DVD Menus & Sub-menus

kermitdfrog

Hi all,

I'm just back from a trip away and have been charged with making a DVD from our collection of photo's and videos. Putting photos and video's together isn't a problem, but one feature I want to include on the final DVD is "bonus" features - say, a complete collection of unedite video clips, a special blooper reel etc - accessible through menu's and sub menu's.

I don't have any experience of this kidn of thing but am tech and computer savvy (work in IT) and want to give this a shot for a bit fo craic. How easy/realistic a goal is this? Can you point me in the direction of the software (prefereably free!) to help?

Thanks in advance.

kermitdfrog

I've gotten advise from others, and, seeing as noone replied to this, I thought I'd share what I've learnt so far, in case anyone else is looking for the same information at some point in time (nothing worse than searching a forum for the same request as yours and not being able to find an answer).

Firstly I've been using Micorsoft Movie Maker in Windows Vista, which, while very basic, is suprisingly useful, especially for my purposes, being capable of adding files to the sound track, mixing them, fade in out, clipping and splitting video clips, titles, credits, and so, as well as various effects and transitions. Perfect for my uses, and, while limited, with a bit of creativity you can do suprising amount and work with and around those limitiations.

I have also gotten a trial version of Adobe Premier, but have yet to install it as it is a time limited trial and I'm not in a position to try it out properly yet.

While the MS Movie Maker is serving it's purpose well, the MS DVD Maker, while full of nice menu features and animations, doesn't allow for the submenus I crave. For that purpose, I have been told Nero is my best bet. Again, have a trial version I have yet to install, but by all accounts it will serve my needs. Will let you know.

decob

personally i'd use dvd studio on the mac, but have used dvd maestro alot in the past. Since you are looking at premier pro, have a look at encore - adobe's dvd program. It will definitely let you create sub menus.. It's also available on a trial download.

kermitdfrog

decob - Thanks. Mac is obviously better suited to this, but I'm working on a PC so it's not an option. Thanks for the advise on Encore, will definitely give it a try.

craze7

DVD-LAB PRO 2 is the best dvd program ive seen, the good thing about it is it can be as basic or as complex as u like...

Anything is possible with it!