Making Dvd Menu

[atoal]

I recently got a copy of Nirvana's Unplugged in NY uncut version. I have a friend who is obsessed with Nirvana and would like to give this to her for her birthday. The thing is the menu is really simple. I was wondering if anyone knows a quick and easy way to make a menu out of some pictures and such. Im looking to use the album art for the main menu with to options of Song Selection or Play Concert. Then the second menu for song selection be another picture with all the songs listed. I have a program called DVD Menu Studio but that doesnt seem to work well. Any suggestions?

Also it seems it use to be on two VCDs converted to DVD format. How would I convert the two DVDs into one DVD. Both discs are VOB files.

[MetDream]

Skip on over to bootlegcoverart.com and ask one of us to make it for you. Otherwise you need a graphics program like photoshop to put them all together in a nice arrangement and save them into a jpeg.

[atoal]

someone over there would make one for me??? sounds like a pretty good deal

Edit: I didnt realize that cost money there, im lookin for a way to do it myself for free. if there is ive got photoshop, any other recommended programs?

[MetDream]

It doesnt cost money!! We do 2 free requests per month for regular members. If you want more requests that that, we ask you make a donation. That is all...

unless you are talking about photoshop, then yea it is expensive. But Adobe plans to release a free online basic version of Photoshop within the next six months.

http://news.com.com/2100-7345_3-6163015.html

There are other graphic programs out there you can use. But if you go make a thread over at bootlegcoverart, and upload the pictures you want, I'll personally make the menus for you.

[FBM]

Huh?
Bootlegcoverart is free, and they're pretty good!

[MetDream]

Or if you really want to do it yourself I can give you the dimensions to make it and all if you tell me it is pal or ntsc etc and I will check around for what less expsive or free graphic programs you can use. But I have to go back to work now so I cant do that till tonight....

[atoal]

im wanting to make the actual menu for the dvd. i can do the cover artwork easily. just trying to clear this up if i was unclear before.

[MetDream]

Leglessmoof made up this tutorial for us on MetCoverArt and BootlegCoverArt. If you have a program that you can use to easily make cover art, then you should be able to make the menus.

When making artwork for a DVD menu, you are basically making an image that will be used as the background for the menu. Then the person who is authoring the DVD will add the buttons and other objects. For example, see the pictures below:


Step 1: The background image made by the artist.



Step 2: The completed menu using the above background image.


There are a couple things to keep in mind when making DVD menu artwork:

(1) SIZE. For NTSC DVDs, the background size should be 720x480. For PAL DVDs, the background size should be 720x576.

(2) TV SAFE AREA. See the picture below:



Anything outside the dotted lines will be cut off the screen on larger TVs. But on smaller TVs it won't be cut off, so you will still need to have something there (don't leave it blank). Just don't put anything important (like text) outside the TV-safe area.

(3) CREATIVITY. Remember that the image you are making will be the background; not the primary focus of the menu. So you will need to leave space somewhere for the DVD author to add things (buttons, menu titles) on top of your image. Don't be afraid to settle for an image that might look "empty" or "simple" by cover art standards.

[atoal]

thanks for the tips! im gonna be doing the authoring myself too. any recommendations for software in that area?

[MetDream]

I just make the artwork but here are some threads in our forums on authoring:

https://forum.metpage.org/viewtopic.php?t=13762

https://forum.metpage.org/viewtopic.php?t=12908

https://forum.metpage.org/viewtopic.php?t=13294