I've had this snag before and never really had the time to ask everyone here about it yet! i'll posted this question in both the FCP and DVDSP forums because I'm not really sure in which the snag exists (although I suspect that it' in DVDSP), or if it's just the way it works.
I am editing a one hour training video that pauses several times for a user-definable length of time to "stop and do the exercise". No music or animation or anything else that distracts the user, just a simple still graphic so that they can concentrate on the exercises.
So, I first edited everything on one sequence in FCP. I faded to black and put DVDSP chapter markers where the DVD is to display the still PSD until the user clicks anywhere on it or taps any key to resume. This actually works well and is pretty straight forward to author. If you just play the DVD in it's entirety, it works as authored.
Here's the snag, however.
When you're playing back the DVD and you want to jump or fast forward or backward to the next or previous programmed PSD, it instead jumps or plays past to the next or previous chapter marker on the sequence and then plays from there without showing the PSD stills (menus) authored in DVDSP.
I thought of a workaround, but it didn't work. Instead of compressing the full hour-long sequence and then programming in the breaks in DVDSP, I compressed each "chunk" of video one at a time and simply authored from asset to menu (and back and forth). The result was the same, though - when you "forward" or "reverse" during playback, it went to the next or previous video asset and ignored the menus. I'm not even sure how DVDSP knows which is the next and previous asset to play when doing it this way, but it knows (perhaps via my sequential numbering of the chunks)!
I haven't tried authoring a Story yet or even know if it's possible to mix and match assets and menus within one but, before I try that, is that even worth pursuing?
Also, I had one other authoring question. Since I'm fading to black in FCP for 30 frames before each user-defined pause authored in DVDSP, I would like to fade up the PSD menu in DVDSP for 30 frames (currently, it just cuts on). I know how to author the DVD to fade out in 30 frames to go back to the video (which then fades up in 30 frames), but how do you fade in a menu at the beginning in DVDSP?
Thanks in advance for your help!
-Pat
G5 Quad 2.5 Desktop with 4GB Ram, 500GB HD & Fiber Card ~
30" Cinema Display & 17" Sony SVGA ~
Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
AJA Io LA ~
Final Cut Studio 2 ~
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP ~
Sony DSR-40 DVCam ~
2.33ghz MacBook Pro 17" (with FCS2) ~~~
P D Post Productions, Inc. ~
TV~DVD~VHS~CD~WEB
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983 ~
E-mail PD@PDPost.com ~
Website www.PDPost.com ~
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671
Re: FCP / DVDSP Authoring Snag by eric pautsch on May 16, 2008 at 4:23:11 pm
I'm assuming your still is a menu..correct? Next/previous or FF/RW will not honor your chapter end jumps. Put another marker 15 frame before the one you already have. In this scenario, your "next" will hit the first marker then immediately see the one with the chapter end jump, going to the menu. This will only work with Next. There's no way to to RELIABLY do this using the previous button. FF/RW will not work at all in this situation...sorry.
Re: FCP / DVDSP Authoring Snag by Pat DeFilippo on May 16, 2008 at 5:08:20 pm
Hi Eric!
Thanks for your help - I recall that you've helped me out in the past as well!
Yes, I have each still as a menu in DVDSP. I will definitely go 15 frames (which I guess is 1 "I" frame, right?) before the end of each current menu so that when the user clicks "next", they see 15 frames of the fade out and then the menu. I understand that this can't work backwards, which is too bad, however if they go backwards and then forwards enough, and let the DVD play 15 seconds, they're bound to get to the right "pause" graphic (menu)!
So, while it's less than ideal, thank you again for the tip!
For the second part of that question, is there any way to do a 30 frame fade up on the DVDSP menu or does it always "cut" on? Would it be possible to set up seperate slideshows for each with a 1-second dissolve from black and author it to go to that instead? Would I need to then have it cut to the existing menu so that the user can click anywhere or touch any button in order to see a one second menu fade out (via DVDSP) before going back to the video in the sequence for the next part?
Thanks again Eric!
-Pat
G5 Quad 2.5 Desktop with 4GB Ram, 500GB HD & Fiber Card ~
30" Cinema Display & 17" Sony SVGA ~
Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
AJA Io LA ~
Final Cut Studio 2 ~
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP ~
Sony DSR-40 DVCam ~
2.33ghz MacBook Pro 17" (with FCS2) ~~~
P D Post Productions, Inc. ~
TV~DVD~VHS~CD~WEB
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983 ~
E-mail PD@PDPost.com ~
Website www.PDPost.com ~
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671
Re: FCP / DVDSP Authoring Snag by Pat DeFilippo on May 16, 2008 at 5:49:59 pm
Hi Eric!
Thanks again because your reply answered the second part of the question!
By the slideshow in DVDSP, I meant doing in DVDSP what you answered in pre-creating a fade up from another program.
I was wondering if doing slideshows in DVDSP (each consisting of a 1-second fade up from black at the start to the correct PSD and lasting 1 total second before end jumping to the same PSD in a menu so that the user can continue from there) would do it. However, it makes sense just to set up several 1-second sequence outputs from Compressor to do it (like you suggested) and then just drop that into the menu. The programming would be much easier, then, because I've already done it! From DVDSP, I can then program the Transition of a 1-second fade out in each menu back to the sequence once the user clicks anywhere or taps any key.
I'll be revising this specific video next week, so I will incorporate this into the authoring process. Thanks again for telling me how to make it work better!
-Pat
G5 Quad 2.5 Desktop with 4GB Ram, 500GB HD & Fiber Card ~
30" Cinema Display & 17" Sony SVGA ~
Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
AJA Io LA ~
Final Cut Studio 2 ~
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP ~
Sony DSR-40 DVCam ~
2.33ghz MacBook Pro 17" (with FCS2) ~~~
P D Post Productions, Inc. ~
TV~DVD~VHS~CD~WEB
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983 ~
E-mail PD@PDPost.com ~
Website www.PDPost.com ~
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671
Re: FCP / DVDSP Authoring Snag by Jake Russell on May 18, 2008 at 12:37:12 pm
Hi Pat,
What you want to do can be done but you may loose timecode/chapter info on the LCD Display with some players. You just need to open the Advanced Connections Tab.
So for example:
Select Track 1 (in Graphical View), then in the Connections Tab (Advanced Detail) set the Next Jump to Menu 1. Menu1 has a button to take the user to Track2.
Select Track 2 and set the Next Jump to Menu 2 and the Prev Jump to Menu 1.
Carry on like this and you should be heading on the right track hopefully.
I'll see if The COW want a tut showing you how to do it,
