Here’s a way to set up your movie night program from start to finish.
This looks like a lot of steps, but I have purposely written down each move. It's actually much faster than it looks.
Note: You must first rip the movie you're planning on showing. Use HandBrake or another comparable piece of software. Of course, you must own the DVD.
1. Open iTunes.
UPDATE: If you are using iTunes 11, go to the bottom of this page before proceeding.
2. From the File Menu, choose Add to Library . . ..
Locate and select the movie you wish to show and click Open to allow iTunes to place it in your iTunes Movie Library.
3. In addition, use the Add to Library. . . command to add your Flying Intro movie and any concession stand movies to your iTunes Movie Library.
In the left scrolling column, under the LIBRARY heading, select Movies to see if all your imported movies and clips are there.
4. From the File Menu, choose New Playlist.
. . . and name the new folder BackyardMovie.
5. In the left scrolling column, under the LIBRARY heading, select Movies and . . .
. . . drag and drop any intro commercials, cartoons, slideshows and other pre- and post-show movies you wish to show into the new BackyardMovie folder.
6. Drag and drop your main feature movie into your BackyardMovie folder TWICE.
(If you're not having an intermission, only do it once.)
You may get a message telling you that you are putting in a duplicate.
That's OK, so click the OK button.
7. In the left scrolling column, under the LIBRARY heading, select Music and . . .
. . . drag and drop all the music titles you wish to play during your pre- and post-show entertainment into the BackyardMovie folder.
There may be a warning window telling you that most people keep their movies and songs separate.
That's OK, so click the OK button.
8. In the left scrolling column, under the PLAYLISTS heading, select your BackyardMovie folder to see that all your songs and movies are in the proper order.
If you're having an intermission, separate the two duplicate main feature movies by moving the intermission movie clip between them in the BackyardMovie Folder list.
(You can drag your movies and songs to rearrange them as you wish.)
9. Hold down the Command Key and select all your songs and all your snack bar and intermission clips.
10. From the File Menu, choose Get Info.
Click Yes if you get a message asking you if you want to edit multiple items.
11. Click the Option Button at the top of the window.
12. Make sure the drop down menu next to "Remember Position:" reads "No" and the button to the left is unchecked.
(This will insure that the movie clips and songs you selected will always start at the beginning.)
Click the OK button to close the window.
13. Hold down the Command Key and select your two feature movies (which are actually the same movie).
14. Again, from the File Menu, choose Get Info and work your way to the Options window.
15. This time, make sure the drop down menu next to "Remember Position:" reads, "Yes." Then click OK.
(This will insure that the movie you selected will start at the place where it last left off.)
16. Click on the first song and everything should play automatically.
When the show is on and you've come to a point in the main feature where you want to stop for intermission, press the right arrow on your computer and the main feature will stop and iTunes will advance to the next item (which is your intermission movie). When the intermission movie is over, iTunes will automatically proceed to the next item on the list (which is your main feature). When the main feature starts up again, it will NOT start at the beginning, but will pick up where it left off instead.
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Now, if you are going to have the visualizer playing during the song portion, you must activate that by hand. (At least I haven’t found the place that will do it automatically. Maybe someone can enlighten us here.) Just press Command-T to get it going.
This shouldn't be a problem, as you have to be standing over the computer to start everything going anyway. It automatically quits when the movie starts, and comes back on again when the final songs begin to play.
Well, I hope this helps somebody.
UPDATE for iTunes 11 users
If you are using iTunes 11, your Sidebar Library (located on the left of your screen) may not be showing
when you open iTunes for the very first time. To make it appear:
From the View Menu, choose Show Sidebar. Then return to Step 2 of this tutorial.
