Apple DVD Studio Pro 4 - Manual (Page 336)

Choosing the Menu’s Background
Layered menus must use the same PSD file for both the menu’s background and the
layered buttons. Because of this requirement, only PSD files with multiple layers can be
used as backgrounds for layered menus.
For best quality, be sure your graphic:
• Matches the menu’s resolution and aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9): If you are creating 16:9 menus
in SD projects, or with the 720 x 480p, 720 x 576p, or 1440 x 1080i HD resolutions in
HD projects, be sure the graphic is anamorphic. See
Creating Graphics to Use in Menus
and Choosing an Aspect Ratio for details.
• Conforms to the broadcast video color space: Graphics that look stunning in your graphics
program can look very different when viewed on DVD. Most graphics applications let
you scale colors to NTSC or PAL color space.
DVD Studio Pro automatically scales the size of the background graphic to fit the frame
size if necessary, which can result in the menu’s background color appearing along some
edges.
There are several ways to assign a background to a menu. Use the method that you feel
most comfortable with. In all cases, these methods also replace an existing background.
Assigning a Menu Background Using the Inspector
You can assign a menu background using the Inspector. With this method, you can only
choose from assets already imported into DVD Studio Pro.
To assign a menu background using the Inspector
1 Select the menu and make sure the Menu Inspector displays the menu properties.
2 Click the General tab in the Inspector (if it’s not already visible).
3 Choose a background from the Background pop-up menu.
The selected file appears as the menu background, with all layers hidden. You can choose
which layers to show in the Menu Inspector.
Assigning a Menu Background by Dragging
You can assign a background to a menu by dragging the asset from the Assets tab, the
Palette, or a Finder window.
To assign a menu background by dragging it to the Menu Editor
1 Select the menu in the Outline tab, the Graphical tab, or choose it from the Menu Editor’s
View pop-up menu to display it in the Menu Editor.
2 Locate the background file you want to use in the Assets tab, Palette, or Finder window.
3 Drag the asset to an empty part of the Menu Editor and pause until the Drop Palette
appears.
336 Chapter 15 Creating Menus Using the Layered Method