17.1. iDVD's Built-in Themes
In iDVD 5, Apple added 15 new themes. Many of the new ones include fabulous motion backgrounds and moving drop zones, as described in the
preceding
chapters. Special events
inspire
some themes, like the
wedding
and new-baby themes. Others key into special interests, like sports and travel.
Themes also vary in complexity. Some offer completely realized presentations. Others provide little more than colors and fonts, leaving it up to you to mold them. Either way, the built-in themes, both old and new, provide an
excellent
jumping-off point for your DVDs.
17.1.1. The Themes Pane
All three collections5.0 Themes, 4.0 Themes and Old Themesappear in the Themes pane in the Customize drawer, as you can see in Figure 15-10 (page 366). (To view the Themes pane, click Customize to
open
the Customize
drawer
, then click the Themes button at the top of the pane.)
As you study the scrolling list of themes, you'll notice that:
-
Favorites appear together.
When you choose Favorites from the Theme Set popup menu at the top of the pane, all Favorites (themes that you've created) appear together in the same list. This list is empty when you start out using iDVD.
-
Most non-Apple themes appear separately.
Themes you've bought from other companies (like www.idvdthemetastic.com or www.idvdthemepak.com) are listed separately in the pane's pop-up menu.
-
View several sets at once.
iDVD 5 lets you view a single set of themes, or all themes at once. To view just one set, select its
name
from the Theme Set pop-up menu. To view all themes, choose All from that same menu.
-
The walking-man icon means sound or audio.
When you see a small, round, walking-man logo in the lower-right corner of the theme thumbnail, that's your signal that the theme uses a motion background or audio loop.
-
The ribbon means favorite.
A gray prize ribbon appears in the lower-left corner of certain themes. This icon lets you know that the theme is a Favoritea theme that you created yourself. You'll find out how to create Favorites later in this chapter.
17.1.2. The Built-in Themes
In quality and usability, iDVD themes range from the elegant to the absurd. Here's a quick rundown of the themes built into iDVD 5.
Tip:
You'll find an excellent interactive overview of iDVD's built-in themes, showing what they look like as completed DVD projects, at www.apple.com/ilife/idvd/theater/newthemes.html.
17.1.3. 5.0 Themes
Table 17-1.
|
Name
|
Notes
|
|
|
Travel Cards
|
This theme is the factory setting for new projects. It includes a series of six "postcards" (photo drop zones) that glide smoothly across the screen over a tropically inspired bamboo background. A vast improvement over the previous version's default theme.
|
|
|
Memories
|
Three water droplets fall into a placid pool, each creating ripples that widen into a drop zone. Unfortunately, the white lettering of the all-text
buttons
is hard to read unless you choose contrasting drop-zone contents.
|
|
|
Sliding Panes
|
A silent theme, Sliding Panes features a series of drop zones that gradually get covered up with a seemingly random series of rectangular black blocks. Out of seven drop zones, only two appear in the main loop. Make sure to use short button
names
with this oneand don't even try to populate the seven drop zones directly. Instead, use the drop-zone editor (choose Project
Edit Drop Zones) so you wont have to play "catch the animated drop zone" with your cursor.
|
|
|
Full Frame 1 and 2
|
These all-text themes provide simple labeling on top of a single, full-frame photo or video clip background.
|
|
|
Anime Pop
|
This theme represents Japanese Anime-style animation at its most floral. Five drop zones fly around a desert background in happy, happy flowers. Plonky music plays and stars
drift
to the ground.
|
|
|
Wedding White
|
Elegant and easy on the eyes, this theme offers animated, semitransparent white waves that roll by on the bottom half of the screen, as a slideshow of four photos fills the upper half of the screen. Triumphant music plays. Choose stills rather than slideshows or
videos
to create the best impact for this lovely theme.
|
|
|
Baby Mobile
|
Six drop zones, resembling photos hanging from a baby's crib mobile, rotate as sweet music plays. The lighting, shadow, and perspective effects are fabulous; it's almost worth having a baby just so you can use this theme. Keep the button names short.
|
|
|
Travel 1
|
A livelyvery livelytravel-themed offering that never seems to stop. Eleven drop zones look like travel postcards shooting, nonstop, from right to left, obscured occasionally by animated globes and suitcases flying from left to right. You won't be able to catch a
breath
.
|
|
|
Travel 2
|
The sedate (and mercifully still) companion to Travel 1. Works out very handily as a submenu.
|
|
|
Techno B&W (and
Color
)
|
Three drop zones (either in B&W or color) recede, then shrink onto a white backdrop, while a "control bar" (purple in the B&W theme, gray in Color) offers text-button access. Keep the text short.
|
|
|
Lines
|
A strip of six drop zones
scrolls
slowly, silently, like
frames
of film, from right to left on a stark black backdrop. One of the better 5.0 themes.
|
|
|
Portfolio
|
Twelve drop zones jump up out of a mosaic layout to show
themselves
to you. Like a reverse of the Techno theme, except this version is attractive.
|
|
|
Scrapbook
|
Nice music highlights a scrapbook inspired presentation with a rotation of three drop zones. Flowers, suns, and balloons
dance
around and change colors.
|
|
17.1.4. 4.0 Themes
Table 17-2.
|
Wedding (Bronze and Silver)
|
A curtain billows silently in the background of this cool, elegant theme,
offered
in two colors and two styles: main page ("One") and submenu ("Two").
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drive-in
|
A retro-inspired Drive-in. Not the height of graphic design
perfection
, what with its busy design, huge drop zone, and somewhat grating audio loop. The submenu theme (Drive-in Two) is only slightly better.
|
|
|
Montage
|
Brash and stylish, Montage offers an exciting and usable screen design. With its flashing colors and loud
rhythms
, however, this theme isn't for the easily annoyed(or people trying to sleep).
|
|
|
Kids Theater
|
This theme is geared toward junior movie
makers
, although its "Good Old Summertime" calliope background loop may drive even children loopy. Parts of the design fall outside of the safe video zones. Kids Theater Two, the submenu version, is a tad better.
|
|
|
Road Trip
|
Good music and a clever drop zone. Your pictures or movies appear in the rear view mirror as your road-trip-mobile cruises through the desert. (Road Trip Two is a view out the back window of the carcute, real cute.)
|
|
|
Pop-Art
|
Unfortunately, the thin, high-contrast text makes this theme almost unusable on standard television sets. It's pretty on your computer, not so pretty on disc.
|
|
|
Reveal
|
A basic,
workable
theme in which a column of drop zones slowly reveal their contents.
|
|
|
Fish
|
This stylish theme offers hints of Finding Nemo, as a realistic-looking fish swims back and forth in front of whatever photo or movie you've dropped into the drop zone. Clean and witty.
|
|
|
Blocks
|
Here's an awfully cutesy, baby-centered theme. At least it doesn't move.
|
|
|
Marquee
|
Looks like an old-style movie marquee, complete with old-style music.
|
|
|
Transparent (Blue, Green, Black)
|
The natural outgrowth of the iDVD team saying "Quick, we need three extra themes." Your drop zone fills most of the screen, with text buttons
beneath
.
|
|
17.1.5. Old Themes
Table 17-3.
|
Name
|
Notes
|
|
|
Theater
|
Red drapes open and close to reveal a drop zone while soft music plays in the background. Text buttons. Bad fonts and a
disappearing
drop zone.
|
|
|
Book
|
Overlapping books, one containing a drop zone. Folk guitar music. Text buttons. Very pleasant.
|
|
|
Projector
|
A projector appears to play a movie (actually, a black-and-white drop zone with an overlay). Old-fashioned projector clicks and hisses provide an extra layer of
realism
. A fun theme, but its text buttons are small and hard to read.
|
|
|
Gen Y
|
Cool funky music
drives
a stylish grunge presentation with a central drop zone. Well-designed text buttons. Well-built, balanced theme.
|
|
|
Picture-in-Picture
|
Central drop zone. Text buttons. Overall, gray and uninspired. Some designer had a bad morning.
|
|
|
Brush Strokes
|
Beige theme with black text buttons and a drop zone that appears to paint itself onto the screen. (This is what happens when designers get carried away with the video effect called
motion masking.
)
|
|
|
Western
|
A wood background, an Old West text font, and a central drop zone. It's
Bonanza
all over again.
|
|
|
Sport
|
Text labels on a sports jersey-themed background. The large drop zone makes it very workable.
|
|
|
Passport
|
Caribbean music on a very busy passport-themed background. Text buttons and a small drop zone. May be hard for
viewers
to pick out the foreground details from the background.
|
|
|
Postcard
|
Large drop zone and text buttons on a postcard-style background. One of iDVD's best themes.
|
|
|
Fun
|
Retro music plays to a stylish retro foreground-it's right out of the
Bewitched
opening credits. Small drop zone. Multi-colored text buttons. Mediocre music, nice design.
|
|
|
Confetti
|
Confetti
falls
in the white motion background. Blue text buttons and a drop zone. Quasi-big
band
music. The font's small and hard to read, and the background is very busy. Take Dramamine before watching.
|
|
|
Rose Heart
|
White text buttons over a rosepetal bedecked background. Portions of a drop zone appear through the petals. The
awkward
heart shape covers rather than emphasizes drop zone material. Worse, it can be hard to read the thin, white text on top of the overly textured background. Not one of Apple's masterpieces.
|
|
|
Blue, Pink, Orange
|
Jazzy clarinet music plays behind a static blue-on-blue menu (or pink-on-pink, or orange-on-orange) festooned with stars. Text buttons and a rectangular drop zone. Overall, inoffensive but dull.
|
|
|
Portfolio B&W, Portfolio Color
|
Black and white and color versions of the same thing: pictures on a pushpin corkboard. The cool part is that each button has a different shapeunusual for a theme.
|
|
|
Moving Bars
|
More masking madness. The drop zone picture plays behind the translucent buttons. Good design elements are overwhelmed by the overly busy, all-
dancing
, somewhat blurry drop zone. Not for the weak of stomach.
|
|
|
Brushed Metal One
|
Like the original iDVD 2 Brushed Metal theme, but with a drop zone. (Hint: Use Brushed Metal Two as the submenu theme.)
|
|
|
Brushed Metal Two
|
Like Brushed Metal with regular buttons and no drop zones. Missing the large, horizontal, rectangular box feature.
|
|
|
Green Linen One
|
An earth-tone green textured background with green text buttons and a drop zone.
|
|
|
Green Linen Two
|
Like Green Linen One but with regular buttons and no drop zone.
|
|
|
Lightbox
|
A bright background that looks like a light box
sort
of. Two small drop zones and text buttons. A simple, easy-to-use theme.
|
|
|
