Patent Grant
8966360
Interviews and most documentaries are often recorded without the prior preparation of a script, or even of a detailed story board. Frequently, an interviewer, sound engineer, or camera operator simply turns on a microphone or starts shooting with a video camera while the subject is being interviewed. After the capture is complete, the raw media needs to be edited, often resulting in a program containing only a small fraction of the material originally captured. Typically, the editing workflow proceeds as follows. First a transcript of the captured media is prepared by hand. Then a producer or a story editor marks up a printout of the transcript to indicate the sections of the program to be retained in the story. Next, an editor receives the marked up transcript printout, and uses it as a guide to locate the media corresponding to the portions to be retained, loads these media portions, plays it, finds the media portions of interest, and then performs the edit. This process is laborious and time-consuming, in part because of the constant need to navigate back and forth through printed pages and the original media (video and/or audio), and to wait till the media is loaded and playing before performing the edits.
The methods, computer program products, and systems described herein involve generating a rough cut of a time-based media program that includes recorded dialog by editing a transcript of the media without referring to the media itself.
In general, the invention features methods and computer program products for editing time-based media that includes recorded speech, the method including: receiving an augmented transcript of the recorded speech, wherein the augmented transcript includes timing information that, for each of a plurality of text words within the augmented transcript, associates that text word with a temporal location of recorded speech within the time-based media that corresponds to that text word; editing the augmented transcript, wherein the association of the timing information with each of the plurality of words within the transcript is preserved during the editing, and wherein editing the augmented transcript does not involve playback of the time-based media; and outputting the edited augmented transcript, wherein the edited augmented transcript, when received and processed by a time-based media editing system, is capable of causing the time-based media editing system to generate an edited version of the time-based media, the edited version including only segments of the time-based media that include recorded speech that corresponds to text in the edited augmented transcript.
Some embodiments include one or more of the following features. The time-based media includes a video component synchronized with the recorded speech. The time-based media is an audio-only program. The temporal sequence of the edited version of the time-based media corresponds to a sequence of text within the edited augmented transcript. The augmented transcript is represented as an XML document. The editing step is performed using a text editor. The time-based media is not accessible by the computer-based system during the editing step. The augmented transcript includes metadata associated with the time-based media in addition to the timing information, and the edited version of the time-based media is based in part on processing of the metadata by the time-based media editing system. Generating the edited version of the time-based media includes automatic linking by the media editing system to the time-based media. The time-based media editing system is a non-linear video editing system or a digital audio workstation.
In a dialog-intensive video or audio program, such as an interview, the major portion of the program content is contained in what is said during the program, rather than in the visual information, which is typically a shot of a person talking often interspersed with background material, which is referred to as B-roll. Since text is easier and faster to read and edit than video or audio, most documentaries and interviews are edited “on paper” first, to generate what is referred to as a “paper cut” or “radio cut.” Thus, the current workflow for creating such programs starts with the original footage, which is transcribed by hand and marked up with timing information indicating the location of the corresponding footage in the original media, and the character who is speaking. A producer or story editor annotates the transcript to indicate which parts of the program are to be retained, and in what order. The editor then uses the annotated transcript, and its associated timing information, to find the clips within the original footage, and edits them to produce the finished program. The process involves two labor-intensive, manual processes. First, the transcriber must listen to all the original footage in order to transcribe the audio, noting the location within the original footage, such as time code, offset, or other time or frame indicator, and the identity of the character speaking. Second, the editor refers to the annotated transcript in order to locate the media to be edited, and builds up a timeline of the program being edited by referring back and forth between the annotated transcript, and the media.
In the workflow described herein, the process of creating a rough cut edit of a speech-intensive program is greatly accelerated. The editing methods described can be used on any media that includes audio speech, and specifically apply to video accompanied by audio, or to audio only. As used herein, dialog refers to spoken speech, including speech spoken by one or more people.
The workflow starts with a transcript that has been created by a hand-transcriber playing back the original media. In generating a word-accurate transcript, the transcriber may be assisted by using a tool such as the spot dialog editor, described in related U.S. patent application, entitled “Spot Dialog Editor, Ser. No. 12/748,695, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,572,488. In the first stage of the process, the transcript is augmented with word or phrase-accurate timing information. In the second stage, the augmented transcript is edited in the absence of its corresponding original media to produce an output file that can be input into a media editing system, such as video editor or digital audio workstation, to automatically produce a rough cut of the edited program.
We now describe the transcript editing process with reference to the flow diagram shown in
In the described embodiment, XML program file 208 undergoes conversion (step 210) into edit decision list (EDL) 212 that is suitable for import into a media editing system, such as a non-linear video editor, or a digital audio workstation. In some embodiments, the media editor is able to import the XML program file directly without the need for EDL conversion step 210. The media editing system has access to original media 214, and processes (step 216) original media 214 in accordance with EDL 212 (or XML program file 208), to generate rough edited version 218 of the program, often referred to as a radio cut.
For documentaries and interviews that consist largely of dialog, rough edit version 218 already contains the important editing decisions that reflect the story editor and producer's choice of what content should be presented, and in what order. Both the elapsed time and cost of reaching this point is radically reduced by the automation of the process of time-aligning the transcript, and the ease of editing the program via a text only document from a remote location without the need for accessing or playing back the corresponding media (video and/or audio) files. Furthermore, the embedding of the metadata describing the original source of the media in the augmented transcript enables the media editing system to automatically re-link to the source picture and sound elements online.
We now describe an implementation of a transcript editing process and system. Initially, a transcript is created using a script editing tool. One example of such a tool is FINAL DRAFT®, available from Final Draft. Inc., of Calabasas, Calif., which facilitates the capture of basic metadata to be associated with the text of the script. The following is a sample portion of an illustrative script containing the text:
FAUER
I think my favorite cameraman is probably Vittorio Storaro. His style, not to mention the way he dresses with his scarves of different colors depending on his different moods, makes him one of my all-time heroes.
When entered into FINAL DRAFT, the above portion of the script is represented as an XML document, in which tagged information denoting the identity of the speaker is added to the text. The portion of the XML document generated by FINAL DRAFT to represent the above portion of the script is as follows:
Using the phoneme recognition and matching process described above in connection with
The system then converts the timing-augmented XML file into an intermediate XML file called an XML Session File, using an XSLT transform. Session Files omit the information that is not needed during the transcript editing process, such as the confidence levels of the audio matching process, as well as repetitions of text from the transcript. A sample Session File portion is as follows:
The XML Session file is then accessed by the transcript editor tool, which provides a user with a simple interface for editing a text view of the transcript, while retaining in the background all the timing metadata, as well as any additional metadata, described further below, that is supplied together with a script or the transcript. The output of the transcript editor is an XML program file for the media program corresponding to the edited transcript, such as shown below:
Subsequently, the XML program file can be converted if necessary into a suitable form, such as an EDL, for import as a sequence by a media editing system, which in turn uses either the imported EDL, or directly uses the imported XML program file, to generate a rough cut or radio cut of the program that can be played back and further edited. Thus the process enables an editor to perform “program” editing on a transcript in the absence of the media that corresponds to the transcript, deferring the playback of a media program corresponding to the edits to a later stage when the XML produced by the transcript editor is imported into a media editor that has access to the source media.
An example of a user interface for the transcript editor is illustrated in
Editing can also be performed by copying and pasting selected sections into a new document; all the metadata associated with the section is carried over with the selected section into the new document. The new document becomes the XML program file, which is brought back into the media editing environment, with access to the media being edited.
A story editor or producer may work with the text, or program view of the program being built up, as is illustrated in
The transcript editing methods and systems described above start from transcript 108 (
The various components of the system described herein may be implemented as a computer program using a general-purpose computer system. Such a computer system typically includes a main unit connected to both an output device that displays information to a user and an input device that receives input from a user. The main unit generally includes a processor connected to a memory system via an interconnection mechanism. The input device and output device also are connected to the processor and memory system via the interconnection mechanism.
One or more output devices may be connected to the computer system. Example output devices include, but are not limited to, liquid crystal displays (LCD), stereoscopic displays, and other video output devices, printers, communication devices such as a modem, and storage devices such as disk or tape. One or more input devices may be connected to the computer system. Example input devices include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, keypad, track ball, mouse, pen and tablet, communication device, and data input devices. The invention is not limited to the particular input or output devices used in combination with the computer system or to those described herein.
The computer system may be a general purpose computer system which is programmable using a computer programming language, a scripting language or even assembly language. The computer system may also be specially programmed, special purpose hardware. In a general-purpose computer system, the processor is typically a commercially available processor. The general-purpose computer also typically has an operating system, which controls the execution of other computer programs and provides scheduling, debugging, input/output control, accounting, compilation, storage assignment, data management and memory management, and communication control and related services.
A memory system typically includes a computer readable medium. The medium may be volatile or nonvolatile, writeable or nonwriteable, and/or rewriteable or not rewriteable. A memory system stores data typically in binary form. Such data may define an application program to be executed by the microprocessor, or information stored on the disk to be processed by the application program. The invention is not limited to a particular memory system.
A system such as described herein may be implemented in software or hardware or firmware, or a combination of the three. The various elements of the system, either individually or in combination may be implemented as one or more computer program products in which computer program instructions are stored on a computer readable medium for execution by a computer. Various steps of a process may be performed by a computer executing such computer program instructions. The computer system may be a multiprocessor computer system or may include multiple computers connected over a computer network. The components described herein may be separate modules of a computer program, or may be separate computer programs, which may be operable on separate computers. The data produced by these components may be stored in a memory system or transmitted between computer systems.
Having now described an example embodiment, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Numerous modifications and other embodiments are within the scope of one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of, under 35 U.S.C. §120, and is a continuing application of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/748,570, filed Mar. 29, 2010, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,010, which is related to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/748,695 filed Mar. 29, 2010, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5782692 | Stelovsky | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5818435 | Kozuka et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 6172675 | Ahmad et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6473778 | Gibbon | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 7096416 | Smith et al. | Aug 2006 | B1 |
| 7703044 | Graham | Apr 2010 | B2 |
| 7739273 | Brodie et al. | Jun 2010 | B2 |
| 7765574 | Maybury et al. | Jul 2010 | B1 |
| 8302010 | Phillips et al. | Oct 2012 | B2 |
| 8639505 | Marquette et al. | Jan 2014 | B2 |
| 20030078973 | Przekop et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20040193428 | Fruchter et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20050171926 | Thione et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20060015904 | Marcus | Jan 2006 | A1 |
| 20060167686 | Kahn | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060206526 | Sitomer | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20070061728 | Sitomer et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070233524 | Alban et al. | Oct 2007 | A1 |
| 20080120538 | Kurz et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20090024922 | Markowitz et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090249188 | Dube et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20100332225 | Arrowood et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20110289405 | Fritsch et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
| 20120236201 | Larsen et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120304062 | Schultz et al. | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20130031479 | Flowers | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20140169767 | Goldberg | Jun 2014 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| Whittaker, Steve, et al, “Accessing Speech Data Using Strategic Fixation,” Apr. 2007, Computer Speech and Language, vol. 21, Issue 2, Academic Press Ltd., pp. 296-324. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130047059 A1 | Feb 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12748570 | Mar 2010 | US |
| Child | 13661098 | US |
