DVD Demystified

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Regardless of the number of regions, if you expect to use more than one
language on the disc, especially for menus, keep all the graphic and video
elements as language-neutral as possible. Keep text separate from graphics
so it can be easily changed for other languages. Use subpictures, including
forced subpictures, to put text on video, rather than permanently setting
the text into the video. Keep in mind that American English is different
from British English, regarding usage and spelling. Likewise there are differences
between American Spanish and Castillian Spanish, between
Canadian French and continental French, between Brazilian Portuguese
and Portugal Portuguese, and so on. In all cases, check to make sure you
have proper rights for the content. A particular work may have only been
licensed for distribution in one country, or a foreign language audio dub
may be restricted for use in certain countries.
Supplemental Material
Chapter 12
One of the great appeals of DVD is that a disc can hold an incredible variety
of added content to enhance the featured program. Being able to watch
a movie a second time and listening to the comments of the director, writer
or actors, gives viewers a deepened appreciation for the movie and for the
filmmaking process. Adding more video, audio, graphic, and text information
can greatly enrich a disc. Anyone producing a DVD should consider
how the product can be enhanced with supplements; not just because it’s
neat or expected, but to truly improve the viewing experience. The following
list provides some examples of added content for DVD-Video and DVD-
Audio discs. Some types of added content, especially text, and information
that can become out of date, may be better provided as computer-based or
Web-based supplement. These are marked with *.
■ Multiple languages and subtitles, menus in other languages
■ Biographies: information about actors, directors, writers, and crew,
describing careers, influences, and so on*
■ Filmographies: information about actors, directors, writers, and crew
describing previous films, acting experience, awards, and so on*
■ Commentaries: audio or subtitle commentaries from people who
worked on the film, people who have studied the film, people with
historical information, and so on
■ Song list: a chapter index to all the songs on the soundtrack
■ Backgrounders: historical context, timeline, important details, related
works*