iMovie 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

Chapter 16. iDVD Projects by Hand

The previous chapter showed you how easy it is to convert a finished iMovie project into a genuine DVD. But if all you ever do is click the Create iDVD Project in iMovie, you’ll never be able to make a DVD that contains, for example, six of your greatest iMovie masterpieces all on one disc. You’ll never be able to create a slideshow DVD, either, which happens to be one of the world’s greatest methods for displaying digital photos. And you’ll never know the joy of designing your own navigational menu system, complete with menus within menus.

This chapter has nothing to do with iMovie, and everything to do with iDVD. It shows you how, by doing a few more things manually, you can gain far more power and freedom.

Building iDVDs

Suppose that you’ve decided to create an iDVD project manually, rather than sharing your iMovie to iDVD. While there’s no one best way to put your project together, it helps to have a basic task list to work through. Here are steps for one convenient path through authoring a DVD.

1. Create a new project.

   In iDVD, a project file isn’t a single document on your hard drive. It’s actually a package—a folder that Mac OS X disguises to look like a single icon. The package contains all of your project settings and materials. (As you know from Chapter 4, iMovie projects are package documents, too.)

2. Choose a theme.

   Use any of iDVD 6’s pre-designed, professional-looking design schemes for your project (or add-on themes you’ve bought on the ...