Chapter 2. Before You Even Think About Burning a DVD

Before you burn a single disc heck, before you even launch iMovie or iDVD again, read this chapter. It is my attempt to cover every single thing, small and large, you'll need to consider before you start any DVD project.

Don't get me wrong. I know that every DVD project is different and that some projects require extensive planning and pre-production while others turn out fantastic, even though created "on the fly" with little or no forethought.

Whether your project is big, small, or in-between, when you set out to create a DVD from scratch, there's a lot to consider and perhaps reject before you shoot an inch of footage, spend a single penny, or expend one ounce of additional effort on it.

I'm not going to tell you that you have to do every single thing this chapter suggests before every single project. But I am going to suggest that you need to at least know about all the things in this chapter. You see, I firmly believe that when you plan a project, if you choose to ignore any of these suggestions, it should be because you choose to ignore them, not because you forgot or didn't know.

Much of the information in this chapter will be expanded upon in upcoming parts of the book. And for your convenience, I've included a handy preproduction checklist at the end of this chapter.