Mobile studio

• US 10,288,982 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2012
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Musion IP Ltd. (Musion DAS Hologram Limited)
• Original Assignee: Musion IP Ltd. (Musion DAS Hologram Limited)
• Inventors: O'Connell, Ian
• Primary Examiner(s): Jebari, Mohammed
• Application Number:
  US13/590,719
• Publication Number:
  US 20130002875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,457 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 5/021 Mixing live action with images projected on translucent screens
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/00 Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/00 Stereoscopic photography
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/222 Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00

Abstract

A mobile studio for producing video and audio content includes a vehicle having a body mounted on a chassis. The body includes a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls, and the floor includes a stage area. The mobile studio further includes at least one LED lighting assembly located in the studio chamber enclosure that is suitable for providing sufficient illumination for image capture such that a captured image is suitable for projection as a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image, at least one camera to capture an image of a subject on the stage area and generate the captured image, and a communications device to transmit the captured image.

Claims

1. A method of capturing and transmitting to a remote location a live full body video of a subject suitable for a pepper'"'"'s ghost projection from a mobile studio, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a vehicle comprising a body mounted on a chassis, said body having a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite side walls and spaced front and rear walls, said floor of the studio chamber enclosure comprising a stage area, wherein the rear wall of the studio chamber enclosure further comprises a non-reflecting light absorbing material acting as a background for the subject, the non-reflecting light absorbing material located on an inside surface of the rear wall behind the subject being filmed;

lighting a subject on the stage area for image capture with lighting equipment, the subject having a front facing the front wall and a rear facing the rear wall, the lighting equipment including one or more rear lights for illuminating the rear of the subject, the one or more rear lights operable to sharpen an outline of the subject, and one or more front lights for illuminating the front of the subject, wherein the one or more front lights are angled to minimize projection of light or light spill from the one or more front lights onto the rear wall, the lighting equipment configured to cast shadows across the subject as the subject moves under the lighting equipment and the light moves across the subject such that the captured video is suitable for projection as a full body video of a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost projection;

capturing a video of the subject on the stage area to generate the captured video, wherein the step of capturing the video of the subject on the stage area is performed by at least one high definition (HD) video camera;

transmitting the captured video to the remote location in real time using a wireless mobile communications network,

receiving from the remote location a return signal transmission and feeding the return signal transmission to the filming studio; and

canceling out audio of the return signal transmission from the audio of the captured video before transmitting the captured video to the remote location in order to minimize incident echo of the subject audio echoing back to the subject in the return signal transmission from the remote location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the captured video comprises transmitting the captured video using a high speed network connection suitable for carrying broadcast quality streaming video signals.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of positioning the at least one HD camera so that a camera shooting height of the at least one HD camera is inline with an eyeline height of the subject on the stage area, wherein the video is captured in 2K or 4K resolution.

4. The mobile broadcast system of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a projection source for projecting the captured video, a frame and an at least partially transparent screen at the remote location; and

projecting the capture video from the projection source, wherein the at least partially transparent screen is inclined at an angle with respect to a plane of emission of light from the projection source for forming a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost video, the at least partially transparent screen having a front surface arranged such that light from the projection source for forming the Pepper'"'"'s Ghost video is reflected therefrom such that the light for forming the Pepper'"'"'s Ghost video impinges upon the at least partially transparent screen such that a virtual image is created from light reflected from the at least partially transparent screen, the virtual image appearing to be located behind the at least partially transparent screen.

5. A mobile broadcast system for capturing and transmitting to a remote location a live full body video of a subject suitable for a live, full bodied, life size pepper'"'"'s ghost projection of the subject at the remote location, the mobile broadcast system comprising:

a vehicle comprising a body mounted on a chassis, said body having a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite side walls and spaced front and rear walls, said floor comprising a stage area, wherein the rear wall of the studio chamber enclosure further comprises a non-reflecting light absorbing material acting as a background for the subject, the non-reflecting light absorbing material located on an inside surface of the rear wall behind the filmed subject;

lighting equipment located in the studio chamber enclosure illuminating a subject on the stage area for image capture, the subject having a front facing the camera and a rear facing away from the camera, the lighting equipment including one or more rear lights for illuminating the rear of the subject, the rear lights operable to sharpen an outline of the subject, and one or more front lights for illuminating the front of the subject, wherein the one or more front lights include one or more LED lights angled to illuminate the front of the subject while minimizing projection of light and light spill from the front lights onto the rear wall, the one or more rear lights having an intensity measured at the subject during filming that is greater than the intensity of the one or more front lights, the lighting equipment configured to cast shadows across the subject as the subject moves under the lighting equipment and the light moves across the subject, such that the captured video is suitable for projection as a full body video of a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost projection;

at least one high definition (HD) video camera positioned in front of the subject to capture HD video of a subject on the stage area and generate a captured video of the subject,

a projection source located at the remote location; and

a communications device operable to transmit the captured video to the projection source at the remote location in real time from the HD video camera over a wireless mobile communications network, and receive a return signal transmission from the remote location and feed such transmission back to the filming studio; and

an echo cancelling delay device operable to cancel out audio of the return signal transmission from the audio of the captured video before transmitting the captured video to the remote location in order to minimize the incident echo of the subject audio echoing back to the subject in the return signal transmission from the remote location.

6. The mobile broadcast system of claim 5, wherein the communications device comprises a high speed wireless network connection suitable for carrying broadcast quality streaming video signals, wherein the communications device comprises a microwave radio wave transmitter.

7. The mobile broadcast system of claim 6, wherein the microwave radio transmitter is adapted to transmit the captured video via a radio signal to a microwave base station using a unidirectional or omni-directional antenna.

8. The mobile broadcast system of claim 6, wherein the microwave radio wave transmitter has a signal latency of less than 200 ms.

9. The mobile broadcast system of claim 5, wherein the one or more LED lights of the one or more front lights are housed in a frame, the frame being flush mounted in a parallel fashion to one of the front wall, the sidewalls, the ceiling, or the floor of the mobile studio, the LED lights being angled within the frame and at an angle with respect to the front wall, sidewall, ceiling, or floor to which the frame is mounted.

10. The mobile broadcast system of claim 5, wherein the at least one HD camera has a camera shooting height that is about 1 foot higher than the stage area, the camera has a focal length from the subject of about 10 m and the HD camera includes a 22-25 mm standard lens, or the camera has a focal length from the subject of about 4-6 m and the HD camera includes a 40 mm standard lens.

11. The mobile broadcast system of claim 5, further comprising:

at least one video monitor to display an image, the at least one video monitor comprising a greater than 20 inch HD monitor such that the mobile broadcast system allows a real time communication of a two-way interaction between the subject on the stage area and a subject associated with the image from the at least one video monitor.

12. The mobile broadcast system of claim 11, wherein the monitor is operative to display a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image.

13. The mobile broadcast system of claim 5, wherein the at least one high definition camera utilizes a light sensitive high quality fixed lens with adjustable shutter speed capable of capturing video at frame rates of between 25-120 frames per second at 1080 lines interlaced, and/or up to 60 frames per second 720/1080 progressive.

14. The mobile broadcast system of claim 13, wherein the camera lens is positioned 1 foot higher than a surface of the stage area of the floor.

15. The mobile broadcast system according to claim 5, wherein the stage area of the floor is covered in a glossy reflective or semi reflective material which accentuates the reflection of the filmed subject'"'"'s shoes during capture and broadcast of the video.

16. The mobile broadcast system according to claim 5, wherein each of the one or more front lights for the lighting equipment further comprises a light emitting diode (LED) assembly having a low profile panels flush mounted to the front wall of the studio chamber in a parallel fashion, wherein LEDs for each LED assembly are oriented on the low profile panels at an angle with respect to the front wall to minimize projection of light toward the rear wall.

17. The mobile broadcast system according to claim 5, wherein each of the one or more rear lights and one or more front lights comprise different lights oriented for illuminating different sections of the subject, wherein the different sections of the subject comprise vertical sections of the subject.

18. The mobile broadcast system according to claim 5, wherein the one or more rear lights further comprise:

a first rear light for illuminating an upper part of the subject; and

a second rear light for illuminating a lower part of the subject.

19. The mobile broadcast system according to claim 5, wherein the lighting equipment further comprises overhead lights positioned substantially directly above the subject.