Topic specific generation and editing of media assets

(Related application) This application claims the benefit of US Patent Provisional Application No. 60 / 790,569 filed April 10, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application is further incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. U.S. Patent Applications Sequential Nos. 11 / 622,920, 11 / 622,938, 11 / 622,948, 11 / 622,957, filed January 12, 2007. , 11 / 622,962, and 11 / 622,968.

(Technical field) The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for editing and generating media assets such as video and / or audio assets via networks such as the Internet or intranets, in particular media assets based on the user's context. Regarding providing users with suggestions or templates for editing and generating media assets.

Currently, there are many different types of media assets in the form of digital files transmitted over the Internet. Digital files can include, but are not limited to, data representing one or more types of content, including audio, images, and video. For example, media assets include MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 for audio (MP3), Joint Photographic Experts Group for images (JPEG), Moving Picture Experts Group for video (MPEG-2 and MPEG). -4 "), Adobe Flash for animation, and file formats such as executables.

Such media assets are currently created and edited using applications that run locally on dedicated computers. For example, in the case of digital video, common applications for creating and editing media assets include Apple's iMovie and Final Cut Pro and Microsoft's Movie Maker. After creating and editing media assets, one or more files can be sent to a computer (eg, a server) located on a distributed network such as the Internet. The server can host this file for viewing by various users. Examples of companies that operate such servers are YouTube ((not posted for public order and morals violations)) and Google Video ((not posted for public order and morals violations)).

<p><patcit num="1"><text>U.S. Patent Provisional Application No. 60 / 790,569</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>U.S. Patent Application Sequential No. 11 / 622,920</text></patcit><patcit num="3"><text>U.S. Patent Application Sequential No. 11 / 622,938</text></patcit><patcit num="4"><text>U.S. Patent Application Sequential No. 11 / 622,948</text></patcit><patcit num="5"><text>U.S. Patent Application Sequential No. 11 / 622,957</text></patcit><patcit num="6"><text>U.S. Patent Application Sequential No. 11 / 622,962</text></patcit><patcit num="7"><text>U.S. Patent Application Sequential No. 11 / 622,968</text></patcit></p>

<p> Currently, the user must create and / or edit the media asset on its client computer before sending the media asset to the server. Thus, many users will not be able to edit media assets, for example, from another client whose client computer does not include a suitable application for editing or media assets. In addition, editing applications are typically designed for the professional or upscale consumer market. Such applications do not meet the needs of the average consumer who does not have a dedicated computer with considerable processing power and / or storage capacity.</p><p> Moreover, the average consumer typically does not have the transmission bandwidth needed to transfer, share, or access media assets that may be pervasive throughout the network. Increasingly, many media assets are stored on computers connected to the Internet. For example, services such as Getty Images sell media assets (eg images) stored on computers connected to the Internet. Therefore, when a user requests to manipulate or edit a media asset, the asset is typically transferred as a whole over the network. Especially in the case of digital video, such transfers can consume enormous processing and transmission resources.</p>

<p> According to one aspect and one embodiment of the present invention, a device for generating media assets based on context is provided. In one embodiment, the device relates to a logic circuit for causing the user to display a suggestion for a media asset based on a context, a logic circuit for receiving at least one media asset, and at least one media asset. Includes a logic circuit for receiving editing instructions. Context can be obtained from user input or activity (eg, in response to a query or related website where an editor is launched), user profile information such as community or group associations, and so on. Further, the context can include the user's purpose, such as generating topic specific videos such as date videos, wedding videos, real estate videos, music videos, or the like.</p><p> In one embodiment, the device further includes logic circuits for displaying questions or suggestions according to a template or storyboard to assist the user in generating media assets. This logic can act to prompt the user by asking or suggesting a particular media asset (and / or editorial instruction) that is used in a particular order depending on the context.</p><p> The device can further include logic circuits for sending at least one media asset to a remote device based on context. For example, if the device determines that the user is creating a date video, a particular set of media assets, including video clips, music, effects, etc. related to the date video, will be used in the generation of the media assets. It can be presented or populated in the user's editor. In another embodiment, the device may determine that the user is from San Francisco and provide media assets related to San Francisco, California, and the like. The particular media asset selected can include a default set of media assets based on context, and in other embodiments the media asset can be determined based on the affinity for the user and the selected media asset. ..</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a method for editing and generating media assets is provided. In one embodiment, the method presents the user with suggestions for generating an aggregated media asset based on the context associated with the user, and at least one media asset associated with the aggregated media asset. Includes the stage of receiving an edit instruction related to the aggregated media asset.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-readable medium is provided that includes instructions for editing media assets to generate aggregated media assets. In one embodiment, the instruction displays a suggestion for the user to generate an aggregated media asset based on the context associated with the user, and at least one media asset associated with the aggregated media asset. It is intended to implement a method that includes a receiving step and a receiving step of receiving an edit instruction related to the aggregated media asset.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention and one embodiment, a device for client-side editing of media assets in a client-server architecture is provided. In one embodiment, the user of the client device uses an editor to edit local and remote media assets in an online environment (eg via a web browser), and locally originated media assets remote media assets. Can be edited without delay for uploading to the storage system.</p><p> In one embodiment, the device selects logic circuits (eg, software) that generate edit instructions related to locally stored media assets in response to user input, and the selection of local media assets for editing. Later, for example, after the generation of edit instructions, it includes an upload logic circuit that sends at least a portion of the media assets to remote storage. A portion of the media asset transmitted to the remote storage can be based on an edit instruction, and in one embodiment, only the portion edited according to the edit instruction is transmitted to the remote storage.</p><p> In one embodiment, the media asset is transmitted in the background of the editing interface. In another embodiment, the media asset is not transmitted until the user indicates that the media asset has been edited (eg, select "save" or "publish"). The device can also operate to send edit instructions to remote devices such as remote editors or servers associated with service providers. Editing instructions can also refer to one or more remotely located media assets.</p><p> In another embodiment, the device for editing the media asset receives the first low resolution media asset in response to a remotely located first high resolution asset edit request and with the first low resolution media asset. It can include a logic circuit for generating edit instructions associated with a locally stored second media asset in response to user input and sending at least a portion of the second media asset to remote storage. A portion of the second media asset transmitted can be based on the editorial instructions generated. In addition, the second media asset can be transmitted in the background.</p><p> In one embodiment, the device further comprises sending an edit instruction to a server associated with the remote storage, which server aggregates based on the first high resolution media asset and the second transmitted media asset. Render media assets. In another embodiment, the device receives the first high resolution media asset and renders the aggregated media asset based on the first high resolution media asset and the second media asset.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a method for editing a media asset on the client side is provided. In one embodiment, the method generates an edit instruction related to a locally stored media asset in response to user input, and after the edit instruction is generated, at least a portion of the media asset based on the edit instruction. Includes the step of sending to remote storage (eg in the background). The method can further include a second low resolution media asset associated with a remotely located second high resolution media asset, and the edit instructions are a locally stored media asset and a second low resolution media asset. Associated with both.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-readable medium is provided that includes instructions for client-side editing of media assets. In one embodiment, the instruction is in response to user input to generate an edit instruction associated with a locally stored media asset, and after initiating the generation of the edit instruction, of the media asset based on the edit instruction. The purpose is to implement a method including the step of transmitting at least a part to the remote storage.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention and one embodiment, an interface for editing and generating media assets is provided. In one embodiment, the interface includes a dynamic timeline that is automatically concatenated in response to user edits. In addition, the interface can facilitate editing of media assets in an online client-server architecture, allowing users to search and select media assets via interfaces for editing and media generation.</p><p> In one embodiment, the interface displays a display for displaying multiple tiles, each associated with a media asset, and a relative time for each of the multiple media assets edited by the user in search of the aggregated media asset. Includes a timeline to do. The timeline display is automatically adjusted in response to edits to the media asset, and in one embodiment the timeline responds to edits or changes in the media asset selected for the aggregate media asset (eg). , In response to the addition, deletion, or editing of the selected media asset). Moreover, in some embodiments, the timeline maintains a fixed length when adjusted in response to edits to media assets. The interface may further include an aggregate media asset display portion for displaying media assets according to edit instructions.</p><p> In another embodiment, the interface includes a search interface for searching media assets. For example, the interface is an additional, a tile display for displaying multiple tiles, each associated with a media asset used in an aggregate media asset, and a display for displaying media assets associated with multiple tiles. It can include a search interface for searching various media assets. The search interface can operate to search, for example, remote media assets associated with a remote storage library, and sources stored or originated locally and accessible via the Internet. The user can select or "capture" a media asset from the search interface and attach it to the associated local or remote storage associated with the user for editing. In addition, new tiles can be displayed on the tile display portion of the interface when a media asset is selected.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a method for editing a media asset to generate an aggregated media asset is provided. In one embodiment, the method displays a timeline showing the relative time of multiple media assets edited for aggregated media assets, and displays the timeline in response to changes to the editing of the media assets. Including the stage of adjusting. In one embodiment, the method responds to edits or changes in the selected media asset for the aggregated media asset (eg, in response to the addition, deletion, or time of the selected media asset). Includes the stage of connecting lines. In another embodiment, the timeline maintains a fixed length when adjusting in response to edits to media assets. The method can further include displaying aggregated media assets according to edits.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-readable medium is provided that includes instructions for editing media assets to generate aggregated media assets. In one embodiment, the instruction displays a timeline showing the relative time of multiple media assets edited for aggregated media assets, and displays the timeline in response to changes to the editing of the media assets. It is for implementing a method including a step of adjustment. In one embodiment, the instruction further responds to edits or changes of the selected media asset for the aggregated media asset (eg, in response to the addition, deletion, or time of the selected media asset). Have them perform the steps of connecting the lines. In another embodiment, the timeline maintains a fixed length when adjusted in response to edits to media assets. The instruction may further include the step of displaying the aggregated media asset according to the edit.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention and one embodiment, a device for generating media assets based on user activity data is provided. In one embodiment, the device presents data indicating the selection of at least one media asset from each of a plurality of sets of media assets for use in an aggregated media asset (eg, edit instructions, user browsing, ranking, etc.). Includes a logic circuit for receiving from a plurality of users and a logic circuit for generating aggregated media assets or edit instructions based on the received data. Each set of media assets can correspond to a separate set of time or scenes for inclusion in a larger media asset, such as a set of clips used for a particular scene in an aggregated video or movie. The device can further include logic circuits that generate rankings of media assets within each set of media assets based on data associated with multiple users (ranking is for generating aggregated movies or for users. Can be used to provide editorial suggestions to).</p><p> In another embodiment, the device for generating the media asset has a logic circuit for receiving activity data associated with at least one media asset from a plurality of users, and an edit instruction based on the received activity data. Or it includes a logic circuit for transmitting at least one (ie, one or both) of media assets. The device can also generate at least one of the edit instructions or media assets based on the received activity data.</p><p> Activity data can include edit instructions associated with at least one media asset. In one embodiment, the activity data includes edit data associated with a first media asset, the edit data being a first based on aggregated data from multiple user edit instructions associated with the media asset. Includes start and end edit times associated with media assets. In one embodiment, the device includes a logic circuit for generating a timeline that displays the aggregate edit time of the first media asset based on user activity data.</p><p> In other embodiments, the activity data can include, or can be leveraged to provide, affinity data indicating the affinity between the first media asset and at least one second media asset. it can. For example, activity data can indicate that the first and second media assets are commonly used in aggregated media assets, commonly used adjacent to each other in aggregated media assets, and so on. Such affinity can be determined from the number of edit orders that identify the first and second media assets, and the closeness of the first and second media assets in the edit orders. Affinity data can further include affinity based on users, communities, rankings, and the like. Various methods and algorithms are contemplated for determining affinity based on the collected user activity data.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a method for editing and generating media assets is provided. In one embodiment, the method presents data indicating the selection of at least one media line of sight from each of a plurality of sets of media assets for use in an aggregated media asset (eg, edit instructions, user browsing, ranking, etc.). Includes a step of receiving from multiple users and a step of generating aggregated media assets based on the received data. Each set can correspond to an aggregated media asset, such as a separate scene or clip used in a video or movie.</p><p> In another embodiment, the method receives activity data associated with at least one media asset from multiple users and causes at least one of the edit instructions or media assets to be sent based on the received activity data. And include. The method can further include generating a media asset or edit instruction based on the received activity data. The activity data can include edit instructions associated with at least one media asset, such as edit start and end times from an aggregate user edit instruction. In addition, various affinities can be generated from aggregated activity data, including affinities between media assets, other users, communities, and so on.</p><p> According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-readable medium is provided that includes instructions for editing media assets to generate aggregated media assets. In one embodiment, the instruction receives data from multiple users associated with the selection of at least one media asset from each of multiple sets of media assets used in the aggregated media asset, and to the received data. It is intended to implement a method that includes a step of generating aggregated media assets based on it.</p><p> The present invention and various aspects thereof will be better understood in consideration of the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings and claims.</p><p> The following drawings, which form part of the present application, illustrate the embodiments, systems, and methods described below, and do not limit the scope of the invention in any way. The scope shall be based on the attached claims.</p>

<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the system for manipulating media assets in a network computing environment.</figref><figref num="2A">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the system for manipulating media assets in a network computing environment.</figref><figref num="2B">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the system for manipulating media assets in a network computing environment.</figref><figref num="3A">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the method of editing a low-resolution media asset and generating a high-resolution edited media asset.</figref><figref num="3B">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the method of editing a low-resolution media asset and generating a high-resolution edited media asset.</figref><figref num="4">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for generating a media asset.</figref><figref num="5">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for generating a media asset.</figref><figref num="6">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for generating a media asset.</figref><figref num="7">FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a method for recording edits to media content.</figref><figref num="8">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for identifying the editorial information of a media asset.</figref><figref num="9">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for rendering a media asset.</figref><figref num="10">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for storing aggregated media assets.</figref><figref num="11">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for editing an aggregated media asset.</figref><figref num="12A">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the user interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="12B">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the user interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="13A">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the timeline included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="13B">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the timeline included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="13C">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the timeline included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="13D">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the timeline included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="13E">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the timeline included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="14A">It is a figure which shows the embodiment of the timeline and the effect included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="14B">It is a figure which shows the embodiment of the timeline and the effect included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="14C">It is a figure which shows the embodiment of the timeline and the effect included in the interface for editing a media asset.</figref><figref num="15">It is a figure which shows the embodiment of the data generated from the aggregated user activity data.</figref><figref num="16">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the timeline generated based on aggregated user data.</figref><figref num="17">It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the timeline generated based on aggregated user data.</figref><figref num="18">It is a figure which conceptually shows one embodiment of the method for generating an aggregated media asset from a plurality of sets of media assets based on user activity data.</figref><figref num="19">It is a figure which shows one embodiment of the method for generating a media asset based on a context.</figref><figref num="20">It is a diagram conceptually showing one embodiment of a method for generating aggregated media assets based on context.</figref><figref num="21">It is a figure which shows the exemplary computing system which can be used to realize the processing function for various aspects of this invention.</figref>

The following description is presented for those skilled in the art to practice and utilize the present invention. Descriptions of specific devices, techniques, and applications are provided by way of illustration only. Various modifications to the embodiments described herein will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein will not deviate from the spirit and scope of the invention of the other embodiments. And can be applied to applications. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the examples described and illustrated herein, but should provide a scope that meets the claims.

According to one aspect and embodiment of the present invention, a client editor application is provided. The client editor application can provide uploading, transcoding, clipping, and editing of media assets within the client and server architecture. The editor application optimizes the user experience by editing files originating from the client (eg, media assets) on the client device and files originating from (or existing on) the server on the server. Functions can be provided. Thus, the user to edit the media assets originating locally without waiting for media assets that are sent to the remote server (e.g., upload) can Rukoto. Further, in one embodiment, the client editor application can transmit only a portion of the media assets specified by the relevant editing instructions, which can further reduce transmission time and remote storage requirements.

According to another aspect and embodiment of the present invention, a user interface for viewing, editing, and generating media assets is provided. In one embodiment, the user interface includes a timeline associated with multiple media assets used to generate the aggregated media asset, where the timeline responds to changes in the aggregated media asset (eg, for example. (In response to deleting, adding, or editing a media asset in an aggregated media asset). Further, in one embodiment, the user interface includes a search interface for searching and searching media assets. For example, a user can search a remote source for a media asset and "capture" the media asset for editing.

According to another aspect and embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for creating an object in response to aggregated user data. For example, an object is automatically based on activity data of multiple users associated with one or more media assets (eg, user input, user browsing / selection, editing of media assets, editing instructions, etc.). Can be generated as a target. In one embodiment, the generated object contains media assets, in another embodiment, the object contains a timeline showing parts edited by other users, and in another embodiment, the object is. Includes information or data regarding edits to a particular media asset, such as placement within an aggregate media asset, affinity to other media assets and / or users, edits to this, and so on.

According to one aspect and embodiment of the present invention, a device proposed to a user for creating a media asset is provided. In one embodiment, the device displays suggestions for media assets to the user based on the context associated with the user. For example, if the user is generating a date video, the device proposes, for example, via a template or storyboard for generating the date video. Other examples include editing wedding videos, real estate listings, music videos, and the like. Contexts can be derived from user input or activity (eg, in response to queries, related websites where editors are launched), user profile information such as community or group associations, and so on.

First, an exemplary architecture and process for various embodiments will be described with respect to FIG. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of System 100 for generating media assets. In one embodiment, system 100 includes master asset library 102. In one embodiment, the master asset library 102 can be a logical group of data, including, but not limited to, high resolution and low resolution media assets. In another embodiment, the master asset library 102 can be a physical group of data, including, but not limited to, high resolution and low resolution media assets. In certain embodiments, the master asset library 102 includes one or more databases and can reside on one or more servers. In one embodiment, the master asset library 102 can include multiple libraries, including public, private, and shared libraries. In one embodiment, the master asset library 102 can be organized into a searchable library. In another embodiment, one or more servers containing the master asset library 102 may include a connection to one or more storage devices for storing digital files.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the drawings relating to the present disclosure, and the appended claims, the term "file" is generally stored as a unit of information that can be searched, modified, stored, deleted, or transferred, among other things. Means a gathering. Storage devices can include, but are not limited to, volatile memory (eg, RAM, DRAM), non-volatile memory (eg, ROM, EPROM, flash memory), and devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives. The storage device can store information redundantly. Storage devices can also be connected in parallel, in series, or in any other connection configuration. As described in embodiments of the present invention, one or more assets can reside within the master asset library 102.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the drawings relating to this disclosure, and the appended claims, "asset" refers to a logical collection of content that may be contained within one or more files. For example, an asset can include a single file (eg, an MPEG video file) that contains images (eg, still frames of video), audio, and video information. As another example, an asset is a file (eg, a JPEG image file) or a collection of files (eg, a JPEG image file) that can be used with or as a whole to render an animation or video with other media assets. ) Can be included. As yet another embodiment, the asset can also include an executable file (eg, an executable vector graphics file such as a SWF file or FLA file). The master asset library 102 can include many types of assets, including, but not limited to, videos, images, animations, texts, executables, and audio. In one embodiment, the master asset library 102 can include one or more high resolution master assets. In the following of this disclosure, the "master asset" is disclosed as a digital file containing video content. However, for those skilled in the art, master assets are not limited to those that include video information, and as mentioned above, but not limited to information that includes images, audio, text, executable files, and / or animations. You will understand that many types can be included.

In one embodiment, the media asset can be stored in the master asset library 102 to protect the quality of the media asset. For example, in the case of media assets containing video information, two important aspects of video quality are spatial resolution and temporal resolution. Spatial resolution generally represents unblurred clarity in the displayed image, and temporal resolution generally represents smoothness of motion. Video footage, such as movie film, consists of a fixed number of frames per second to represent the movement of the scene. Usually, the first step in digitizing video is to divide each frame into multiple image sensors, or pixels or pels for short. The higher the number of pixels, the higher the spatial resolution. Similarly, the more frames per second, the higher the time resolution.

In one embodiment, the media asset can be stored in the master asset library 102 as a master asset that is not directly manipulated. For example, media assets can be stored in the master asset library 102 in their original form, but can also be used to make copies or derivative media assets (eg, low resolution assets). In one embodiment, the media asset can also be stored in the master asset library 102 along with the corresponding or related asset. In one embodiment, the media assets stored in the master asset library 102 can be stored as multiple versions of the same media asset. For example, multiple versions of media assets stored in the master asset library 102 may include all keyframe versions that do not utilize intraframe similarity for compression purposes and optimized versions that utilize intraframe similarity. it can. In one embodiment, the original media asset can represent all keyframe versions. In another embodiment, the original media asset is originally in the form of an optimized version or can be stored as an optimized version. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that media assets can take many forms within the Master Asset Library 102 within the scope of this disclosure.

In one embodiment, system 100 includes an editorial asset generator 104. In certain embodiments, the editorial asset generator 104 may include, in particular, transcoding hardware and / or software capable of converting media assets from one format to another. For example, a transcoder can be used to convert MPEG files to Quicktime files. As another example, a transcoder can be used to convert a JPEG file to a bitmap (eg * .BMP) * file. As yet another embodiment, the transcoder can standardize the media asset format to the Flash video file (* .FLV) format. In one embodiment, the transcoder can produce more than one version of the original media asset. For example, upon receiving the original media asset, the transcoder can convert the original media asset into a high resolution version and a low resolution version. As another embodiment, the transcoder can convert the original media assets into one or more files. In one embodiment, the transcoder can reside on a remote computing device. In another embodiment, the transcoder can reside on one or more connected computers. In one embodiment, the editorial asset generator 104 may also include hardware and / or software for transferring and / or uploading media assets to one or more computers. In another embodiment, the editorial asset generator 104 can include, or can be connected to, hardware and / or software used to capture media assets from an external source such as a digital camera.

In one embodiment, the editing asset generator 104 can generate a low resolution version of the high resolution media asset stored in the master asset library 102. In another embodiment, the edit asset generator 104 converts the media asset in real time and sends the media asset as a stream to a remote computing device, for example, to store the media asset in the master asset library 102. You can send a low resolution version of. In another embodiment, the edit asset generator 104 produces a low quality version of another media asset (eg, a master asset) and still provides enough data for the user to make edits to the low quality version. However, a low quality version can be preserved.

In one embodiment, the system 100 can also include a specification applicator 106. In one embodiment, the specification applicator 106 may include one or more files or editing specifications that include editing instructions for editing and modifying media assets (eg, high resolution media assets). In one embodiment, the specification applicator 106 may include one or more editing specifications with modification instructions for high resolution media assets based on edits made to the corresponding or related low resolution media assets. .. In one embodiment, the specification applicator 106 can store multiple editing specifications in one or more libraries.

In one embodiment, system 100 includes a master asset editor 108 that can add one or more editing specifications to a media asset. For example, the Master Asset Editor 108 can add editing specifications stored in the Specification Applicator 106 library to a first high resolution media asset, thereby adding another high resolution media asset, such as a second high resolution media asset. create. In one embodiment, the master asset editor 108 can add editing specifications to media assets in real time. For example, the Master Asset Editor 108 can modify a media asset when it is sent to another location. In another embodiment, the master asset editor 108 can add editing specifications to media assets in non-real time. For example, Master Asset Editor 108 can apply editing specifications to media assets as part of a scheduled process. In one embodiment, the Master Asset Editor 108 can be used to minimize the need to transfer large media assets over the network. For example, by storing the edits in an edit specification, the Master Asset Editor 108 transfers small data files over the network and is stored on one or more local computers (eg, the computer that contains the master asset library). It is possible to realize the operations performed on remote computing devices for higher quality assets.

In another embodiment, the Master Asset Editor 108 can respond to commands from the remote computing device (for example, by clicking the "Remix" button on the remote computing device, the editing specification is a high resolution media asset. You can issue a command to Master Asset Editor 108 to apply to). For example, the master asset editor 108 can dynamically and / or interactively apply editing specifications to media assets in response to user commands issued by remote computing devices. In one embodiment, the Master Asset Editor 108 can dynamically apply editing specifications to high resolution to generate edited high resolution media assets for playback. In another embodiment, the Master Asset Editor 108 can apply editing specifications to media assets on one or more computers connected by remote computing devices and networks (eg, the Internet 114). For example, dichotomizing the application of editing specifications can minimize the size of high-resolution assets edited for playback before they are transferred to remote computing devices. In another embodiment, the master asset editor 108 can apply editing specifications on the remote computing device, for example to take advantage of vector-based processing that can be efficiently performed on the remote computing device during playback time. ..

In one embodiment, the system 100 includes an editor 110 that can reside on a remote computing device 112 connected to one or more network computers such as the Internet 114. In one embodiment, the editor 110 may include software. For example, editor 110 can be a stand-alone program. As another example, the editor 110 is an internet 114 browser (eg, Microsoft Internet). It can contain one or more instructions that can be executed through another program such as Explorer). In one embodiment, the editor 110 can be designed with a user interface similar to other media editing programs. In one embodiment, the editor 110 may include a connection with a master asset library 102, an editorial asset library 104, a specification applicator 106, and / or a master asset editor 108. In one embodiment, the editor 110 can include preconfigured or "default" editing specifications that can be applied to media assets by remote computing devices. In one embodiment, the editor 110 may include a player program for displaying the media asset and / or for adding one or more instructions from the editing specification when playing the media asset. In another embodiment, the editor 110 can connect to a player program (eg, a stand-alone editor can connect to a browser).

FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of System 200 for generating media assets. In one embodiment, the system 200 includes a high resolution media asset library 202. In one embodiment, the high resolution media asset library 202 can be a shared library, a public library, and / or a private library. In one embodiment, the high resolution media asset library 202 can include at least one video file. In another embodiment, the high resolution media asset library 202 can include at least one audio file. In yet another embodiment, the high resolution media asset library 202 can include at least one reference to the media assets present on the remote computing device 212. In one embodiment, the high resolution media asset library 202 can reside on multiple computing devices.

In one embodiment, the system 200 further includes a low resolution media asset generator 204 that generates low resolution media assets from the high resolution media assets contained in the high resolution media asset library. For example, as described above, the low resolution media asset generator 204 can convert high resolution media assets into low resolution media assets.

In one embodiment, the system 200 further includes a low resolution media asset editor 208 that sends edits made to the associated low resolution media asset to one or more computers over a network such as the Internet 214. In another embodiment, the low resolution media asset editor 208 can reside on a computing device, eg, the remote computing device 212, that is remote from the high resolution media asset editor. In another embodiment, the low resolution media asset editor 208 can utilize a browser. For example, the low resolution media asset editor 208 can store low resolution media assets in the cache of the browser.

In one embodiment, the system 200 can also include an image rendering device 210 that displays the associated low resolution media assets. In one embodiment, the image rendering device 210 resides on a computing device 212 that is remote from the high resolution media asset editor 206. In another embodiment, the image rendering device 210 can utilize a browser.

In one embodiment, the system 200 further includes a high resolution media asset editor 206 that makes edits to the high resolution media asset based on the edits made to the associated low resolution media asset.

FIG. 2B shows another embodiment of system 201 for generating media assets. An exemplary system 201 is similar to the system 200 shown in FIG. 2A, but in this embodiment the system 201 searches for and edits media assets from a remote source, eg, in the high resolution media asset library 202. Includes a media asset editor 228 included in the computing device 212 that receives low resolution media assets corresponding to high resolution media assets and can operate to search and edit media assets locally originated by system 201. For example, a client-side editing application, including Media Asset Editor 228, edits files originating from the client on the client and files originating from the server on the server (eg, local as described above). You can enable multimedia uploads, transcoding, clipping, and editing within a client and server architecture that optimizes the user experience (by editing the low resolution version in). Thus, local media assets can be easily accessible for editing without the need to first upload them to a remote device.

In addition, the exemplary media asset editor 228 can optimize approximate user latency by having selected local media assets uploaded (and / or transcoded) to a remote device in the background. In one embodiment, only a portion of the local media asset is sent (and / or transcoded) to a remote device based on the edits made (eg, based on edit instructions), thereby uploading time and remote storage. Requirements are reduced. For example, if the user chooses to use only a small portion of a large media asset, only the small portion will be sent to the remote device and stored for later use (eg, for later editing and media asset generation). Will be done.

The computing device 212 includes a local database 240 for storing locally originating media assets. For example, the media assets stored in the local database 240 may include media assets loaded from a device (eg, a digital camera or removable memory device) or received from a device connected via the Internet 214. Can be done. The media asset editor 228, for example, waits for the transfer of locally stored media assets to the high resolution media asset library 202, and the locally stored media assets without receiving a low resolution version for editing. Can be operated to edit directly.

In one embodiment, interface logic 229 can operate to receive and upload media assets. For example, interface logic 229 can operate to receive and transcode media assets from the high resolution media asset library 202, or low resolution versions from the low resolution media asset generator 204 (if required). Further, the interface logic circuit 229 can operate to transcode (if necessary) and upload the media assets to the high resolution media asset library 202. In one embodiment, when the media asset editor edits a local media asset originating from or stored in, for example, the local media asset library database 240, the interface logic 229 uploads the local media asset in the background. Can be done. For example, when a user accesses and edits a local media asset, he or she actively selects or transfers the local media asset for transfer to the high resolution media asset library (if it takes seconds to minutes or more). There is no need to wait. Media assets can be transferred by interface logic circuit 229 when selected or opened by the media asset editor 228. In another embodiment, the local media asset can be transferred when the edit instruction is generated or transferred. Further, in some embodiments, only a specific portion of the media asset being edited is transferred, thereby reducing the amount of data transferred and the amount of storage used by the remote high resolution media asset library 202.

The media asset editor 228 generates edit instructions related to media assets that can be sent to a remote server, including, for example, the high resolution media asset editor 206. In addition, local media assets can be sent to the same or different remote servers, including, for example, the high resolution media asset library 240. The local media asset can be transmitted in the background when the user creates an edit instruction via the media asset editor 228, or can be transmitted when the edit instruction is transmitted. In addition, the low resolution media asset generator 204 can create low resolution media assets that are associated with the received media assets and transferred to the remote device 212 for future editing by the media asset editor 228.

The high resolution media asset editor 206 can receive an edit request for the first high resolution media asset. The low resolution media asset corresponding to the high resolution media asset is generated by the low resolution media asset generator 204 and can be transferred to the computing device 212 as described above. The computing device 212 then originates from the received low resolution media asset and the locally stored second media asset (eg, not from the high resolution media asset library 202, but from the local media asset library 240). It is possible to generate editing instructions related to. The computing device 212 transfers the edit instruction and the second media asset to, for example, the high resolution media asset editor 206 to edit the high resolution media asset and the second media asset to generate the aggregated media asset. ..

In one embodiment, the computing device 212 is (partially or wholly) with other similar or different devices, such as other remote computing devices, servers, and similar, via network 214. Includes suitable communication logic circuits for interface connection and communication (eg, included in or separate from interface logic circuit 229). For example, a communication logic circuit can transmit media assets, editing specifications, Internet searches, and the like. The computing device 212 can further operate to display an interface for displaying and editing media assets as described herein (see, eg, interface 1200 or 1250 in FIGS. 12A and 12B). This is, for example, running locally by the computing device 212 via a downloaded plug-in or applet or installed software on the computing device 212, or for example a servlet from a web server 122 via a web browser. By initiating, a remotely executed logic circuit can be made partially or wholly. In addition, locally or remotely located logic circuits allow direct or indirect connections between computing device 112 and other remote computing devices (eg, between two client devices), providing media assets and editing specifications, etc. Can be shared. For example, a direct IP-to-IP (peer-to-peer) connection can be formed between two or more computing devices 212, or an indirect connection can be formed by a server via the Internet 214.

The computing device 212 includes suitable hardware, firmware, and / or software for performing described functions such as a processor, network interface, memory, and display connected to an input device (eg, a keyboard). The memory can include logic circuits or software that can operate on the device to perform some of the functions described herein. The device can operate to include a suitable interface for editing the media assets described herein. The device can also operate to display a web browser that displays an interface for editing media assets as described above.

In one embodiment, a user of computing device 212 transfers locally stored media assets to a central storage device (eg, high resolution media asset library 202) accessible to other users, or to another user device. Can be sent locally. The user can transfer the media asset as is or in a lower or higher resolution version. A second user can then edit the media asset (direct or low resolution version of the media asset) and generate edit instructions associated with it. The edit specification can then be propagated to device 212, and the media asset editor 228 is based on the edit specification without requiring reception of the media asset (when it is locally stored or accessible). Can edit or generate media assets. In other words, the user provides another user's access to the local media asset, which access can include transmission of the low or high resolution media asset, receives the edit specification, and is stored locally. Edit and generate new media assets from media assets.

Illustrative examples include editing various media assets related to marriage. For example, media assets may include one or more wedding videos (eg, unedited wedding videos from multiple attendees) and photographs (eg, shots by various attendees or experts). Can be done. Media assets can originate from one or more users and be transmitted or accessible to one or more second users. For example, various media assets are posted on a central server or sent to other users (as high or low resolution media assets), where other users edit the media assets, thereby generating edit instructions. You will be able to do it. The edit instruction / specification is then communicated to the user (or the source of the media asset) to generate the edit or aggregate media asset.

In some embodiments, the high resolution media asset referenced in the editorial specification or instruction for use with the aggregate media asset can be distributed across multiple remote devices or servers. In one embodiment, if a user on a particular remote device wants to render an aggregate media asset, the desired resolution media asset (eg, if high and low resolution media assets are available) is the remote computing device or remote. It is searched and rendered on the device, which is one of the servers. In another embodiment, determining where most of the desired resolution media assets are located can lead to a decision on where to render the aggregated media assets. For example, if 10 media assets are needed for rendering, 8 of the desired resolution media assets are stored on the 1st remote device, and 2 media assets are stored on the 2nd remote device, the system Can send the two media assets of the second remote device to the first device for rendering. For example, these two media assets can be transferred via peer-to-peer or remote servers and rendered on the first device, all with 10 high resolution media assets. Other factors can be considered in determining the location for rendering, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, such as processing speed, transmission speed / time, bandwidth, media asset location, and so on. Various algorithms are contemplated to determine what is across the distributed system. Moreover, such considerations and algorithms can be varied depending on the particular application, time and cost considerations.

According to another aspect of the exemplary system, various user activity data is collected as the user browses, edits, and generates media assets. Activity data can be associated with stored media assets stored in the asset library, or with generated editing specifications and instructions associated with individual and aggregated media assets. Activity data can include various metrics such as frequency of use or browsing of media assets, editing specifications, ratings, affinity data / analysis, user profile information, and the like. In addition, activity data related to the user's (all users or a subset of users) communities, media assets, editing specifications / instructions, and the like can be stored and analyzed to generate various objects. From such data, various objects can be created or created, for example, new media assets and / or edit instructions / specifications can be generated based on the user activity data described with respect to FIG. 15-17. .. In addition, various data related to the media asset, such as frequency data, affinity data, edit instruction / specification data, etc., can be generated and accessed by the user to assist the user in editing and generating the media asset. Can be.

Such user activity data can be stored, for example, by the data storage server 250 and stored in the associated database 252. The data storage server 250 and database 252 can be associated with or remote to a common network such as the high resolution media asset library 202 and / or the high resolution media asset editor 206. In another embodiment, the user activity data can be stored in the high resolution media asset library 202 or the high resolution media asset editor 206.

In addition, the ad server 230 can operate to deliver ads to the remote computing device 212. The ad server 230 can also associate ads with media assets / editing specifications sent to remote computing devices. For example, ad server 230 advertises with media assets or editing specifications delivered based on various factors such as generated, accessed, browsed, and / or edited media assets, as well as other associated user activity data. It can include logic circuits for display or association. In other embodiments, or in addition to this, the advertisement is activity data associated with the computing device 212 or its users (eg, accessed via the remote computing device 212 or associated web server). Can be based on, context, user profile information, etc. In yet another embodiment, the advertisement can be randomly generated or delivered to the remote computing device 212 in association with the computer device 212 or media assets.

It is understood that the High Resolution Media Asset Library 202, Low Resolution Media Asset Generator 204, High Resolution Media Asset Editor 206, Data Server 250 and Database 252, and Advertising Server 230 are shown as separate items solely for illustrative purposes. Will be done. In some embodiments, various features can be included in whole or in part with a common server device, server system or provider network (eg, common backend), or the like, and conversely, are shown individually. The device includes a plurality of devices and can be distributed over a plurality of locations. Further, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various additional servers and devices such as web servers, mail servers, mobile servers, and the like can be included.

FIG. 3A shows an embodiment of Method 300 for editing a low resolution media asset to generate a high resolution editing media asset. In method 300, a request to edit the first high resolution media is received from the requester in request operation 302. In one embodiment, the first high resolution media asset can contain multiple files, and the stage of receiving a request to edit the first high resolution media asset in request operation 302 is at least a plurality of files. It can further include the stage of receiving a request to edit one. In another embodiment, request operation 302 may further include receiving a request to edit at least one high resolution audio or video file.

In method 300, the low resolution media asset based on the first high resolution media asset is transmitted to the requester in transmit operation 304. In one embodiment, transmission operation 304 may include transmitting at least one low resolution audio or video file. In another embodiment, the transmit operation 304 has at least one high resolution audio or video file associated with the first high resolution media asset, each with a first file format to a second file format, at least one low resolution audio. Alternatively, it may further include a step of converting to a video file. For example, high resolution uncompressed audio files (eg WAV files) can be converted to compressed audio files (eg MP3 files). As another example, a compressed file with a lower compression ratio can be converted to a file with the same format but with a higher compression ratio.

Method 300 then includes in receive operation 306 the step of receiving an edit instruction related to the low resolution media asset from the requester. In one embodiment, the receive operation 306 may further include the step of receiving an instruction to modify the video display properties of at least one high resolution video file. For example, modifying a video display property can include receiving instructions to modify the image aspect ratio, spatial resolution value, time resolution value, bit rate value, or compression value. In another embodiment, the receive operation 306 may further include the step of receiving an instruction to modify the timeline (eg, sequence of frames) of at least one high resolution video file.

Method 300 further comprises generating a second high resolution media asset in generation operation 308 based on the first high resolution media asset and the editing instructions associated with the low resolution media asset. In one embodiment of generation operation 308, the editing specification applies to at least one high resolution audio or video file that includes a first high resolution media asset. In a further embodiment, the generation operation 308 produces at least one high resolution audio or video file. In another embodiment, the generation operation 308 is a step of generating a copy of at least one high resolution audio or video file associated with the first high resolution media asset, an edit instruction to at least one high resolution audio or video file, respectively. Further includes the stage of applying the above and the stage of saving the copy as a second high resolution media asset.

In another embodiment of Method 300, at least a portion of the second high resolution media asset can be transmitted to the remote computing device. In yet another embodiment of Method 300, at least a portion of the second high resolution media asset can be displayed by the image rendering device. For example, the image rendering device can take the form of a browser that resides on the remote computing device.

FIG. 3B shows an embodiment of method 301 for optimizing editing of local and remote media assets. In this exemplary method, in request operation 303, a request to edit the first high resolution media is received from the requester, and in send operation 305, the low resolution media asset based on the first high resolution media asset is transmitted to the requester. .. This is similar to the method described for parts 302 and 304 in FIG. 3A.

Method 301 further comprises in receive operation 307 the step of receiving from the requester an edit instruction associated with the low resolution media asset transmitted to the requester and the second media asset originating from the requester. In one embodiment, the edit order and the second media asset are received at the same time, and in the other embodiment, they are received in separate transmissions. For example, if the requester selects a second media asset through the editor, the second media asset can be sent at this point. In another embodiment, the second media asset is not transferred until the user submits the edit specification. In yet another embodiment, the second media asset received is only part of the large media asset locally stored by the requester.

Method 301 also generates aggregate media assets in generation operation 309 based on the first high resolution media asset, the second media asset received, and the low resolution media asset and the edit instructions associated with the second media asset. Including the stage to do. In one embodiment of generation operation 309, the editing specification is applied to at least one high resolution audio or video file that includes a first high resolution media asset and a second media asset. In another embodiment, the generation operation 309 produces at least one high resolution audio or video file. In another embodiment, the generation operation 308 further produces a copy of at least one high resolution audio or video file associated with the first high resolution media asset, an edit instruction to at least one high resolution audio or video file, respectively. Includes the step of applying the above and the step of saving the copy as a second high resolution media asset.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of Method 400 for generating media assets. In method 400, the receive operation 402 receives a request to generate a video asset that identifies the start and end frames of the keyframe master asset. For example, the request of receive operation 402 can identify the first and / or second part of the video asset.

In the first part generation operation 404, method 400 then includes the stage of generating the first part of the video asset, the first part containing one or more keyframes associated with the start frame. , Keyframes are taken from the keyframe master asset. For example, if the keyframe master asset contains an uncompressed video file, one or more frames of the uncompressed video file can include a keyframe associated with the start frame of the media asset.

In the second part generation operation 406, method 400 further includes the step of generating the second part of the video asset, the second part contains a set of keyframes and optimization frames, and the optimization frame is the key. Obtained from the optimized master asset associated with the frame master asset. For example, if the optimized master asset contains a compressed video file, the set of compressed frames can be combined in the video asset with one or more uncompressed frames from the uncompressed video file.

In another embodiment of Method 400, the library of master assets can be maintained capable of generating keyframe master assets and optimized master assets corresponding to at least one of the library master assets. In yet another embodiment of Method 400, the request can identify a start or end keyframe in the keyframe master asset that corresponds to the start or end frame, respectively.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of Method 500 for generating media assets. In method 500, receive operation 502 receives a request to generate a video asset that identifies the start and end frames in the master asset. For example, the request for receive operation 502 can identify the first and / or second part of the video asset.

In the first part generation operation 504, method 500 then includes the step of generating the first part of the video asset, the first part containing one or more keyframes associated with the start frame. However, keyframes are obtained from the keyframe master asset that corresponds to the master asset.

In the second part generation operation 506, method 500 then includes the step of generating the second part of the video asset, the second part containing a set of keyframes and optimization frames, where the optimization frames , Optimized for the master asset Obtained from the master asset. For example, if the optimized master asset contains a compressed video file, the set of compressed frames can be combined in the video asset with one or more uncompressed keyframes from the keyframe master asset.

In another embodiment of Method 500, the library of master assets can be maintained capable of generating keyframe master assets and optimized master assets for at least one of the library master assets. In yet another embodiment of Method 500, the request can identify a start or end keyframe in the keyframe master asset that corresponds to the start or end frame, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of Method 600 for generating media assets. In method 600, a request to generate a video asset that identifies the start and end frames in the optimized master asset is received in receive operation 602. For example, the request in receive operation 602 can identify the first and / or second part of the video asset.

Method 600 then includes in keyframe generation operation 604 generating a keyframe master asset containing one or more keyframes corresponding to the start frame based on the optimized master asset. In the first part generation operation 606, method 600 further comprises generating the first part of the video asset containing at least one start frame identified in the optimized master asset. Method 600 then further includes in the second part generation operation 608 the step of generating the second part of the video asset, including the set of keyframes and optimization frames, the optimization frame being obtained from the optimization master asset. Will be done.

In another embodiment of Method 600, the library of master assets can be maintained capable of generating keyframe master assets and optimized master assets corresponding to at least one of the library master assets. In yet another embodiment of Method 600, the request can identify a start or end keyframe in the keyframe master asset that corresponds to each start or end frame.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of Method 700 for recording edits to media content. In method 700, the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset is edited in edit operation 702. In one embodiment, the editing step comprises modifying the image of the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset. For example, if the image contains pixel data, the pixels can be manipulated to appear in different colors or different intensities. In another embodiment, the editing phase comprises modifying the duration of the low resolution media asset corresponding to the duration of the master high resolution media asset. For example, the step of modifying the duration can include a step of shortening (or "trimming") the low resolution media asset and the high resolution media asset corresponding to the low resolution media asset.

In a further embodiment, if the master high resolution media asset and the low resolution media asset contain at least one or more frames of video information, the editing stage is the video of the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset. Includes the step of modifying the transition properties of at least one or more frames of information. For example, transitions such as fade-in or fade-out transitions can replace an image in one frame with an image in another frame. In another embodiment, the editing step comprises modifying the volume value of the audio component of the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset. For example, a media asset containing video information can include an audio track that can be played at a higher or lower volume depending on whether a larger or smaller volume value is selected.

In another embodiment, if the master high resolution media asset and the low resolution media asset contain at least two or more frames of contiguous video information, the editing stage is the low resolution media corresponding to the master high resolution media asset. Includes the step of modifying the sequence of at least two or more frames of continuous video information of the asset. For example, the second frame can be arranged before the first frame of the media asset containing the video information.

In yet another embodiment, the editing step comprises modifying one or more uniform resource locators (eg, URLs) associated with the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset. In yet another embodiment, the editing step comprises modifying the playback speed of the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset (eg, 30 frames per second). In yet another embodiment, the editing step comprises modifying the resolution (eg, temporal or spatial resolution) of the low resolution media asset corresponding to the master high resolution media asset. In one embodiment, the editing step can be performed on a remote computing device. For example, the editing specification itself can be created on a remote computing device. Similarly, for example, an edited high-resolution media asset can be sent to a remote computing device and rendered on an image rendering device such as a browser.

Method 700 then includes the step of generating an edit specification based on the edit of the low resolution media asset in the generation operation 704. Method 700 further comprises applying the editing specifications to the master high resolution media asset and creating the edited high resolution media asset in application operation 706. In one embodiment, Method 700 further comprises rendering an edited high resolution media asset on an image rendering device. For example, the step of rendering an edited high resolution media asset can itself include the step of applying a media asset filter to the edited high resolution media asset. As another embodiment, the step of applying the media asset filter can include the step of overlaying the animation on the edited high resolution media asset. As yet another embodiment, the step of applying the media asset filter can further include the step of changing the display properties of the edited high resolution media asset. The stage of changing display properties can include, but is not limited to, the stage of changing video display properties. In this example, the stage of applying the media asset filter changes the video effect, title, frame rate, trick play effect (eg, the media asset filter changes fast forward, pause, slow motion and / or rewind operation). (Can) and / or include the step of changing the composite display (eg, displaying at least a portion of two different media assets at the same time, such as in the case of picture-in-picture and / or green screen composite). Can be done. In another embodiment, the method 700 can further include a step of storing the editing specifications. For example, the editing specifications can be stored in a remote computing device or one or more computers connected via a network such as the Internet.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of Method 800 for identifying editorial information for media assets. In Method 800, the low resolution media asset is edited in edit operation 802, where the low resolution media asset corresponds to the first part and the second high resolution master media asset corresponding to the first high resolution master media asset. Includes at least two parts. In one embodiment, editing operation 802 further comprises storing at least some of the editing information as metadata along with the high resolution editing media assets. In another embodiment, editing operation 802 can be performed on a remote computing device.

In receive operation 804, method 800 then comprises receiving a request to generate a high resolution editing media asset, the request distinguishing between a first high resolution master media asset and a second high resolution master media asset. .. Method 800 then includes the step of generating a high resolution editing media asset in generation operation 806. Method 800 further comprises associating the edit information that identifies the first high resolution master media asset with the second high resolution master media asset with the high resolution edited media asset in the association operation 808.

In one embodiment, Method 800 further comprises the step of searching for either the first high resolution master media asset or the second high resolution master media asset. In yet another embodiment, Method 800 further comprises assembling the searched first high resolution media asset and the searched second high resolution media asset into a high resolution editing media asset.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of Method 900 for rendering media assets. In method 900, in receive operation 902, a command is received to render an aggregate media asset defined by an edit specification that identifies at least the first media asset associated with at least one edit instruction. In one embodiment, receive operation 902 includes an end user command. In another embodiment, the receive operation 902 can include commands sent by a computing device, such as a remote computing device. In yet another embodiment, the receive operation 902 may include a set of commands that collectively represent the commands for rendering the aggregated media asset defined by the editing specification.

In the edit specification search operation 904, the edit specification is searched. In certain embodiments, the search operation 904 may include the step of retrieving an edit specification from memory or some other storage device. In another embodiment, the search operation 904 may include a step of retrieving an edit specification from a remote computing device. In yet another embodiment, the step of searching for an edit specification in search operation 904 may include a step of searching for several edit specifications that collectively contain a single related edit specification. For example, some editorial specifications may include different media assets (eg, each drama curtain contains media assets) that together contain a single related editorial specification (eg, in a play as a whole, including each act of the play). Can be associated with). In one embodiment, the editing specification can identify a second media asset associated with a second editing instruction that is searched and rendered on the media asset rendering device.

The media asset search operation 906 searches for the first media asset. In one embodiment, the search operation 906 can include a step of searching for a first media asset from a remote computing device. In another embodiment, the search operation 906 may include searching for a first media asset from memory or some other storage device. In yet another embodiment, the search operation 906 may include searching for a certain portion of the first media asset (eg, the header of the file or the first portion). In another embodiment of search operation 906, the first media asset can include multiple subparts. Following the embodiment described in search operation 904, the first media asset in the form of a video (eg, a play with multiple curtains) is a media asset portion (eg, multiple media assets represented as separate media assets). Curtain) can be included. In this embodiment, the editorial specification can include information that links or associates a plurality of different media assets together to a single related media asset.

In render operation 908, the first media asset of the aggregate media asset is rendered on the media asset rendering device according to at least one edit instruction. In one embodiment, the edit order can identify or direct a second media asset. In one embodiment, the media asset rendering device can include a display for video information and a speaker for audio information. In embodiments where a second media asset is present, the second media asset may contain information similar to the first media asset (eg, both the first and second media assets may include audio or video information. Information that is different from the first media asset (eg, the second media asset can contain audio information such as movie commentary, but the first media asset is video such as images and audio in the movie. Information can be included). In another embodiment, the rendering operation 908 is an edit instruction that modifies the transition property for transitioning from the first media asset to the second media asset, or an edit instruction that overlays the effect and / or title on the asset, or An edit order that combines two assets (eg, a combination obtained from an edit instruction made to a picture-in-picture and / or green screen feature), or a frame rate and / or display of at least a portion of a media asset. An edit order that modifies the speed, or an edit command that modifies the duration of the first media asset, or an edit command that modifies the display properties of the first media asset, or an edit that modifies the audio properties of the first media asset. Further instructions can be included.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of Method 1000 for storing aggregated media assets. In method 1000, multiple component media assets are stored in storage operation 1002. For example, as an illustration, but not a limitation, storage operation 1002 can include the stage of caching at least one of a plurality of component media assets in memory. As another embodiment, one or more component media assets can be cached in a memory cache reserved for programs such as Internet browsers.

Storage operation 1004 stores the first aggregate edit specification, where the first aggregate edit specification contains at least one command for rendering multiple component media assets to generate the first aggregate media asset. For example, an aggregate media asset can include one or more component media assets that include video information. In this embodiment, the component videos can be ordered so that they can be rendered in a fixed order as aggregated videos (eg, video montages). In one embodiment, storage operation 1004 comprises storing at least one command to display the first part of a plurality of component media assets in succession. For example, the command to display can modify the playback duration of a component media asset that contains video information. In another embodiment of storage operation 1004, at least one command for rendering an effect corresponding to at least one of multiple component media assets can be stored. As one embodiment, storage operation 1004 can include one or more effects ordering transitions between component media assets. In yet another embodiment of storage operation 1004, a second aggregate editing specification can be stored that includes at least one command for rendering multiple component media assets to generate a second aggregate media asset.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of a method for editing aggregated media assets. In method 1100, a stream corresponding to an aggregate media asset, including at least one component media asset, from a remote computing device is received in a replay session in receive operation 1102. For example, a playback session can include a user environment that allows playback of media assets. As another embodiment, the playback session can include one or more programs capable of displaying one or more files. Following this embodiment, the playback session can include an internet browser capable of receiving streaming aggregate media assets. In this embodiment, the aggregate media asset can include one or more component media assets residing on the remote computing device. One or more component media assets can be streamed to achieve bandwidth and processing efficiency on local computing devices.

Rendering operation 1104 renders the aggregated media asset on the image rendering device. For example, an aggregate media asset can be displayed to show pixel information from the aggregate media asset, including video information. In receive operation 1106, a user command is received to edit the editing specifications associated with the aggregate media asset. As discussed above, editing specifications include, but are not limited to, one or more files containing metadata and other information associated with component media assets that can be associated with aggregate media assets. It can take many forms.

In start operation 1108, an edit session is started to edit the edit specifications associated with the aggregate media asset. In one embodiment, the initiation operation 1108 includes displaying information corresponding to the editing specifications associated with the aggregate media asset. For example, an edit session can allow the user to adjust the duration of certain component media assets. In another embodiment, Method 1100 further comprises the step of modifying the editing specifications associated with the aggregated media asset, thereby altering the aggregated media asset. Following the previous embodiment, when the component media asset is edited in the editing session, editing on the component media asset can be performed on the aggregate media asset.

FIG. 12A shows an embodiment of a user interface 1200 for editing media assets that can be used, for example, with the computing device 21 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In general, interface 1200 includes display 1201 for displaying media assets (eg, displaying still images, video clips, and audio files) according to control unit 1210. Interface 1200 also displays multiple tiles, eg 1202a, 1202b, where each tile is associated with the media asset selected for viewing and / or editing, individually or as an aggregate media asset on display 1201. Can be displayed.

In one embodiment, interface 1200 includes a timeline 1220 capable of operating to display the relative times of multiple media assets edited in an aggregate media asset, and in one embodiment the timeline 1220 is user-edited. Can be acted upon to automatically concatenate in response to (eg, in response to the addition, deletion, or editing of selected media assets). In another embodiment that may include or omit the timeline 1220, interface 1200 includes a search interface 1204 for searching media assets, eg, interface 1200 edits media assets in the online client-server architecture described above. Can be used by the user to search for media assets via search interface 1204 and select new media assets for editing within interface 1200.

The display portion 1202 displays a plurality of tiles 1202a, 1202b, each associated with a media asset (eg, a video clip). Media assets can be displayed, for example, on display 1201 alone in response to a particular tile selection, or as part of a tile-based aggregate media asset within display portion 1202. Individual tiles 1202a, 1202b, etc. can be deleted or moved in response to user input. For example, the user can drag and drop tiles and reorder the tiles, which determines the order in which the tiles are aggregated for the aggregated media asset. The user further describes new media for editing purposes, for example, by opening a file through a traditional drop-down menu or by selecting a file via the search interface 1204, as described in more detail below. You can add tiles by selecting an asset. In addition, each tile can be associated with a media asset or part of a media asset, for example, a user "slices" a media asset, each corresponding to a segment of the timeline but based on the same media asset. You can create two tiles. In addition, tiles can be duplicated within display portion 1202.

In one embodiment, each tile displays a portion of the media asset, for example, if the tile is associated with a video clip, the tile can display a still image of the video clip. In addition, the tiles associated with the still image can indicate a smaller form of the image, such as a thumbnail, or a cropping form of the still image. In other embodiments, the tile can include, for example, audio files as well as titles or text associated with clips for video files.

In one embodiment, interface 1200 further includes a search interface 1204 that allows the user to search for additional media assets. The search interface 1204 can operate to search, for example, remote media assets associated with a remote storage library, sources accessible via the Internet, or the like, as well as locally stored media assets. This allows the user to select or "capture" the media asset from the search interface in order to edit and / or add it to the relevant local or remote storage associated with the user. In addition, once a media asset is selected, new tiles can be displayed in tile portion 1202 for editing.

In one embodiment, search interface 1204 operates to search only media assets in the relevant service provider library, such as media asset library 102 or high resolution media asset library 206 as shown in Figures 1, 2A, and 2B. It is possible. In another embodiment, the search interface 1204 can operate to search for media assets (including, for example, public domain media assets) for which the user or service provider has a license or license. In yet another embodiment, the search interface 1204 can operate to search for all media assets, and certain media assets are constrained in their use (eg, only low resolution versions are available, high). It can be shown that a fee may be required to access or edit the resolution media assets).

The user interface 1200 further includes a timeline 1220 for displaying the relative time of each of the plurality of media assets edited by the user in search of the aggregated media asset. The timeline 1220 is segmented into sections 1220-1, 1220-2, and others to show the relative time of each media asset edited in relation to tiles 1202a, 1202b relative to the aggregated media asset. The timeline 1220 is automatically adjusted in response to edits to the media asset, and in one embodiment, the timeline 1220 is consolidated in response to edits or changes in the media asset selected for the aggregate media asset. Will be done. For example, if tile 1202b is deleted, the second section 1220-2 of the timeline 1220 is deleted and the remaining sections on one side of it are concatenated (eg snapped) to eliminate the gap in the timeline and the rest. Show relative time associated with media assets. Further, if tiles 1202a and 1202b are switched, for example in response to a drag and drop operation, sections 1220-1 and 1220-2 will be switched accordingly.

Figure 13A-13E shows, for example, a timeline 1220 adjusted in response to edits to a media asset through the display of the displayed tile or media asset. In detail, in Figure 13A, a single media asset 1 is selected, which spans the entire length of the timeline 1220. As shown in Figure 13B, when the second media asset 2 is added consecutively after the media asset 1, the relative time of the media assets 1 and 2 is shown (in this case, the media asset 2 is the segment of the segment. Longer duration than Media Asset 1 as indicated by relative length or size). For example, in response to a user editing Media Asset 2 to include only a portion of it by trimming Media Asset 2, Timeline 1220 sets the relative time at edit as shown in Figure 13C. Adjusted as shown.

Figure 13D shows the timeline 1220 after the addition of additional media asset 3, which is relatively longer than media assets 1 and 2 indicated by the relative segment length, and consecutively after media asset 3. Has time to be added (note that the relative times of media assets 1 and 2 that are approximately equal are maintained by the timeline 1220). In response to user deletion of media asset 2, the timeline 1220 is also automatically adjusted so that media assets 1 and 3 are displayed according to their relative time. Further, the timeline is concatenated so that media asset 1 and media asset 3 snap together without a time gap between them, eg, media assets 1 and 3 are contiguous without a gap between them, eg, on interface 1200. It will be displayed via the display part 1201.

FIG. 12B shows a screenshot of an exemplary user interface 1250 similar to interface 1200 in FIG. 12A. In particular, like the user interface 1200, the user interface 1250 has a tile display 1202 for displaying tiles 1202a, 1202b, etc., each associated with a media asset for editing through the user interface 1200, and a media asset. Includes a display section 1201 for displaying and a timeline 1220. The timeline 1220 further includes a marker 1221 indicating which portion of the individual and aggregated media assets is displayed on the display portion 1202.

In addition, when a tile (eg, tile 1202a) is selected, the tile is highlighted on display 1202 (or displayed separately from the remaining tiles), indicating the relevant media assets displayed on display portion 1201. .. In addition, a portion of the timeline 1220 can be highlighted as shown to show the portion of the media asset of the selected tile displayed and the relative placement of the media asset within the aggregate media asset.

The user interface 1250 further includes a trimming function 1205 for displaying the media asset associated with one of the tiles in the display portion 1201 along with the timeline associated with the selected media asset. For example, the trimming function unit 1205 can be selected or deselected to change the display 1201 from displaying aggregated media assets associated with tiles 1202a, 1202b to displaying individual media assets associated with a particular tile. When selected to display the media assets associated with the tile, a timeline can be displayed that allows the user to trim the media assets (eg select start and end edit times). , Can be displayed in addition to, or instead of, the timeline 1220). The selected start and end edit times can generate an edit instruction and be stored or sent to a remote editor.

In one embodiment, a timeline is displayed for editing individual media assets within the user interface 1250, the length of which corresponds to the duration of the unedited media asset. Editing points, such as start and end editing points, can be added along the timeline by the user to trim media assets. For example, the start and end times of a media asset can be indicated by markers along the timeline (see, eg, Figure 16), which markers are initially located at the beginning and end of the timeline and are aggregated media assets. Can be moved by the user to adjust or "trim" media assets to include in. For example, a particular tile can accommodate a two-hour movie, and the user can adjust the start and end times via the timeline to trim the movie to include it in an aggregate media asset and reduce it to a five-second portion. can do.

The user interface 1250 further includes a control portion 1230 for controlling various features of the media asset displayed on the display portion 1201, which media asset includes aggregated media assets or individual media assets associated with the tile. .. In addition to, or instead of, the above-mentioned markers along the timeline for trimming media assets, the user can enter start and end times for media assets via control portion 1230. In addition, the user can adjust the volume of displayed media assets and / or related audio files. The control portion 1230 further includes a transition selection unit 1232, which can be used to select transitions between selected media assets, such as media assets related to tiles 1202a and 1202b (eg, dissolve, fade, etc.). ..

The user interface 1250 also includes an "upload" tab 1236 to switch to or launch an interface for uploading media objects to remote storage. For example, upload locally stored media assets to a remote media asset library as described for Figures 1, 2A, and 2B.

The user interface 1250 further includes tabs 1240 for browsing and selecting from various media assets. For example, the user can select from "clip", "audio", "title", "effect", and "get staff". In this case, when "clip" is selected, the media assets displayed on the tile display portion 1202 generally correspond to video or still images (with or without audio). The "audio" selection can result in the display of tiles corresponding to various audio files (eg, by small icons, text, or images), in other embodiments the audio is selected and no tiles are displayed. Can be added to aggregate media assets with. In addition, the selection of "Title" and / or "Effect" includes titles to select (eg, user-entered titles, stock titles, and the like) and effects (eg, tints, shading, overlay images, and similar). Can give rise to a display or listing of the thing) and include it with the aggregated media assets.

Finally, the "Get Staff" selection can launch a search interface similar to the search interface 1204 exemplified and described for the user interface 1200 in FIG. 12A. In addition, when a user browses the Internet, for example when browsing a website or another user's media assets, an interface that allows the user to select the media assets may be launched in the browser or included within the browser. it can. For example, during online browsing, it allows the user to easily select media assets to position and store for immediate or later use (eg, without necessarily having to launch or run an editor application). The bin or interface can be sustained.

In this embodiment, the timeline 1220 shows the relative time of the selected media asset illustrated in display portion 1202, which is primarily video and still images. A second timeline 1220 associated with a portion of time can be displayed in response to selections of other media assets such as audio, titles, and effects. For example, with respect to FIGS. 14A-14C, an embodiment of a timeline displaying related audio files, titles, and effects will be described.

For Figure 14A, a timeline 1420 showing the relative times of media assets 1, 2, and 3 is displayed. In this embodiment, media assets 1, 2, and 3 of the timeline 1420 each include a video or image (edited to be displayed over a period of time). Further, the title 1430 is displayed adjacent to the media asset 1, for example, in this case, the title 1430 is set to be displayed with the duration of the media asset 1. In addition, audio file 1450 is set to play for the duration of media assets 1 and 2. Finally, effect 1440 is set to appear near the end of media asset 2 and the beginning of media asset 3.

Audio files, titles, and effects are set by various rules or algorithms (eg, service providers or users) to determine how items are associated and to "move" in response to edits to the underlying media asset. ) Can have. For example, the title can be associated with the first media asset (ie, associated with t = 0) or the last media asset of the aggregate media asset and can be kept in that position regardless of edits to the component media asset. it can. In other embodiments, the title is associated with a particular media asset and can be moved or maintained in synchronization with the media asset in response to edits to it.

In other embodiments, the audio file, title, and effect can extend to multiple media assets, or can be initially synchronized with multiple media assets. For example, with respect to Figure 14A, audio 1450 spans media assets 1 and 2, and effect 1440 spans media assets 2 and 3. Various algorithms or user choices can determine how audio files, titles, and effects behave in response to edits to the underlying media asset when spanning two or more media assets. .. For example, effect 1440 is one of media assets in response to edits based on most of the overlap of effects, for example as shown in Figure 14B (and in response to edits that switch the order of media assets 1 and 2). It can be set by default or by user selection to keep it in sync. In another embodiment, the effect 1440 is split and remains in sync with the same parts of media assets 2 and 3 that were originally set as shown by effect 1440c in FIG. 14C, with the original duration and The same relative positions as shown in effect 1440b in Figure 14C, as well as combinations thereof, can be maintained.

According to another aspect of the invention, media assets can be generated based on aggregated data from multiple users. For example, as described above with respect to FIG. 2B, activity data associated with multiple users can be tracked, stored, and analyzed to provide information, editing instructions, and media assets. Activity data related to editing instructions received by one or more media asset editors, such as the media asset editor 206, can be stored by the data server 250 (or other system). The activity data can be associated with the media asset, for example, a plurality of edit instructions that refer to a specific media asset can be stored and searched from the activity data. Such data can include edit start and end times for aggregate trimmed data, such as media assets (eg, video and audio files). Some clips can be edited by different users in a similar manner over time, so the data server 250 (or other remote source) can provide editing instructions to remote devices to assist in editing decisions. Can be done.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of user activity data collected and / or generated from aggregated user activity data. User activity data generated or obtained from user activity can be displayed on the user device or used by a device (eg, client or server device) for editing or generating objects such as media assets. Specifically, the duration of a media asset (eg, a video clip or music file), average edit start time, average edit end time, average placement within an aggregate media asset, affinity for other media assets, tags, user profile information. , Browsing frequency / rank of media assets, and similar can be collected or determined. Track a variety of other data about media assets and users, such as the total number of user-granted awards (eg, symbolic items that indicate that the user prefers media assets), and any other measurable user interaction. be able to. For example, user actions such as replay after pausing, seek activity, mouse movement or keyboard of a usage page indicating that the user has some interest beyond passive viewing, and the like.

In one embodiment, activity data can be used to determine various affinity relationships. Affinity can include affinity for other media assets, effects, titles, users, and so on. In one embodiment, affinity data can be used to determine that two or more media assets have an affinity that is used together in the aggregate media asset. In addition, the affinity data can be used to determine the closeness of two or more media assets when used in the same aggregated media asset. For example, the system can provide the user with information that clip B is the most commonly used clip in combination with clip A in response to clip A's selection (or request for affinity information) (or request for affinity information). Alternatively, provide a list of clips A and commonly used clips). In addition, the system can show closeness of clips A and B when used in the same aggregate media asset, for example, clips A and B are generally adjacent to each other (one or the other first). (Become), or placed within each other's time X.

In one particular embodiment, activity data is used to determine the affinity between a song and at least one video clip (or between a video clip and at least one song). For example, a particular song can be commonly used with a particular video clip obtained from activity data. In one embodiment, if the user selects a particular song, the system will provide one or more media assets in the form of affinity video clips, audio files, titles, effects, etc., thereby editing. Can provide users with media assets to initiate.

In addition, activity data can be used to determine similarities and / or differences between edit instructions for one or more media assets. For example, the system can examine different edits to a media asset or set of media assets to provide data on commonalities (and / or differences) across different users or groups of users.

Such data can also be used by servers or client devices to generate objects such as timelines associated with media assets or datasets. FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of a timeline 1620 generated from aggregated user activity data and, in detail, edit instructions from multiple users applied to a media asset. The timeline 1620 generally includes a "start time" and a "end time" associated with aggregated edit data for multiple users, indicating the portion of the most frequently used media asset. In addition, the timeline 1620 can be colored or shaded to display a "heat map" for the purpose of showing the relative distribution near the start and end edit times. For example, in this embodiment, the user finishes at a relatively common or uniform time with, for example, the start edit time 1622, which indicates that the user started at various positions centered on the average or intermediate start edit time 1622. A fairly wide distribution is illustrated in the vicinity of the relatively abrupt mean or intermediate end edit time 1624.

Aggregated data can be sent to remote computing devices for use when viewing the timeline associated with a particular media asset that is edited locally. Therefore, shading of aggregated data or other instructions can be displayed on the timeline. The user can edit the media assets while displaying the aggregated data for reference, for example by moving the start edit marker 1623 and the end edit marker 1625.

In another embodiment, an audio file or other media asset, such as an image, title, effect, or the like, can be associated with a particular media asset set forth in 1630. For example, a particular audio file or effect may have an affinity for a particular media asset and be shown with a display of the timeline 1620. Affinity can be based on activity data as described above. In another embodiment, the list or drop-down menu can be displayed with a list of media assets that have an affinity for the media assets associated with the timeline 1620.

Objects generated from activity data, such as the Timeline 1620, can be generated by a remote device from a client computing device and sent to the client computing device. In another embodiment, activity data such as average start and edit times, as well as data for generating its heatmap, can be sent to the client device where the client application (eg, an editor application) displays it to the user. Create an object for.

FIG. 17 shows another embodiment of timeline 1720 generated based on aggregated user data. In this embodiment, timeline 1720 displays the relative position of commonly used media assets within aggregated media assets. For example, in this case, timeline 1720 shows that the associated media asset is commonly used near the beginning of the aggregated media asset indicated by relative start and end times 1726 and 1728. It can be used, for example, to indicate that a particular media asset is frequently used as an intro or ending for an aggregate media asset.

FIG. 18 conceptually illustrates an example of presenting a media asset to a user and generating the media asset based on user activity data. In particular, the user is provided with access to different sets of media assets, each corresponding to a scene or segment of aggregated media assets. In one particular embodiment, each set of media assets may include at least one video clip and may further include one or more of audio files, pictures, titles, effects, and the like. The user can select and edit aggregated media assets, eg, media assets from each set to form a movie.

In one embodiment, different users edit the scene by selecting at least one of the media assets in each of the plurality of sets to generate various aggregated media assets. Aggregate media assets and / or related edit instructions are then sent to remote or central storage (eg, Data Server 250 or the like) and used to generate media assets based on this. Can be done. In some embodiments, the user is restricted to only these media assets in each set, and in other embodiments, additional media assets can be used. In either case, each user can generate different aggregated media assets based on the media asset selection.

In one embodiment, data from various user selections, such as edit instructions, are used to determine aggregate media assets. For example, aggregate media assets can be generated based on the most popular scenes generated by the user (eg, media assets selected for each set). In one embodiment, aggregate media assets are selected from each set, for example, by combining the most commonly used clips from set 1 with the most commonly used audio files from set 1. Can be generated based on the most popular media assets that have been made. The most popular scenes can then be edited together for display as a single media asset.

Alternatively, the most popular set can be based on other user activity associated with multiple user-generated aggregate media assets, such as browsing / downloading frequency, ranking, or similar activity data. , You can decide on the most popular set. The most popular sets of each set can then be associated together to form the generated media asset.

In other embodiments, the most popular media assets in each set (but determined) can be filtered based on specific users or groups who watch and rank the movie. For example, children and adults can select or rank media assets in different scenes in different ways. Thus, the device determines the most popular scene-based aggregated films according to, for example, various subsets of users based on age, community, social groups, geographic location, language, other user profile information, and the like. Can be done.

A device associated with a remote server system to a computing device, such as a data server 250, a remote editor, or a media asset library, may include or access logic circuits to perform the described functions. Specifically, it is a logic circuit for receiving user activity data, and, depending on the application, a logic circuit for determining relevance or affinity based on the received activity data. In addition, the server system may include logic circuits for editing or generating objects such as media assets, edit instructions, timelines or data for transmission to one or more user devices (eg, affinity data). it can.

According to another aspect and embodiment of the invention, a device is provided for providing suggestions to the user for generating aggregated media assets within the described architecture. In one embodiment, the device displays a proposal according to a template or storyboard to guide the user in generating media assets, and the proposal is based on the context associated with the user. For example, if the user is generating a date video, the device provides suggestions such as "start with your own photo" as well as suggestions based on the answers that follow questions such as "Are you romantic?" Suggestions can follow templates or storyboards and can guide and assist users through the generation of media assets. The device can store multiple templates or storyboards for various topics and user contexts. In addition, the device can provide low or high resolution media assets (eg, context-specific video clips, music files, effects, etc.) to assist the user in generating the media assets.

Contexts are from user profile information such as user input or activity (eg, in response to an editor launching a query, dating website, etc., in response to a selection of related websites), gender, age, community, or group relevance. Can be decided. Further, in one embodiment, the user interface or editor application selects "make music video", "make date video", "make real estate video", "make wedding video", etc. Can be included.

Figure 19 shows an exemplary method 1900 for generating media assets based on the user's context. First 1902 determines the user's context. Contexts can be obtained directly based on the user's choice of application launch or ability to edit context-specific media assets. For example, the context can be determined by the user selecting "Create a date video" or launching an editor application from a date website.

Method 1900 further comprises displaying the proposal in 1904. Proposals can include proposals for the selection of media assets or editorial orders. The proposal can include a question followed by a proposal for the selection of media assets. For example, to continue the dating video example, ask the user "Are you an athlete" or "Are you romantic?", And then a video clip of the user who is an athlete (eg, a user playing Frisby). (Video clips) or suggest the use of media assets based on user response, such as suggesting video clips that indicate that the user is romantic (eg, beach or sunset video clips). When the user provides the media asset in response to the proposal, the media asset and / or its associated editorial instructions can be sent to the remote media asset library and / or editor as described above.

Method 1900 further comprises displaying the second proposal in 1906, which proposal can, at least in part, depend on the choice in response to the previous proposal. Therefore, the presented proposals can be categorized according to the answer, the selected media asset, the editorial order, or a combination thereof. Any number of iterations of the proposal can be provided to the user, after which in 1908 media assets can be generated based on the user's editing and selection of media assets. Selection of media assets and / or edit instructions can be sent to remote editors and libraries (see, eg, Figures 2A and 2B). Further, in the embodiment in which the user receives and edits the low resolution media asset, the high resolution media asset can be transmitted to the user device in response to the completion of the media asset for the generation of the high resolution media asset.

In one embodiment, the device further transmits media assets in addition to providing the proposal, for example, automatically providing the remote computing device with potential media assets based on context and / or response to the proposal. Alternatively, it can provide access to media assets. For example, low resolution media assets related to remotely stored high resolution media assets such as video clips, audio files, effects, etc. can be sent to the client device.

FIG. 20 conceptually illustrates an exemplary template 2000 for generating media assets based on user context. Template 2000 generally includes some suggestions for display to the user, in which the user can generate a set of media assets for generating aggregated media assets. In one embodiment, template 2000 is provided to media assets based on a particular template and / or user context. For example, Template 2000 is associated with the production of date videos and media assets are associated (eg, based on male / female, age, geographic location, etc.) based on the template and user profile information (eg, user device). Automatically provided to). Therefore, the template provides a storyboard that allows the user to populate media assets and generate the desired video assets.

The device can access the template or send the template to a remote device to display the first proposal to the user and the first set of media assets associated thereto. Media assets can automatically populate the user device at the time of displaying the user suggestion, or can automatically populate the user device based on the response to the suggestion (which can include a question). it can. The device can display a set of proposals and media assets in the order in which they occur. In other embodiments, the proposal and set of media assets can be separated according to user behavior, eg, user response to the proposal and / or media asset selection.

Another exemplary embodiment includes the step of producing a video of a real estate listing. First, the user is presented with a set of templates associated with, for example, the type of housing and configuration that fits the house to be characterized and can choose from the set of templates. For example, various templates based on house type (detached house, multi-story, condominium, etc.), architecture type (lunch house, colonial style, condominium, etc.), composition (number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc.) Can be generated. Each template can provide a variety of suggestions for creating a video, for example, in a lunch house, a suggestion for a front view of the house, and in a condominium, a suggestion is a view from the balcony or a view of a common area. You can start with.

Further, in the embodiment of providing the media asset to the user, the media asset can be varied depending on the template and context. For example, various media assets related to a particular city or location can be provided based on the address of the real estate listing. In addition, for example, audio files, effects and titles can be varied depending on the particular template.

For convenience, in some cases video is used and described as an example of a media asset that is manipulated by exemplary devices, interfaces, and methods to comply with editorial instructions / specifications, but those skilled in the art may have various examples. Applies equally or equally to other media objects, with appropriate modifications and use of other features where appropriate (eg, viewing and editing of media assets of video files (with or without audio). You will understand (which can be applied to editing, editing audio files such as soundtracks, editing still images, effects, titles, and combinations thereof).

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary computing system 2100 that can be used to implement processing functions for various aspects of the invention (eg, user devices, web servers, media asset libraries, activity data logic circuits / databases). , Others). Those skilled in the art will also understand how to implement the present invention using other computer systems or architectures. The computing system 2100 can be, for example, a desktop, a mobile phone, a personal entertainment device, a user device such as a DVR, a mainframe, a server, or a dedicated or general purpose that can be desirable or suitable for a given application or environment. It can represent any other type of computing device. The computing system 2100 can include one or more processors, such as the processor 2104. Processor 2104 can be implemented using a general purpose or dedicated processing engine such as, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or other control logic circuit. In this embodiment, processor 2104 is connected to bus 2102 or other communication medium.

The computing system 2100 can also include main memory 2108, preferably random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory, for storing information and instructions that will be executed by processor 2104. Main memory 2108 can also be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions executed by processor 2104. The computing system 2100 can also include read-only memory (ROM) or other static storage device coupled to bus 2102 for storing static information and instructions for processor 2104.

The computing system 2100 can also include an information storage mechanism 2110, which can include, for example, a media drive 2112 and a removable storage interface 2120. Media Drive 2112 supports fixed or removable storage media such as hard disk drives, floppy (registered trademark) disk drives, magnetic tape drives, optical disk drives, CD or DVD drives (R or RW), or other removable or fixed media drives. Drives or other mechanisms can be included. Storage media 2118 can include, for example, hard disks, floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic tapes, optical discs, CDs or DVDs, or other fixed or removable media read and written by media drive 2114. As these examples show, storage media 2118 can include computer-readable storage media that store specific computer software or data.

In other embodiments, the information storage mechanism 2110 may include computer programs or other similar means that allow other instructions or data to be loaded into the computing system 2100. Such means include removable storage units 2122 and interfaces 2120, such as program cartridges and cartridge interfaces, removable memory (eg, flash memory or other removable memory modules) and memory slots, as well as software and data removable storage units 2118. It can include other removable storage units 2122 and interface 2120 that allow transfer from to the computing system 2100.

The computing system 2100 can also include a communication interface 2124. Communication interface 2124 can be used to enable the transfer of software and data between the computing system 2100 and external devices. Examples of communication interface 2124 can include modems, network interfaces (such as Ethernet® or other NIC cards), communication ports (eg, USB ports), PCMCIA slots and cards, and more. Software and data transferred via communication interface 2124 is a signal form that can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or any other signal that can be received by communication interface 2124. These signals are provided to communication interface 2124 via channel 2128. This channel 2128 can carry signals and can be implemented using wireless media, wires or cables, fiber optics, or other communication media. Some examples of channels include telephone lines, cellular phone links, RF links, network interfaces, local or wide area networks, and other communication channels.

As used herein, the terms "computer program product" and "computer-readable medium" are commonly used to refer to media such as, for example, memory 2108, storage device 2118, storage unit 2122, or signal on channel 2128. Can be done. These and other forms of computer-readable media may be required in providing processor 2104 to execute one or more sequences of one or more instructions. Such instructions, commonly referred to as "computer program code" (which can be grouped into computer programs or other forms of grouping), allow the computing system 2100 to perform features or functions of embodiments of the invention at run time. it can.

In embodiments where each element is implemented using software, the software is stored on a computer-readable medium using, for example, removable storage drive 2114, drive 2112, or communication interface 2124 and loaded into the computing system 2100. be able to. The control logic circuit (in this example, software instructions or computer program code) causes processor 2104 to perform the functions of the invention described herein when processor 2104 executes.

For clarity, it will be appreciated that the above description describes embodiments of the invention with respect to various functional units and processors. However, it will be clear that any suitable distribution of functionality between various functional units, processors, or domains can be used without departing from the present invention. For example, a function indicated to be performed by different processors or controllers can be performed by the same processor or controller. Therefore, a reference to a particular functional unit should only be considered as a reference to a suitable means for providing the described function and does not indicate a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to some embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the particular form described herein. Conversely, the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims. Moreover, although the features appear to be described for a particular embodiment, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various features of the described embodiments can be combined according to the present invention. ..

Further, although listed individually, multiple means, elements, or method steps can be performed, for example, in a single unit or processor. Further, individual features may be included in different claims, which may be advantageously combined, and inclusion in different claims is not feasible and / or advantageous for the combination of features. It does not mean that. Also, including one feature in one claim category does not mean a limitation to this category, but conversely, the feature is equally applicable to other claims categories as needed. can do.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to some embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the particular form described herein. Conversely, the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims. Further, although one feature appears to describe for a particular embodiment, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various features of the described embodiments can be combined in accordance with the present invention. Let's do it. Further, the aspects of the invention described with respect to embodiments can be independent as one invention.

Moreover, it will be appreciated that various modifications and modifications can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present invention is not limited by the exemplary details described above and should be defined according to the claims.

201 Illustrative system 202 High Resolution Media Asset Library 204 Low Resolution Media Asset Generator 206 High Resolution Media Asset Editor 210 Image Rendering Device 212 Computing device 214 internet 228 Media Asset Editor (for high and low resolution assets) 229 Interface logic (receive / upload / transcode) 230 advertising server 240 Local Media Asset Library 250 data server 252 database