DvdLab Pro - Adding lyric text to audio menus

[mysticmel]

Anyone have any suggestions? ........

Using DVDLab Pro here's what I'd like to be able to do: Create seven visual screens of song lyrics while the audio track plays (one song - one set of lyrics at a time of course). I have seven songs with at least two menu length pages of text for their lyrics, and here's my dilema. When I tried typing the lyrics into a menu templete and placing the song as a menu audio track, obviously I lose half of the song when the user selects the continuing menus of text ----- so this didn't work out too well, unless I cut the audio track accordingly (don't want to do this and get a silence gap while menu switch).

Secondly, I tried just adding an audio track ... using the double click to edit option ... and using the audio track's menu screen for the first page of song text. Then linking to the second 'menu' of text and so on. Well duh me I come to later realise that you can't set links in a movie!

So now I'm stumped and decided to post here and ask the pros!

Can someone lend a suggestion on the best way to feature a lyrics screen(s) while an audio track plays. Please keep in mind that it has to go from one page of text to the next, either via user intervention or set to specific time durtion of song that playing.


Thanks very much to anyone who gives advice.


Regards,
Kay

[guns1inger]

If you must use menus, then use a motion menu, timed to match the song. Otherwise just create a video clip with your lyrics (even WMM will do for this), and have titles instead of menus.

Your third choice is to use subtitles and do a 'follow the bouncing ball' thing, with the lyrics playing along with the song.

[mysticmel]

Thanks a bunch Gunsliner! Firstly, nope menus aren't a must ... at this point I'm more interested in getting this done the easiest way possible - but yet with a touch of class. I did give WMM a lookover, and thou it seems to be a good suggestion, I come to find that it's not simply b/c it doesn't look like WMM supports AC3 audio (sorry for not mentioning this in my inital post, but I need an app that I would be able to import my PREpared ac3 streams). Also too, WMM doesn't seem to do anything text related. I tried creating a video clip with Womble's Mpeg Video Wizzard which was "ok", but the fact that it doesn't allow for cut/paste text didn't exactly enthuise me.

I really don't want to go the subtitle way unless ALL else fails, as I know absolutely nothing about creating and importing subs in DLab .... more to the point, I don't have the ProExtentions which looks as thou one needs for subtitle work in DvDLab.

So with all of the above in mind can anyone else lend another suggestion or two?


Thanks to all!

Kay

[guns1inger]

You don't need WMM to support AC3. All you need to do is create a video clip with text on it. DLP will bring the video and audio together at authoring time. All you need to do is make sure the timing is right for the text changes.

You don't need pro extensions to create suntitles in DLP. Just double-click the empty subtitle stream under your movie and the subtitle editor will open. From there you can create away.

Pro extensions is a free download from the mediachance forums.

[mysticmel]

Thanks again gunslinger! I took your advice and created a video clip w/text, only I used Arcsoft 'Showbiz' ... which worked great. So I'm as happy as a pig in sh@t. I just simply ran all of the audio 'n video frames together into movie, then will just insert it as a motion menu. so this will be cool --- no manual intervention needed from the viewers!

And thanks for the heads-up regarding the Pro Extentions pluggin ... had no idea that it was available for free. Nor was I aware of the subtitle editor in DVDLab. So thanks BUNCHES!

[guns1inger]

Glad it worked out for you.

[GeorgeW]

Just had a thought -- within DVDLab Pro could you create a slideshow for each song? Each slideshow has the slides with the lyrics to the background music for the slideshow. You just have to set the duration for each slide accordingly...

Regards,
George

[mysticmel]

Just had a thought -- within DVDLab Pro could you create a slideshow for each song? Each slideshow has the slides with the lyrics to the background music for the slideshow. You just have to set the duration for each slide accordingly...

Regards,
George

Umm now there's a thought too! I think that I will give this a try with my last track, I already have 6 out of 7 done the other way with satisfaction and the know-how ... so if the slideshow theory doesn't work it'll be childsplay if I need to redo it!

Though again, thanks a lot guys ...... the input was greatly appreciated. I'll post back later to say how the slideshow bit goes.


Cheers,
Kay

[mysticmel]

Just had a thought -- within DVDLab Pro could you create a slideshow for each song? Each slideshow has the slides with the lyrics to the background music for the slideshow. You just have to set the duration for each slide accordingly...

Regards,
George

Umm now there's a thought too! I think that I will give this a try with my last track, I already have 6 out of 7 done the other way with satisfaction and the know-how ... so if the slideshow theory doesn't work it'll be childsplay if I need to redo it!

Though again, thanks a lot guys ...... the input was greatly appreciated. I'll post back later to say how the slideshow bit goes.


Cheers,
Kay

[mysticmel]

Oops sorry for the 2x post.