DVD Authoring Tutorial

EXPORTING YOUR VIDEO FROM FCP 5.1.2

1. We’re going to export our movie to Compressor because it’s the best encoder, and it will give us the best quality DVD image.

2. In your timeline, get your project to look exactly as you would like it appear on the DVD. Go to Mark IN to mark the start, and Mark OUT to mark the end. Then Render ALL – Both.

3. Go to FILE menu, EXPORT, USING COMPRESSOR

a. Once selected, FCP will launch Compressor itself, and you will see the Control windows come up on the screen.
b. In the BATCH window at the bottom of the screen, will see a box labeled SETTING.

i. Click the pop-up menu box with the arrows on it.
ii. You will see a window appear that lists a number of different encoding options.
iii. If you’re project is under 90 minutes, then I suggest that you use the BEST QUALITY 90 MINUTES OR LESS

1. This provides the highest quality image possible.
2. Feel free to experiment with other codecs, but I have found this to be the only one worth its sale.

iv. Once you select BEST QUALITY, a second window will appear asking which elements of the project you’d like to encode.
1. First select your audio. Usually AIFF
2. Reopen window and select your video, MPEG2

b. Now we must select a destination for the encoded files.
i. Click on the pop-up window labeled Source next to each of the entries we made earlier, AIFF and MPEG2.
ii. From here you will select a folder into which the compressed and encoded files will go. I suggest labeling this folder “YOURNAME_PROJECTNAME_DVDENCODES”

c. Now look up to the right at the window labeled INSPECTOR
i. Check to make sure that you are encoding in the proper format (either NTSC or PAL)

d. Click SUBMIT.
i. This will open another window (BATCH MONITOR), and you will see the progress of your project as it is being encoded.

We can now quit Final Cut Pro.

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DVD STUDIO PRO

Plug and Play Disc with no Menu (for festival entry)

1. Launch DVD STUDIO PRO

2. Pull-down WINDOW, CONFIGURATIONS, BASIC

3. I recommend saving your project right away
a. Place it in the same folder as the earlier files, and label it similarly

4. Go to Pull-down menu, FILE, IMPORT, ASSET
a. A pop-up window will appear
b. Find the folder you created while exporting from FCP/COMPRESSOR
c. Select both the AIFF and the MPEG-2 file that you exported (use shift select.)
d. Select IMPORT

5. Go to the tab labeled GRAPHICAL, click on it and press delete.

6. Pull-down WINDOW and select ASSETS
a. Brings up a window with the assets you imported.
b. Shift select these
c. Drop them into the icon labeled TRACK 1

7. In the GRAPHICAL Window, click on the large gray area,
a. To the right (or sometimes left) of that, you will see a window labeled, Disk.
b. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS WINDOW CHANGES AS DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR PROJECT ARE SELECTED.

i. Pull-down FIRST-PLAY
ii. Select TRACKS AND STORIES
iii. Select your video project
iv. Select TRACK 1

c. In this window you can also select how the remote reacts when activated. For a Plug and play disc I leave it as not-set.

8. Press the button at the top of the screen labeled SIMULATOR. This will show you how your disc will react once burned and placed in a DVD player.

9. If you are satisfied with the results, insert a blank DVD-R. I recommend using DVD-R’s, as they are the most flexible DVDs to work with.

10. If a pop up box appears, asking you what to do with the disk, click IGNORE.

11. Click BURN, and your disc will be created.
a. Make sure to select the destination folder we created earlier.
b. Remember to save your session.


EXPORTING STILL IMAGES FROM FCP 5.1.2

I. You may want to create a menu for your DVD utilizing a still from your project, or you may want to include a photo gallery of still from your project on your DVD.

a. In order to do this we go back into FCP and choose a frame we want to make a still image of.
b. Once the PLAYBACK head is over the frame, select the pull-down menu FILE, EXPORT, USING QUICKTIME CONVERSION
c. Once the EXPORT window opens, go the format tab, and pull-down to select STILL IMAGE. Directly under that tab, select JPG 29.97
d. Click SAVE (MAKE SURE THIS FILM GOES INTO THE SAME FOLDER AS YOUR ENCODED ASSETS.)

II. These files are exported out of FCP at a very low resolution. (72 D.P.I.) If you were to want to use these files as promotional stills you would have to go into Photoshop and complete the following functions.
a. Resize the image, by changing the D.P.I to at least 300 and setting the print size appropriately (Usually around 4x6)
b. De-interlace the image by selecting FILTER, VIDEO, DE-INTERLACE.
c. Resaving.

III. For use as a DVD file though, the 72 D.P.I. export will work fine as most projectors cannot handle anything higher anyway.

We can now quit Final Cut Pro.
DVD STUDIO PRO


MULTI-TRACK DISKS WITH MENU

I. The process to create a DVD with multiple tracks is similar in many ways to what we have already learned. There are some key differences though.

II. For this disc you will import multiple assets. This can be done all at once, or over a couple of passes through the pop-up windows. You will bring in the AIFF and MPEG-2 file for each of the film/video projects that you wish to include, as well as any still images that you will have as either part of the disc itself or for use as background menus.

III. Launch DVD STUDIO PRO and Pull-down WINDOW, CONFIGURATIONS, Extended.

IV. I recommend saving your project right away
a. Place it in the same folder as the files you exported with Compressor, and label it similarly

V. Go to Pull-down menu, FILE, IMPORT, ASSET
a. A pop-up window will appear
b. Find the folder you created while exporting from FCP/COMPRESSOR
c. Select both the AIFF and the MPEG-2 file that you exported (use shift select.)
d. Select IMPORT

VI. Repeat the steps above to import other any other video and sound assets you would like to include on the DVD.

VII. You can then import the jpeg image you exported from FCP for use as the image on your Menu screen. Import this jpeg as an asset, just as you did with the MPEG-2 file for video and the AIFF file for audio.

VIII. Once you have imported all of the assets you intend to use, you need to create a track icon in the GRAPHICAL VIEW for each menu item.
a. This is accomplished by clicking on the ADD TRACK button at the top of the screen.
b. Once you have one track for each asset that is not being used as a menu item, you can place the Paired-Track Asset Items each into a Track Icon.
c. Also, you can drag and drop the still image you intend to use for your menu into the Menu Icon.
d. Also, it should be noted that for every menu page you intend to have, there needs to be a separate Menu Icon added to the GRAPHICAL view.

IX. Select the grey area between your icons and set your disc menu buttons.
a. In this instance FIRST PLAY should be set to your Menu #1.
b. Go through and set all the buttons to the appropriate functions.

X. Click on the first Menu icon (under the GRAPHICAL TAB) to activate it.
a. You’ll notice new options are available in the right lower hand window (the Menu window).
b. Click on the menu tab of the Menu window.
c. You need to make a BUTTON for every object that you wish to link to. In this case, we have two PROJECTS or videos so we need to make 2 buttons.
d. You make a BUTTON by clicking and dragging in the menu field as it is open in the center window.
e. Make two of similar size.
f. Now click on the menu image again, outside the button areas.
g. You need to go to the menu tab in the right hand window and set your defaults.
h. Now click on BUTTON 1
i. Set your target, the track you want it to play.
ii. Type text in the text box that will title your piece.
iii. (I often use CENTER, INCLUDE TEXT IN HIGHLIGHT, and HIGHLIGHT SET 2)
iv. Go to the advanced tab and make sure that the disc buttons are set to navigate how you want them to.
v. Repeat for BUTTONS 2 or 3 (if you have 3 buttons)

XI. You’ll notice that as you set your targets for each BUTTON, lines were drawn in the GRAPHICAL VIEW Window. These lines represent how the various pieces of your disc are connected, the arrows representing which way the flow happens.
a. Now I want to click on each asset and set the parameters for them separately.
i. At this point, you want to tell the DVD where you want it to jump as the piece completes it’s run.
ii. 9 times out of ten, you will go to the menu.

Press the button at the top of the screen labeled SIMULATOR. This will show you how your disc will react once burned and placed in a DVD player.

If you are satisfied with the results, insert a blank DVD-R. I recommend using DVD-R’s, as they are the most flexible DVDs to work with. If a pop up box appears, asking you what to do with the disk, click IGNORE. Click BURN, and your disc will be created.

TOAST

I. Pros and Cons
a. Drag and Drop makes it easy
b. Toast will accept MPEG-2 files (like the ones exported from compressor.)
c. Uses its own encoder—which some people say is very good

II. Creating a DVD in Toast i
a. Drag and drop a video into the window.
b. Make sure DVD Video is selected in the left hand slide-out screen.
c. Choose automatic encode—BEST
d. Make any menu selection you desire.
e. Do you want it to be plug and play? Select that option.
f. Press the silver button at the bottom right of the screen.

III. Most effective ways to use Toast.
a. The way I most often use Toast is if I need to make a really quick DVD of a project.
i. I can then just export a QuickTime (Final Cut Pro) movie (which is much quicker than exporting from Compressor.
ii. Drag that into Toast
iii. Select Auto-play
iv. Burn the disc.

b. A second option, and one that might be a little easier than the DVD Studio Pro Model demonstrated earlier is as follows.
i. Export your project through Compressor as discussed earlier.
ii. Launch Toast.
iii. Click CUSTOM ENCODING in the left pull-out screen.
iv. Double click on the information that is below it.
v. In the pop-up window that appears, select REENCODING, NEVER.
vi. Go into the folder containing your “.m2v” and “.aiff” files. Make sure that the names of these files are exactly alike (other than the suffix)
vii. Drag these two items into Toast
viii. Select Auto-play
ix. Burn Disc.

By following the steps outlined in “III” you will have created an auto-play DVD with the higher quality Compressor encoding, but you have avoided the DVD-Studio Pro interface.