Motion Menu reality check
by Bob Cole
on
Jul 20, 2005 at 10:31:33 pm
I have a client who looooves the idea of motion menus, to the extent of wanting to add what I consider gratuitous motion to a static page (moving stills around).
There's plenty of room on the DVD for the motion menus. Is there any negative aspect to motion menus as far as playability, or other concerns?
Re: Motion Menu reality check by Dave Friend on Jul 21, 2005 at 2:38:25 pm
Bob,
The only thing that occurs to me is that as the menu loops back to the start there is a very short period where the buttons do not work. If a client is really picky, and if the client just happens to push a button at the wrong moment...
you're stuck trying to convice them that it is perfectly normal behavior.
Otherwise, assuming enough disc space and your willingness to take the extra authoring steps there is no penalty for having motion menus.
Re: Motion Menu reality check by Nate on Jul 22, 2005 at 1:14:11 am
Dave,
[Quote]"The only thing that occurs to me is that as the menu loops back to the start there is a very short period where the buttons do not work."
Ummm...doesn't that kinda apply to all menus--both motion and static? I assume you're referring to the second or so it takes the player to get back to the beginning of the menu data on the disc, or perhaps there is some other issue with motion menus I'm not aware of?
Re: Motion Menu reality check by Melanie11485 on Jul 21, 2005 at 2:42:49 pm
I have just completed a project using a motion menu, this may be redundant to you but here are some things I encountered that would have been helpful if I had known them before hand.
1. You need to create a static version of your menu first as the background image, and then hide all layers that are not buttons before linking your motion menu.
2. Make sure to render out your motion menu as an .avi file.
3. If the motion menu does not play during the preview, you need to go to File then Render Motion Menu.
I experienced some bugs in the program when you start confusing it with menus, so I guess the less you mess with it the less problems you will have.
Dave, I create motion menus all the time and have never, ever had the looping issue you mention. I use animated BG's and motion menus, and set them both to loop.
The standard duration I prefer to use for animated BG's is either 30 or 60 seconds, depending on content. I once had a project that I was able to loop a 15 second piece that I created a seamless loop point for in PPRO and it worked great.
Motion menus and BG's are like anything else in the post production process. A little spice makes a meal more appetizing, but a whole lot is always a drag.
