1. Field
The disclosure relates to a method, system, and article of manufacture for the mapping of presentation material.
2. Background
In film, broadcast and cable television a technique referred to as the “blue screen technique” may be used to combine two or more separately captured video sequences into a single video sequence. The blue screen technique may record a scene with a monochromatic background, and then replace the monochromatic background with a different image or scene. While blue is a commonly used as the color of the monochromatic background, other colors may be used as the color of the monochromatic background.
In the blue screen technique, the monochromatic background color in a first video signal is removed and overlaid with content from a second video signal. This process may be also be referred to as “compositing” and may be performed via digital or analog techniques. There may be various ways of generating composite images from two video signals.
An example of the use of the bluescreen technique may be found in the display of a television news weatherman who appears to stand in front of a weather map. The weatherman is recorded while standing in front of a monochromatic screen and the recorded image of the weatherman standing in front of the monochromatic screen is combined with the weather map.
Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for generating a video output by combining a first video input and a second video input. A first input image is accessed from the first video input and a second input image is accessed from the second video input, wherein the second input image includes a selected element recorded in front of a monochromatic background. A first region and a second region are generated from the first input image. An output image that includes the first region and the second region with a gap separating the first region from the second region is generated. The selected element is placed at least over the gap in the output image, wherein predetermined areas of the first region and the second region remain visible in the output image. The output image is included in the video output.
In certain additional embodiments, the first input image comprises a presentation material, wherein the second input image comprises a presenter standing in front of the monochromatic background, wherein the presenter is the selected element included in the second input image, wherein in the output image the presenter does not obscure the predetermined areas included in the presentation material, and wherein the first video input and the second video input are received by a computational device that generates the video output in real time.
In further embodiments, the presentation material is weather map and the presenter is a news weatherman.
In still further embodiments, the first region includes a first set of text and the second region includes a second set of text, and wherein the predetermined areas that remain visible in the output image include the first set of text and the second set of text.
In additional embodiments, the first input image is split into the first region and the second region based on physical features included in the first input image.
Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate several embodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and operational changes may be made.
In many situations, presenters may stand in front of a presentation material and point out various aspects of the presentation material. When a scene that includes the presentation material and a presenter is broadcast to an audience, the displayed video may show that the presenter is blocking some portion of the presentation material from the audience. For example, a weather forecaster may block some portions of a weather map from the audience.
Certain embodiments, allow a presenter to stand and move in front of a presentation material while the image of the presentation material is remapped in real time, such that no predetermined elements of the presentation material are blocked by the presenter. In certain embodiments, areas of text material are generated and mapped around a moving presenter in such a way that the text material always remain readable to a viewer.
In certain embodiments the presentation material, such as the weather map 100, is digitally remapped around the presenter, such as the weather forecaster 500, in real time, such that no preselected features, such as storms, cold fronts, etc., of the weather map 100 are blocked from the viewer. As the weather forecaster 500 walks side to side, i.e., from east to west, or from west to east, the weather map 100 will dynamically remap around the weather forecaster 500, in such a way that no significant portion of the weather map 100 is blocked.
While the embodiments shown in
Certain embodiments use a modification of the blue screen technique used currently in television production. The presenter, e.g., the weatherman 500, may be filmed in front of a blue screen 402, and the film of the presenter is laid over a film of the presentation material. However, in addition to prior art blue screen techniques, the presentation material in
In certain embodiments, as the presenter 500 moves during the presentation, the image will cause the presentation material to be dynamically remapped in real time to the left or right in such a way that the presenter 500 will not block the presentation material. In certain embodiments, the material to the right and left of the presenter 500 may need to be compressed to fit in the available screen size.
In the particular embodiment illustrated in
In
In certain alternative embodiments, a graphic, such as a map, may be divided into the first and the second region by using physical features in the map. For example, natural boundaries, such as rivers, state boundaries, or land forms, such as mountains, may be used for dividing a map into the first and the second region. Certain embodiments allow a map to be segmented in a way that is natural for the viewer, while still allowing the operations to be performed in real time, as the presenter 500 moves across the presentation material.
The first video input 804 includes a sequence of images 804a, 804b, . . . 804n that arrive at the computer 802. The second video input 804 includes a presentation material 808, such as the weather map 100.
The second video input 806 includes a sequence of images 806a, 806b, . . . 806n that arrive at the computer 802. The second video input 806 includes a presenter 810, such as the weather forecaster 400, who has been imaged standing before a monochromatic background 402.
A presentation mapping application 802 generates a video output 814 from images of the presentation material 808 and the presenter 810. The video output 814 comprises output images 814a, 814b, . . . 814s created from the first video input 804 and the second video input 806. For example, output image 814a may be created from image 804a and image 806a by using embodiments described in
Control starts at block 900, where the presentation mapping application 812 accesses a first input image 808 from the first video input 804 and a second input image 810 from the second video input 806. The first input image 808 may be the image of a presentation, such as the weather map 100. The second input image 810 includes a selected element, such as a weather forecaster 400 recorded in front of a monochromatic background 402, such as a blue screen.
The presentation mapping application 812 generates (at block 902) a first region and a second region from the first input image 808. For example, in certain embodiments, the first region may be the region to the left 504 of the weather forecaster 500 and the second region may be the region to the right 506 of the weather forecaster.
The presentation mapping application 812 generates (at block 904) an output image 814a that includes the first region and the second region with a gap, such as gap 510, separating the first region from the second region.
The presentation mapping application 812 places (at block 906) the selected element at least over the gap in the output image 814a, wherein predetermined areas of the first region and the second region remain visible in the output image 814a. For example, the southern tip 508 of Texas, may remain visible in an exemplary output image 502 that may correspond to the output image 814a. Control proceeds to block 908, where the presentation mapping application 812 includes the output image 814a in the video output 814. Placement of the selected element in the gap may be performed by integrating the first region, the second region, the selected element, and the gap in many different ways in the output image 814a.
Therefore,
The described techniques may be implemented as a method, apparatus or article of manufacture involving software, firmware, micro-code, hardware and/or any combination thereof. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein refers to code or logic implemented in a medium, where such medium may comprise hardware logic [e.g., an integrated circuit chip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.] or a computer readable medium, such as magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory devices [e.g., Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.]. Code in the computer readable medium is accessed and executed by a processor. The medium in which the code or logic is encoded may also comprise transmission signals propagating through space or as transmission media, such as an optical fiber, copper wire, etc. The transmission signal in which the code or logic is encoded may further comprise a wireless signal, satellite transmission, radio waves, infrared signals, Bluetooth, etc. The transmission signal in which the code or logic is encoded is capable of being transmitted by a transmitting station and received by a receiving station, where the code or logic encoded in the transmission signal may be decoded and stored in hardware or a computer readable medium at the receiving and transmitting stations, or devices. Additionally, the “article of manufacture” may comprise a combination of hardware and software components in which the code is embodied, processed, and executed. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made without departing from the scope of embodiments, and that the article of manufacture may comprise any information bearing medium. For example, the article of manufacture comprises a storage medium having stored therein instructions that when executed by a machine results in operations being performed.
Certain embodiments can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, as entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.
Furthermore, certain embodiments can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer usable or computer readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, a computer usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk—read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk—read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.
The terms “certain embodiments”, “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean one or more (but not all) embodiments unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediates. Additionally, a description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments.
Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously, in parallel, or concurrently.
When a single device or article is described herein, it will be apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments need not include the device itself.
Certain embodiments may be directed to a method for deploying computing instruction by a person or automated processing integrating computer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is enabled to perform the operations of the described embodiments.
At least certain of the operations illustrated in
Furthermore, many of the software and hardware components have been described in separate modules for purposes of illustration. Such components may be integrated into a fewer number of components or divided into a larger number of components. Additionally, certain operations described as performed by a specific component may be performed by other components.
The data structures and components shown or referred to in
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4811084 | Belmares-Sarabia et al. | Mar 1989 | A |
5270820 | Fellinger | Dec 1993 | A |
5329369 | Willis et al. | Jul 1994 | A |
5566251 | Hanna et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
5576769 | Lendaro | Nov 1996 | A |
5657095 | Yoshida et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5668605 | Nachshon et al. | Sep 1997 | A |
5731846 | Kreitman et al. | Mar 1998 | A |
5764306 | Steffano | Jun 1998 | A |
5914748 | Parulski et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
5923791 | Hanna et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
5940139 | Smoot | Aug 1999 | A |
5953076 | Astle et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
6020931 | Bilbrey et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
6052648 | Burfeind et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
6075905 | Herman et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6326969 | Helman et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
6361173 | Vlahos et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6538396 | Vlahos et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6616281 | Vlahos et al. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
6731825 | Acampora et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
6961061 | Johnson et al. | Nov 2005 | B1 |
7024039 | Simard et al. | Apr 2006 | B2 |
7054479 | Aucsmith et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
7095450 | Holmes et al. | Aug 2006 | B1 |
7111940 | Vlahos | Sep 2006 | B2 |
7116342 | Dengler et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
7206029 | Cohen-Solal | Apr 2007 | B2 |
7224404 | An et al. | May 2007 | B2 |
7231651 | Pong | Jun 2007 | B2 |
7253821 | Shimizu | Aug 2007 | B2 |
7292284 | Kim | Nov 2007 | B2 |
7375769 | Yui | May 2008 | B2 |
7460731 | Senftner et al. | Dec 2008 | B2 |
7616264 | Greenberg | Nov 2009 | B1 |
7843510 | Ayer et al. | Nov 2010 | B1 |
20010014175 | Tavor | Aug 2001 | A1 |
20040062439 | Cahill et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040264767 | Pettigrew | Dec 2004 | A1 |
20060197851 | Vlahos | Sep 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20080111922 A1 | May 2008 | US |