making your own dvd menu's

[3djedi]

I have PSE 5.0 and prermiere 3.0 and it stated in the book that you could make and design your own dvd menu's using PSE 5.0 but I can't find any detailed info as to HOW!!! I've heard that there was a menu in 4.0 that helped you design it but there doesn't seem to be anything in 5.0. Anyone have any ideas???

[3djedi]

Surely someone has made a dvd menu with 5.0 and 3.0.......

[tpaulauski]

You can modify an existing DVD menu and do things like changing and adding text, copying existing buttons, etc. in PE5 but you can't change the highlights of a button or open the different layers. You can see all components of a DVD menu in Photoshop CS2. The editor in PSE5 cannot be used because the layers in a menu are in Layer Groups which cannot be expanded in PSE5. Also, all menus in PE5 are stored in the PAL format and converted to NTSC at DVD creation.

[ATR]

This message was ready to go when I saw the previous response, but I decided to post as well.

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc20c72

The above link is from an Oct. 2006 topic at the Photoshop Elements User to User Forum at http://www.adobe.com. It poses the same question and offers no answer.

The Adobe description for Photoshop Elements 5.0 DOES includes creation of DVD menus as a feature? Where is the File/New/DVD Template in the 5.0 version that is mentioned in the above link as not being there? True, you can edit a preexisting DVD menu in Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, but CREATE from blank? I think not, except for the 4.0/2.0 combo or Photoshop CS. I was never able to find it in the tryout versions of Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Premiere Elements 3.0 that I looked a several months ago. I currently have Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Premiere Elements 2.0.

I am hoping that pros like tfry, BarbO, Chuck Engels, and others who see this will put this question to rest once and for all. It is very frustrating to be left with “Adobe says it does.”

ATR

[Barb O]

http://www.muvipix.com we are adding new templates all the time. Just added some basketball stuff, take a look. Steve also has written a very good article on creating and editing templates in Photoshop Elements :)

The above was recently posted by Chuck in another thread. It seems relevant to this thread also, so I have added it here.

[tofin]

I have PSE 5.0 and prermiere 3.0 and it stated in the book that you could make and design your own dvd menu's using PSE 5.0 but I can't find any detailed info as to HOW!!! I've heard that there was a menu in 4.0 that helped you design it but there doesn't seem to be anything in 5.0. Anyone have any ideas???

Not sure why it says that...I only have premiere elements but the following is taken from Adobe's forums re: a FAQ for Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Premiere Elements 3.0...look at the last item...

Topic
How does Premiere Elements 3.0 interact with Photoshop Elements 5.0?

Both applications use the Adobe Media Downloader that contains almost identical settings for importing media. You can create a slideshow in Photoshop Elements and send it directly to the Premiere Elements timeline. From there you can treat it like any other asset and you can even break apart the slides and manipulate them individually.

Using this new Slideshow Send function eliminates the creation of a WMV file as an intermediate step when you wish to pass a slideshow over to Premiere Elements for DVD authoring/burning or for additional editing. This both saves the time spent on the WMV encode and potentially increases the image quality of the photo on the final DVD.

The ability to create or edit DVD templates in Photoshop Elements in no longer available. However, you can create still images based on document presets for standard DV and HDV frame sizes.


But there is another article in the same FAQ's that gives you the format for the dvd templates used in Premiere Elements 3.0 so you can create new templates...so it is possible...just needs a little bit more work
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[Barb O]

post deleted by originator

[3djedi]

Thanks for all your help guys. Here is a quote from PE 3.0 manual ".....you cannot save template changes in Adobe Premiere Elements. However, you can create a custom template in Photoshop Elements, and then add it to Adobe Premiere Elements template choices." Doesn't this sound like you can create your own menu's?? Or are they saying you can change existing templates and save them for later use?

[Chuck Engels]

There are a couple of great articles on creating and editing DVD Templates as well as a constantly growing collection at http://www.muvipix.com

Depending on what version you have the templates are different. The DVD Templates for version 2 do not work with version 3 and neither of them work with version 1. Photoshop Elements 4 has a Template Editor that let you create and modify templates with a Wizard, they removed that from version 5 because you can edit the templates with Photoshop Elements 5 now. You can save them and add them to the DVD Templates Catalog in Premiere Elements 3.

There are 3 articles on editing templates, two written by Steve Grisetti and one by Adobe. One is at the Adobe Premiere Elements User 2 User Forum FAQs, One is at http://www.videoinasnap.com and one is at http://www.muvipix.com

[wings2002]

Greetings from Brazil, this is my first message in this forum
Just received PSE5 and APE3, to upgrade my 3 and 1 previous versions. I made minor modifications to menu templates but what I would like to know is whether someone knows about instructions on how to make a menu with PSE5 starting from the very begining, I mean from the very first layer. I tried it myself when running the trial version and it seems to me that it is possible if you know the "language". Noticed, and also read somewhere in the internet, that one must add signs such as - ^ etc to layer names for a layer to be recognized as a particular piece of the DVD menu, such as buttons, image holders, etc.
Thanks for any help you can provide me with.

[Chuck Engels]

If you check the links in the post above yours you will find instructions.

[ATR]

wings2002

This is just a quick reply for tonight.

First, have you read the all the posts in this Thread?

If you are serious about starting from the very beginning to create DVD menus, take a look at Photoshop Elements 4.0/Premiere Elements 2.0 combo and its wizard or the use of Photoshop CS. Layer Groups factor into the equation. Check out previous postings here at this web site and also at Premiere Elements User to User Forum at http://www.adobe.com.

If you have not already seen the following link, you may want to look it over:

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc24d89

I have Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Premiere Elements 2.0 and have been looking at various workarounds to this DVD menu creation business. Unfortunately, mine is still a work in process since I have gotten detoured with other commitments.

ATR

[ATR]

Sorry for the duplication. I did not see the last posting of Chuck Engels.

ATR