Steve's Tips
Using DVD Markers in Premiere Elements
Occasionally, in the process of trying to explain how a tool in Premiere Elements works, I find that the more I try to explain, the more confusing it all becomes. Temporal and spatial interpolation with Bezier curves are like that (although I hope I was able to clarify things somewhat in last month’s Steve’s Tips). DVD Markers are also – though I’ll do my best to map it all out.
First and foremost, it’s important to distinguish between the two types of timeline markers in Premiere Elements. Numbered and unnumbered markers are a function of the Timeline only. They are used to mark places on the Timeline. Unnumbered markers can also be used to set automatic clip changes when using the program’s Create Slideshow function. These markers, however, have no effect on DVD authoring.
The function of DVD Markers, on the other hand, is to create a web of hyperlinks between the DVD menus and your movie – a means for your audience to navigate your DVD and a means for your to set up that navigation. They are at the heart of DVD authoring.
Creating DVD Markers
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A DVD Marker is created at the position of the CTI on the Timeline when you click on the DVD Marker creator button on the upper left of the Timeline. Whenever you create a DVD Marker, or when you double-click on an existing marker on the Timeline, the DVD Marker Menu will open. Click on the illustration to the left to see a larger view of it.
This menu offers you a host of options that effect not just the function of the marker, but how the icon representing this position on the Timeline will appear on the DVD Menu.
Marker types and functions
DVD Markers come in three flavors. Blue DVD Markers are called Main Menu Markers and create a link between the Main DVD Menu and their position(s) on the Timeline; Green DVD Markers are called Scene Markers and they create a link between icons on the DVD secondary, or Scene Menu, and their position(s) on the Timeline; Red DVD Markers are called Stop Markers and they end playback of the Timeline and return your audience to the Main DVD Menu.
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I’ve drawn a map indicating how these links work in conjunction with the DVD’s menu system. You can see a large version of the illlustration at the right by clicking on it. As I’ve said, it’s a fairly simple concept but the explanation can get pretty convoluted. I hope my picture is worth a thousand (probably more confusing) words.
The functions of the Main Menu Markers and the Scene Markers are similar. Clicking on each icon in their respective menus will launch your movie from the position of the corresponding marker on the Timeline. The only difference between the two is which DVD Menu they appear on.
Using Stop Markers
Stop Markers stop playback of your movie and return your audience to the Main DVD Menu. By positioning Stop Markers on your Timeline, you can give the illusion that your DVD, although only one Timeline, is actually several movies (or "special features"). Beginning each segment with a Main Menu or Scene Marker and ending each with a Stop Marker, you make what would have been one big movie into several short sequences, each of which plays independently as your audience chooses it.
Finally, one caveat about using DVD Markers. Note that, once placed, they lock their positions to the Timeline, not to your clips. In other words, if you edit your movie after positioning the markers, they will remain in place even though the scenes you positioned them over may not. For that reason, it’s best to set up your DVD Markers only after you’ve created a final cut of your video project.
April 2006
About Steve
Steve Grisetti earned a master's degree in writing for television and film from Ohio University. He has instructed college-level courses in television and video production, and has taught adult education classes on Photoshop and principles of design.
Steve spent nearly 10 years in the Los Angeles-based entertainment industry, working on the sets and in the production offices of several large television and film companies. Currently, he is employed as a graphic designer in the Marketing & Communications Department of a Milwaukee-based investment firm.
He also serves as host on Adobe's official Premiere Elements Support Forum and is author, with Chuck Engels, of "Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 In a Snap," from Sams Publishing, Pearson Education.
