I can think of. I appreciate all the expert advice I can get.

Thanks,
Tom

[Shmulb]

I would suggest Sony Screenblast movie studio 3. It,s the most flexible and sophisticated entry level editing program around. It also actually works. I would not go near Pinnacle Studio 9, it is the most frustrating piece of junk on the market. you can download a trial on Screenblast here
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/download/step2.asp?DID=473.
Also check out their forum on the same website.
For DVD authoring I would suggest U-lead movie factory 3(better for beginners) or DVDlab (more sophisticated and difficult)
Both also have trial downloads