REEL DVD motion menu questions

First, ReelDVD does not support .psd files for still images. They must be .bmp, .tiff, .tga, .jpeg pr .pict. I dont think the DVD specs support .psd files at all. However many authoring apps like ReelDVD use .psd files for subpictures like menu buttons.
If your first play item is a still menu, then drop a .bmp (720X480) on the storyboard. Now open this.bmp in Photoshop, create a new layer and make one button with a 2 bit color (pure black, red, white or blue). Create a new layer for each new button. Turn off the background layer and Merge Visible and save as a .psd.
My favorite buttons are simply rectangles that cover completely the text menu item. Once back in Reel, I make the display color invisible and the Selection color only slightly opaque. This makes it easy for the viewer to navigate without a lot of clutter.
Drop this ontop of your menu.bmp in the storyboard. Then go back and read those 2 tutorial again.

> ...Put a single small video clip (1minute)button on
> the start page that when selected , links to a longer
> video clip. The background on the start page will be
> a photoshop photo.

I'm relatively new to ReelDVD, but I don't see any way to use a small (sub-screen sized) video clip on a full-screen Photoshop background.

If you look at the assets in the ReelDVD Shipwreck tutorial, you'll see the motion main and scenes menus are nothing more than short (full screen) video clips that loop over and over.

For example, look at one of the scenes menus. The background, the button frames, and the little videos on the buttons are all part of a short full screen video clip. Such a video clip can be made in nearly any video editing software.

Load the files into Photoshop and look at the layers. The Photoshop files in the motion menus are only used to define the button highlights, not the backgrounds. However, layered Photoshop files are used to define both the backgrounds and button highlights of the still credits and weblink menus.

So to make the one minute video clip on a button that you mentioned, make a one minute video clip that has a full-frame still background, the button graphics, and a little picture-in-a-picture window with your moving video clip. Make a Photoshop or BMP file with just the button highlight.

JKJ

Reading John's answer, I think I understand your question better. John's right, motion menus like the one you are trying to create are made primarily in your non-linear editor, and the photoshop file is only for defining your buttons/highlights. You would bring your photoshop background(or any graphic image background for that matter) into video track one of your NLE, and overlay the short 1 minute clip of video in track 2 on top of the background. You would have to resize and position the video, and depending on your NLE/system, can be done in a number of ways. You would output your 1 minute clip as an m2v file and import it into ReelDVD on the storyboard. Once there, scroll through the video (by left clicking on the icon on the storyboard to select the asset, and then down below in the timeline window scroll through the video while watching the monitor). You can export as a bitmap a representative image from your video stream, and use that bitmap in Photoshop as a 'target' to create your button highlights. By doing it this way, you won't have to worry about the fact that dv uses rectangular pixels, and graphic images like those created in PS, generally use square ones. Create a new transparent layer above the background bitmap 'target', and using pure black, blue, or red; create a button or highlight that is associated with the small video. When you are done creating the button, just delete the background layer, and you will then be left with just the transparent layer with your 'button'. Save it as a PS file. When you go back to ReelDVD, just drag and drop that PS file on top of your motion menu. You now have a sub-picture on top of your motion menu and you need to define the button. On the lower right hand side below the monitor is a selection tool that will allow you to draw a rectangular box around the subpicture to define the button. You need to tell ReelDVD what to do with your subpicture/button with the three states a button can have: display, active, and selection. You will notice on the lower right hand side below the monitor several diamond shaped icons that will allow you to do this. The manual is helpful in directing you on how to adjust each of these if you need to, otherwise ReelDVD will just use it's preset defaults.

WTS...I'm following your suggestions.
I'm trying to put several small repeating thumbnail video clips on on a still background to be exported to REEL DVD. I'm using Premiere 6.5. In REEL DVD each thumbnail vid clip will be a button linking to a full screen full length video. So far I've been able to put the small clips onto a still background by using the "effect controls" window and selecting motion. I then set zoom to 20 percent and delay 100 percent. I also set the start and end points the same. Everything works fine. The only way I could find to make the clips repeat is to put several of the same clip on each video track. Five tracks total, 5 different clips, 4 clips per track.
The only problem might occur if the dvd user doesn't make a choice before the thumbnails stops playing. i could place more clips on each track and/or extend the length of each clip but thats wasting precious disc space and/or resolution. Is there a better way to do this that I'm not seeing.

What I generally do for a motion clip is make a similar picture in picture style motion menu via Premiere, and have it last a total of 25-45 seconds. That's generally enough time for someone to make a choice, and if they haven't, I would suggest what Sharon posted--define the 'next' link of that motion menu back onto itself so it will repeat until a choice is made. If you make your motion menu long enough, most viewers won't even see it loop back onto itself.