DVD Demystified

Essentials of DVD Production
511
■ Each menu should prehighlight the button that the user is most likely
to select. For example, if the main menu is shown before the feature,
the “play” button on the menu should be preselected so the user can
simply press “Enter” or “Play” to start. This is especially important
since the “Play” key on most remote controls does the same thing as the
“Enter” key when in a menu. Beginning DVD users will intuitively
press the “Play” key when they reach the first menu.
■ Author all menus so that the button that takes the viewer out of the
menu is highlighted upon return. If a video segment or another menu
jumps to a menu, the button that returns the viewer to where he or she
just came from should be highlighted.
■ Design your menus for numerical access. Most remote controls enable
the user to press the 1 through 9 keys on a menu to directly choose a
button. Arrange the buttons in proper numerical order. Be careful with
invisible buttons. On a disc with several menus and complex
navigation, consider putting a number next to each button.
■ An introductory video sequence for the main menu will become a
flaming irritant if the user has to sit through it every time they return
to the menu. Use the intro for initial play only, then stifle it for later
menu accesses.
■ Motion transitions between menus can be enjoyable, but keep them
short and sweet; never make transitions longer than two seconds.
When creating the transitions, play them over and over and imagine
yourself pressing a menu button each time the video loops. If it seems
like a long time between button presses, then it is too long a time.
■ If you have video in 16:9 anamorphic form, you will also want to make
the menus work in 4:3 mode. One approach is to make all your menus
in widescreen form, then use the built-in pan & scan feature to have
the player crop the sides. Make sure that no button art is outside the
area that will be cropped. You will need to make two sets of button
highlight graphics, as explained in the subpicture section.
■ Make sure the button highlight/selection rectangle is over the top of
the button art in the background. If you put the rectangle somewhere
else on the screen, the disc will still work with arrow keys, but the
button will not work when a computer user clicks on it.
■ Double check that the subpicture overlay aligns with the underlying
background. If they don’t match, the highlight will jump or be offset.
See the graphics preparation section for details on making graphics
match motion video.