The present invention relates to improvements in the generation of an authoring file, readable by an authoring program of a DVD-Video or other interaction video media, that defines the playback structure of the content residing in a given disc's "authored content zone" and also defines the location of the assets that make up the disc's "presentation data." The improvements allow generation of an authoring file that references assets that are within the authored content zone of the medium. This allows the authoring "project" from which the final DVD-Video disc image was created to be reopened in a compatible authoring program--and to be modified by such a program--without reference to any of the original source materials.