The Hobbit - Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a 2013 epic fantasy adventur film directed by Peter Jackson.Following the story of Bilbo Baggins as he accompanies Thorin Oakenshield and his fellow Dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. 

As a 2013 film you'd expect the DVD menu to be of a much higher standard than the other two. In many ways it is however it also lacks a lot compared to the others. This is largely because like when the other came out there is a new technology out (blu-ray) that they are trying to push so the content of the dDVD's is very minimal. The main menu is very simple. A simple menu with four choices, play movie, scene selection, languages and special features. It also have a video on repeat showing big action sequences to get you excited. However there is no sound included on this so it is just repeating clips nothing to get your excited. The scene selection and languages are simple and as expected however the special feature though small has a lot of interesting stuff on it. When you click on special features a still image of Gandalf is in the background and vertical menu is in the middle with a few options. The first options is by far the most interesting. Like the first Hobbit film the is a small documentary following the shooting of the film. This mini little BTS is a really interesting film which adds to the DVD greatly and is the only real thing of substance on the DVD. The rest of the special features is pretty simple just with two trailers.

The DVD is very simple with little to do like a large number of modern DVD's. If I was to view the Blu-ray I am sure a lot more content would be there. As someone who is yet to switch to blu-ray the content of this DVD is very standard for a format they are slowly trying to replace. In my opinion is it a simple cleanly done DVD that does what it needs to do with out being particularly exciting.

Queen shoot

During our creation of the DVD I had the pleasure of attending the Royal opening of Thornham Village Hall.  I attended and captured the arrival and departure of The Queen assisted by my lecturer James Fox, Sean Rees, Ilze Vermane and Kieran Hudson. The shoot was a great success & a great experience. I also had the opportunity to work in conjunction with ITV sharing footage (I had shot ) with ITV to use in there afternoon and evening broadcasts. SpringboardTV were also featured in the Piece. I also took some photographs which were used by Radio Norfolk on there website.




http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/story/2014-01-28/the-queen-opens-village-hall/


I then created a special feature of the day in which we shall include in the second version of the DVD which will be produced by David Rawlinson for the client and for sale to the general public via http://www.springboardtv.com/

How to create DVD menu and assets

First of all  open the Compressor like last time. Open Final Cut Pro and click on 'File' then 'Send to' then 'Compressor'. Then you have to find a file called DVD:Best Quality 90 minutes,after that click on it and you should see two files 'Dolby Digital Professional 2.0' and 'MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass'. Just like last time  select these two folders and drag them up and drop them in Sequence 1.



After this drop the two files in the Sequence 1 and right click on the file called 'MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass'(the one placed in Sequence 1).  After that right click on the following file and select 'Destination' which will let you choose where you want to send/save the file.  



Next step is to go to Inspector which is placed on the right hand side under Sequence 1 and change some settings. Take a look at Geometry and make sure that everything is correct. Go to Geometry then make sure that setting 'Crop to' is Crop to:Custom, then change Left, Right, Top and Bottom to 2.




 Save the file again, then  right click on the file placed in Sequence 1, then choose 'Destination' then 'Desktop' .

After this submit the file, click on 'Submit' which is above the inspector and underneath Sequence 1. Make sure that the 'Cluster' was set to 'Cluster:This computer' and that the 'Priority' was set to 'Priority:High'.

Next step click Submit and wait until it Submits Successfully.

If the file submits successfully you will see something appear in 'History' which is placed on the right hand side of the 'Inspector'. It shows the date of submission and that it was successful.




Next step is to Open DVD Studio Pro.

 After that open DVD Studio Pro. click on 'File' then 'Import' then 'Asset' then choose files; 'Sequence 1-MPE.bps 2-pass.m2v' 'Sequence 1-Dol Professional 2.0.ac3' then click 'Import'.

We click on 'Graphical' and drag these 2 files up to 'Graphical' Sequence 1.



Then had to go to 'File' 'Save as' 'Save'.

Next step is to go to Final Cut Pro click on 'text' then 'Matte' then 'Color Solid' then 'Controls' then 'Color' and then 'Change the color' then click'OK' and then Drag and drop it to sequence 1.

The next thing to do is to change the colour, to do that; click 'Text',then again 'Text' then once again 'Text', then 'Controls','Font Color',then 'Change Color' and then change Alignment to 'left' then press 'OK'. After this click 'OK'  then drag and drop the text to Sequence 1 just above the 'Color Solid'. Last step is to click 'set input' then 'save as' give the file a name,then 'save & output.

How to use compressor

 First of all open a Final Cut Pro project. Then you need to click File, Send to, then clicked Compressor. When the Compressor opens you have to find a file called 'DVD:Best Quality 90 minutes' in Settings, when you find the file you have to click on it and as it expands you will see two other files called 'Dolby Digital Professional 2.0' and 'MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass'. click on 'Dolby Digital Professional 2.0' and drag it up to Sequence 1.



After you have dragged the file called 'Dolby Digital Professional 2.0 up to Sequence 1,  do exactly the same thing with 'MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass'.



After you've dragged both files up to Sequence 1 click on the second file in Sequence 1, and go to Inspector. Inspector allows you to change Video Format, Frame Rate,Aspect Ratio and also Field Dominance. 



Next thing  to do is click on Stream Usage to make sure that the Stream usage is SD DVD.



Click on Video Format and change it from NTSC to PAL. Then chang the Video Format to PAL, you will see Frame Rate automatically change from 29.97 to 25. You also have to change the Field Dominance from Bottom First to Top First.



Then click Quality in 'Inspector'. Quality option allows you to change the Mode, Average Bit Rate, Maximum bit Rate, and Motion Estimation.



Finally you have to  choose Mode:Two pass VBR Best, it goes through every field and makes sure the quality is the best when it compresses the file, although the only problem with Two pass VBR Best mode is that it's slow and it takes a long time to compress. After you check that the  Mode is Two pass VBR Best, change the Average Bit Rate from 6.2 to 6.8Mbps and change the Maximum Bit Rate from 7.7 to 8.0Mbps.Motion estimation had to be: Best.

The Matrix

The Matrix is a 1999 American science fiction action film written and directed by The Wachowski Brother. After its DVD release, it was the first DVD to sell more than one million copies in the US, and went on to be the first to sell more than three million copies in the US. By November 10, 2003. The DVD was very advanced for its time including a lot of added extra's such as, A Behind-The-Scenes Documentary, Feature-Length Audio Commentary, Hidden Special Effects Documentaries, Multiple Angles and Music Only Track With Composer Commentary. The DVD also had an all new fir the time interactive DVD-ROM EXTRA Features which included, Story Boards, Web Access, The entire Website, cast and crew biographies and Special Edition Video.



The design of the menu itself is really impressive, incorporating a lot of the colours used in the film all with a very computerised feel. By this I mean when scrolling through the buttons it very much feels like a very old computer system which is really nice and a great way of allowing the audience to how ever small feel more a part of the film.

The commentry of this dvd is brilliant. Done by special effects supervisor John Gaeta, editor Zach Staenberg and actress Carrie Anne-Moss. I found what Gaeta and Staenberg had to say quite interesting, with the editor providing details on what it has been like to work with the directors and the effects supervisor provides some nice details on how the effects were produced. Moss doesn't say much at all after the first few minutes. There are a few pauses on the track, but I think that overall, this is an enjoyable and informative track. I wish that the Wachowski Brothers would be included on the track. I think that it had more potential and I would have liked it to have included more people, but as it is great. 

The designers have worked very hard on creating a very in depth dvd with plenty to do and see. The attention to detail and added features add a lot the dvd and the documentaries and added content is great for the fans. This dvd is very much a fans dvd and of a very high standard.

In my opinion this dvd is brillliant and goes that extra mile that they didn't have too. 

Easter eggs

An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in a work such as a computer program, video game, movie,book, or crossword. According to game designer Warren Robinett, the term was coined at Atari by personnel who were alerted to the presence of a secret message which had been hidden by Robinett in his already widely distributed game, Adventure.The name has been said to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt.

This practice is similar in some respects to hidden signature motifs such as Diego Rivera's including himself in his murals, Alfred Hitchcock's legendary cameo appearances, Fritz's appearances in the works of Chris van Allsburg, and various "Hidden Mickeys" that can be found throughout the various Disney Parks.

Atari's Adventure, released in 1979, contained the first video game "Easter egg" to be discovered by its players, being the name of the game's programmer, Warren Robinett. In 2004 an earlier Easter egg was found in Video Whizball, a 1978 game for the Fairchild Channel F system, displaying programmer Bradley Reid-Selth's surname.

In computer software, Easter eggs are secret responses that occur in response to an undocumented set of commands. The results can vary from a simple printed message or image, to a page of programmer credits or a small videogame hidden inside an otherwise serious piece of software. Videogame cheat codes are a specific type of Easter egg, in which entering a secret command will unlock special powers or new levels for the player.

An Easter egg is found on all Microsoft Windows operating systems before XP. In the 3D Text screen saver, entering the text "volcano" will display the names of all the volcanoes in the United States. Microsoft removed this Easter egg in XP but added others.

In the Pinball game in Microsoft Windows, typing in "hidden test" (with the space) and pressing Enter will allow the user to drag the pinball around with the mouse.

Microsoft Excel 95 contained a hidden Doom-like action game called The Hall of Tortured Souls.

Some computer and video game secret levels are triggered by an Easter egg. In 1993's acclaimed LucasArts video game Day of the Tentacle, the original game Maniac Mansion from 1987 can be played in its full version by using a home computer in one character's room.

For a time, Google Maps contained several Easter eggs whereby a user asking for directions from Japan to China, from New York to Tokyo, or from Taiwan to China would be directed to either jetski, kayak, or swim across the Pacific Ocean. Asking Google Maps for walking directions from the Shire to Mordor produces "One does not simply walk into Mordor", a warning that replicates a line from The Lord of the Rings.Google search responds to "Do A Barrel Roll" in the search box by tilting the page 360°, as if a pilot were maneuvering an aircraft. This is a reference to the popular video game series Star Fox, where the phrase became famous. In December 2011, Google also introduced an Easter egg that was triggered by typing "let it snow" into the search box, which caused snow to fall and the screen to frost over.

In 2012, an update to the Mac App Store for OS X Mountain Lion introduced an Easter egg in which apps, during the download process, were timestamped "January 24, 1984," the date the original Macintosh went on sale. Upon completion of the download, the app was given the correct date. This is the first Easter egg to appear in Apple software since Steve Jobs banned them when he returned to lead Apple.

Shrek

The first thing that I noticed about the Shrek menu is that there is so much going on,everything is doing something giving the DVD menu have a life of its own. As soon as the menu appears things are happening, in the background all of the  characters are moving around, some of them are are only moving slightly, looking around and and moving there limbs however others such as donkey are jumping up and down, speaking and interacting with you which was very advanced for the time (2001).

 Each of the buttons between different menu screens  has a character or characters steppping forward saying something and then walk or run off the screen to the menu that you have chosen, for example when you click on play the three little pigs jump forward say “play the movie” and then run off screen and then into Shrek’s outside toilet.  The reason the creators of this menu have made it so interactive and is so that that it will appeal to its younger demographic (5-10 year old). Targeting there core demographic is a very clever idea and it makes the menu so much more interesting having everybody moving instead of it simply static.

The DVD  is full with a lot of different features and there is so much to do that the creators obviously spent a lot of time designing and developing it. Even though this was one of the earliest DVD's there is a lot more features on this than there is in a lot of new DVD’s, some of the stuff on the special features is the kind of things that you are getting on Blu-ray now. This was probably considered as a good selling ploy for DVD's and helped the transition from VHS. Other features the DVD has are Xbox playing hints, DVD – ROM that once downloaded on your computer you can open a “Re – Voice” studio and storyboards.

over all it is clear the creators went all out and  to create the most exciting DVD menu they could, it obviously paid off because it eventually became the biggest selling DVD of all time with over 5.5 million sales. Personally like the Shrek DVD Menu design and wish more films put this much effort into there DVD's now because I think it is a great way of selling the product.