4

Creating Shapes
Shapes provide an easy way to create a standard menu using a simple background image
(still or moving) without an overlay. These shapes can be either the ones supplied with
DVD Studio Pro or shapes that you create.
Shapes can be used for buttons and for drop zones. (Drop zones are graphic elements
that get added to the menu background and have no effect on the buttons.) You can
position the shapes and change their size freely, and even have full-motion video play
in them (motion buttons).
See Adding Shapes to a Menu for information on using shapes with the Menu Editor. See
Importing a Shape for information on importing shapes into the Palette.
Creating a Shape
A shape is a Photoshop PSD file with up to four layers. DVD Studio Pro uses the layer
order to determine which layer serves each function.
Layers in a Photoshop
PSD file
• First (bottom) layer: Contains the mask for the thumbnail image used when you assign
an asset to a button or drop zone. This layer should have a grayscale image to control
the thumbnail’s appearance. White areas are completely opaque (you see all of the
thumbnail image), gray levels are partially transparent, and black levels are completely
transparent (you see none of the thumbnail image). The mask can use an irregular
shape—the asset is scaled to fill it completely. Any part of the asset that falls outside
the mask then gets removed. If you don’t want a thumbnail image, you must still have
this layer present, but you can draw a black square or any simple image.
When you activate drop shadows on a button or drop zone using a shape,
DVD Studio Pro uses this layer, along with the second layer, to define the shape of the
drop shadow.
108 Chapter 6 Preparing Menu Assets