Patent Application
20170069349
In recent years, newsrooms in the traditional media have been cutting staff, causing greater numbers of talented journalists to take the freelance route. For freelance journalists, video is hard to produce, and it's a long process. It requires skills and dedicated equipment.
At their day to day work, journalists require a dedicated platform with a unique authoring tool-set to capture their presentation of breaking news and produce professional quality video reports, captured with diverse types of video devices and assembled from the comfort of their desks. Such video devices may be, video cameras, webcams, mobile telephones, and the like. The journalist dedicated platform should meet the requirements to fully cover the life cycle of news production. Journalists should have the tools they need at their fingertips to produce a professional video report in a snap.
Such a capable and powerful platform may create a challenge by allowing viewers utilizing the platform to become active participants with granted permissions to select, watch, react, and share stored video content. The journalists should have the appropriate tools to easily create such video deliverables while being protected and secured from unauthorized participants.
The present invention discloses a method for creating a video file out of video content prepared by a presenter which owns the video content, in order to share it with multiple video consumers. The method comprises a setup stage which defines the video content properties. The video content properties may be such as, the speed of the video content, the running time, external content of text or sound, and the like. The setup state may comprise a process of receiving an interface such as a script which can be displayed to a presenter while recording the video. In some cases, said method also comprises a process of receiving the presenter's location on the screen during the time of recording the video. In other some cases, the script can be displayed on a display device of a computerized mobile device while the video shot is captured.
The method disclosed in the present invention may also comprise a process for receiving a presenter input concerning the video properties after capturing a video shot. In some cases, the method disclosed in the present invention may also comprise additional processes to configure the video properties, such as trimming the audio parts, removing a portion of the video file and convert the audio parts to an audio tracks captured by the computerized device. In some other cases, the method may comprise a process for automatically terminating the video shot in a predefined time after finishing displaying the script.
In some cases, the processes for configuring the video properties may comprise receiving the presenter's input concerning progress speed of the script. The speed configuration may comprise the number of frames during the text, the time, or the number of text lines displayed per time. The process of configuring the video properties may also comprise the option to issue an alert to the presenter when the video capturing begins. The presenter utilizes the script may also have the option to capture a background which can be used when shooting the video. For example, the presenter may choose an image as a background for the video shot. In some cases, the presenter may be able to receive an image from a website page or from a social media application as a background. In some other cases, the presenter may also be able to present an additional text received from a social media application such as Tweeter.
In some case, the processes for configuring the video properties may also provide with an option to adjust and configure the video properties after the video shot is captured. For example, a presenter may change the background, adjust the script speed time, and the like, after the video shot is captured. In some embodiments of the method disclosed in the present invention a presenter may be able to compose a video file out of two or more video scenes in the video file according to the properties of the video file. Thus, the method may comprise a process to identify two or more video scenes in a video file which at least one video property is different between the two (or more) video scenes. Then, a new video file composed of the two video scenes can be created. In some cases, a media file from a website page can be added to the video file received from the mobile electronic device of the presenter. The presenter may utilize a camera installed in the mobile electronic device.
The method discloses in the present invention may also comprise the option to change the video properties after the video file composing of at least two scenes has completed. Such changes may comprise changing the background, adding media content from a website page, replace the background in some of the scenes of the newly created video file, trimming and changing the audio of the video file, changing the script start and stop points, and the like. In some cases, the presenter may also have the option to add a brand, text or an image to the scenes in the new video file.
Exemplary non-limited embodiments of the disclosed subject matter will be described, with reference to the following description of the embodiments, in conjunction with the figures. The figures are generally not shown to scale and any sizes are only meant to be exemplary and not necessarily limiting. Corresponding or like elements are designated by the same numerals or letters.
The present invention discloses a method for creating, editing, analyzing and sharing a digital video content by a presenter of the video content. The presenter of the video content may be the person who owns the video content and may seek to share the video content among video content consumers. In some cases, the presenter may be the person who uploaded the video content to a dedicated content control system and thereby granted with ownership permissions. In some other cases, the presenter may be a person granted with ownership permissions on some of the video content. Such ownership permissions may allow the presenter to manage the lifecycle of the video content. Managing the lifecycle of the video content may comprise actions such as, upload, edit, share, grant permissions to other participants, delete, and the like.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the lifecycle of the video content may begin by the presenter of the video content by adding video files to a content control system. The process of adding video files may be supported by a dedicate interface such as a website interface, a command line interface, a programmable application interface, and the like. In some cases, the lifecycle of the video file may also comprise inputting a header topic into the content control system. The content control system disclosed in the present invention can be a computerized device such as a personal computer, server, cluster of servers, mobile electronic device, a tablet computer, a computerized mobile device, laptop and the like. In some cases, the content control system may be operated on a server connected to communication networks such as LAN, WAN, Internet connection and others. The content control system may also be configured to receive communication from presenter and participants seeking to manage, control or consume visual content stored in the content control system.
In possible embodiments of the present invention, the process of preparing and adding video file to the content control system may be supported by a dedicated interface such as scripts controlled by the video content system. The script, or the scripts, may be prepared by the presenter, or sent from a remote device, such as from a colleague of the presenter, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the script may be capable to determine the progress speed of the script, or the total time of the video. In some other cases, the script prepared by the presenter may be operated in order to capture the presenter speaking in front of the camera. Thus, the presenter may also be provided with the option to edit the script, add or remove parts in the script. For example, a presenter may utilize the camera integrated in a mobile device to shoot a video scene. The presenter may also have the option to upload the video content from the mobile device and then, the presenter may have the option to edit a script for determining the video content properties such as the speed of the video content, the running time, external content of text or sound, and the like. The presenter may utilize the script in order to link an external sound file that may be played in some parts during the video content display, or add an option for subtitles and text displayed during the video content display. In some other cases, the content added to the script may be automatically translated to other languages and be integrated as an additional content layer to the video. The content control system may also be configured to provide a graphic interface to the presenters in order to edit the script. Thus, the presenters may be able to manage and set the video properties via a graphic interface and the content control system may translate it to a script capable to run at the client computerized device.
In some embodiments of the present invention the content control system may provide the presenter with the option to extract and/or add information provided by social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. For example, a presenter may have the option to inject text from Twitter into a video content the presenter owns. The presenter may also have the option to define the time duration and the exact place in the screen of the injected text. The content system may also have search capabilities which can be utilized by people. The search query may be generated by the content control system, according to the video content properties defined by the presenter. The video content properties may be defined automatically or by the presenter via a dedicated interface or a script inputted into the system. The video file may comprise a news article, a greeting, an opinion and the like. The content control system enables reporters and every person to record themselves speaking using a camera of a mobile electronic device in order to create a quality video and distribute it. For example, in response to a search query defined by the title of the video content.
In some cases, after one or more video shots captured by a camera of a mobile device operated by the presenter, the video file can be composed, as detailed below. The composed video can be distributed to subscribers of the presenter, for example via social networks or messages such as email or SMS. In some cases, the composed video may also be distributed via a media corporation such as CNN, BBC and the like.
In some cases, the communication module 110 may be configured to transmit the video file in real-time. Thus, the video captured by the input unit 150 and converted to a video file may be transmitted to the content control system 180, automatically after the conversion process of the video file has completed. The client side 100 also comprises a sound trimming unit 135 designed to convert the sound content provided by the microphone 165 to an audio track. In some cases, the sound trimming unit 135 may be configured to remove sections in the audio track of the video file, in which a background noise interferes with hearing the presenter's voice. The sound trimming unit 135 may also be configured to remove sound which may not be related or part of the presenter speak. In some embodiments of the present invention, the sound trimming unit 135 may be configured to sample the speaker's voice and then, per configuration settings or script commands, to remove background sounds and noise which may not belong to the presenter's speech. In some cases, the sound trimming unit 135 may provide an interface to the presenter operated client side 100 to approve a removal action performed by the sound trimming unit 135.
Step 225 discloses the computerized system capturing the presenter's background prior to capturing the video shot. In some cases, capturing the background may take a predefined duration, in terms of seconds, and terminate with an alert, a notification or a message displayed on the display device of the presenter's computerized mobile device. Step 225 is an optional step and might be unnecessary, for example using a blue/green screen or with matting algorithms, for example algorithms that require a scribble interface.
Step 230 discloses issuing an alert which indicates to the presenter when capturing the video shot begins. The alert may be a played sound. For example in a countdown from five to zero. The alert may be played by the display device of the presenter's computerized device. In some cases, the computerized system may be configured to start automatically to capture the video shot, after the alert has finished. Step 235 discloses displaying script on a display device of the computerized device during the time the video shot is captured. This step is also optional as some presenters do not need the script while taking the video shot. Moreover, some presenters may prefer using a rear camera of the computerized device, so they cannot see the screen with the script. The script may be displayed in a predefined speed, for example as inputted by the presenter prior to the video shot. The script may enable the presenter the possibility to be a sole creator of a quality video and save time in preparing to a video shot, without the necessity of memorizing the script nor with an aid of a crew in addition to the presenter.
Step 240 discloses adjusting video content properties according to a presenter input after capturing a video shot. Such video properties may be the teleprompter progress setting, audio level, location of the presenter and the like. Said adjustment may be performed via a specific interface as detailed below.
Step 245 discloses trimming the video file to an audio track captured by the mobile electronic device while capturing video content. Trimming the video file improves the video, for example by removing parts of the video in which the presenter does not speak. Naturally, the presenter may pause speaking, for example when breathing, and the trimming comprises identifying time slots in the video file that are longer than the natural breaks. The trimming discloses identifying audio levels throughout the video timeline, for example the audio levels in various time intervals throughout the video shot. Trimming the video may also remove a section in the video in which a background noise interferes with hearing the presenter's voice. Step 250 discloses receiving a user confirmation to upload the video file from the mobile electronic device to a predefined destination.
The display device interface 605 comprises an auto-trim button 620 enables the presenter to automatically trim the video to the audio. For example, in case the video file is displayed in the display device interface 605 and the presenter decide to trim the video file in order to cut-out parts of silence, the presenter may utilize the auto-trim button 620 to clean-out the parts with the silence. In one embodiment the computerized system automatically identifies intervals in the video of a minimal predefined duration, for example 0.5 sec as indicated by the “Trim Level settings”. In some exemplary cases, the computerized system determines whether the audio level in the intervals is higher than a predefined threshold, and if the audio is lower than the threshold, the interval is marked for further processing. Trimming also allows to automatically pre-select a subset of the script recorded by the presenter in order to keep it as part of the final video file.
Display device interface 605 also comprises an upload 650 in order to upload the video file to a content control system as disclosed above, and save it with via save button 655. The display device interface 605 also comprises background button 625 utilized to add a virtual background to the video content, for example a background represented by an image, or a color can be added to the video content. In some cases, the presenter can press the auto trim button, the video goes to the beginning of next audio section where the following progression is performed. The background button 625 may also introduce a green-screen option to the presenter. Thus, upon choosing the green-screen option, the presenter may be able to pick a particular space or a specific color, and to convert it to a green-screen space. The presenter may be able to add diverse virtual backgrounds as wallpapers attached to the green-screen space In case the user wished to adjust the background, any other computerized system operated on a user device can be applied to change the background of the video behind the presenter. The presenter may also adjust the lighting in the area where the video is captured. The same video file can be saved in several versions with various computerized systems operated on different user devices, for example to enable the video file to be branded differently for varied customer types. In some cases, the computerized system may begin capturing the video automatically when the presenter's voice is detected.
The scene interface 705 may also enable the presenter to create a sequence of video from a social network post, or from content residing at a link. The sequence of video comprises several items extracted from the link, for example the sequence begins with an image or several images, then the text, and the presenter has it all automatically. The presenter can select the content or the link according to results from the search query generated according to the script. In such search query the key words which may be needed to be used can be automatically identified by the script and then the query is generated. In some cases, the video sequence is generated using a predefined automated template. For example, some templates define the difference level in the components of a social network post should be presented in the video sequence. For example, generating a video from the tweet of Tweeter icon 735 and locate it above the scene box such as scene box 715.
In some cases, the scene interface may also enable the presenter to insert images that represent the video scenes as background. The presenter may utilize a script to insert an image or a video from a website or social network application into the scene box 745, such that the inserted image or video will replace the image of the presenter with a visual animation extracted from the social post. In some cases, the script may be utilized to generate a video which can be used as a background of a video scene by integrating a sequence of images stored in a specific web page, for example a Facebook album. For example, a presenter may choose an album on a social network application, or a sequence of images stored in a computerized system connected to a communication network, such the Internet. The presenter may be able to define the image sequence as the background of the newly prepared video content. The presenter may also be able to define the duration time between of each image in the sequence. In some cases, the video scenes may be defined by additional algorithms, for example algorithms which can utilize a number of words and/or audio activity per time slot or time interval. The video scene creation algorithm may automatically detect changes in the video scenes, according to audio activity in case a phrase starts or a longer/shorter duration as scenes cannot be more 7 or seconds long. In some cases, the scenes should be between 3 to 10 seconds long.
The method disclosed in the present invention also comprises process for automatic detection and identification of breathing points in a speech of a video presenter. The breathing points may be used to define or detect video scenes in which a specific event or command is required. Such event or command may be removing a portion of the video, replacing the background, or artificially moving the camera.
Said process for detection and identification of breathing points may comprise a step of analyzing the script and identifying the possible breathing points, such as commas and full stops in the text. Then, the system can define the time stamp of the breathing points, for example to define when the most important breathing pauses exist, by analyzing the signal of the audio track (speech to text algorithm). Once the process of identifying the candidates has completed, the breathing points can be evaluated, for example to determine whether or not the presenter took enough time to breathe, in case it can be a change point within the video scene. Said process may also analyze images of the video and utilize face recognition algorithms to define changes in the presenter face. For example, cases when the presenter's mouth is closed.
Step 930 discloses generating a video sequence according to content extracted from a web page, for example from a news website or from a social media post. The video sequence is automatically assembled from the content of the link, for example the title of the web page is displayed for 1.5 seconds, then the upper image for 2 seconds and the latter image for 1.5 seconds, as the scene associated with the video sequence has a duration of 1.5 seconds. The sequence may be generated according to a predefined automated formula or template, as detailed below. Step 935 discloses inserting a location signature of the video, for example Manhattan, for further analysis of to enhance distribution of the video file to subscribers according to geographic preferences of the subscribers. Step 940 discloses displaying the video on a display device, wherein the video is separated into the two or more scenes, with a background and a portion of the script for at least two of the two or more scenes. Creation of the video sequence may also comprise applying filters on least a portion of the images of the video, for example a black and white filter. The filters may be applied either on the background images or on the foreground content, for example the presenter's image. In some cases, the filters may be applied on the audio track only, or on a predefined portion of the video, for example the second scene, or only when the presenter appears.
The guest may be located in a remote location, relative to the presenter. The guest may download the mobile application, click on “Guest”, search for the name of the journalist or the presenter, and a message from the presenter directs the guest to the relevant page in the mobile application. Then, the presenter is notified that the interview may start when the guest is on the take page
After the interview begins, an audio channel is used to exchange audio files or streams between the presenter and the guest. In some cases, the video is recorded locally—in the GUEST app for the Guest electronic device, and the Presenter App for the presenter electronic device, and after the interview ends, the audio and video files from both electronic devices, of the presenter and the guest, are sent to a server.
Some text questions can be entered prior to the interview and read directly by the guest in the mobile application either in real-time or pre-loaded so that the guest may record the interview “offline” without the presenter being on the other side. The presenter listens to the guests in real-time and may mark interesting points said by the Guest in real-time. Questions, generated by the presenter, and answers, generated by the guest, may be displayed as a single sequence of scenes, as the scenes are cut according to a scene cutting algorithm. In some cases, video is presented only when the person is speaking and not when the person is listening. According to audio activity, the studio shows who is talking at a given moment.
While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosed subject matter not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but only by the claims that follow.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62215050 | Sep 2015 | US |
