| Countless users have found DVD Workshop to be the fastest and most flexible authoring tool available. But many users have not yet discovered the power of video compositing within DVD Workshop to take their menus to the next level. In this example, you will discover some ideas on how to use COOL 3D Production Studio to make animated buttons, text and background objects.
Animated text in COOL 3D™ Production Studio is about one of the most brain dead tasks you will ever perform in a 3D application. Here, “The Reef” text was typed into the project and then a preset was chosen from the EasyPalette / Text Animation library to make the underwater “wave” effect. This text object was used as the main title in the DVD Workshop menu.
The buttons in the DVD menu were made from a 3D model of a fish taken from COOL 3D™ Production Studio’s EasyPalette. Other models (3DS and X model formats) can be imported directly into COOL 3D or you can make your own using the various drawing and 3D shape tools. The fish was animated to swim using the Path Animation tool and the timeline key frames were set up to have this action loop.
Next, to add a bit of atmosphere to the DVD menu, a particle effect was chosen from the EasyPalette (bubbles of course). In COOL 3D™ Production Studio, particle effects such as fire and smoke are their own objects. They are not “applied” to another object but rather exist on their own, providing the greatest flexibility.
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