View-selection feedback for a visual experience

• US 10,341,731 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2014
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Elmieh, Baback, Pinkava, Jan J., Sweetland, Douglas Paul, Collins, Brian M., Austin, Darren Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven P
• Application Number:
  US14/526,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20160054863A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,708 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/251 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies details of learning user preferences for the retrieval of video data in a video database G06F16/739; computer systems using learning methods G06N3/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312

Abstract

Techniques and apparatuses for view-selection feedback for a visual experience are described. These techniques and apparatuses enable writers, directors, and other story creators to create or alter visual experiences based on feedback provided by view selections made during visual experiences. This feedback can be analyzed to determine portions of a visual experience that users focused on, wanted to see more of, were not interested in, found difficult to understand, and so forth. With this feedback, visual experiences, such as live-action movies and animated shorts, can be created or improved.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

presenting a visual experience on a display of a mobile media-consumption device, the visual experience comprising;

a live-action or computer-animated film; and

a story having story views and context views, the story views presenting at least a portion of an event of an authored series of events, the context views presenting context of the visual experience, the context comprising additional detail about at least one of the story views or an element of the visual experience separate from the authored series of events;

receiving view selections during the presentation of the visual experience, the view selections non-passively made by a user during the presentation of the visual experience, the view selections received through one or more orientation sensors of the mobile media-consumption device, the view selections configured to view a part, but not all, of the visual experience, the part of the visual experience comprising at least a portion of one of the story views or a portion of one of the context views from among the story views and the context views of the story of the visual experience;

viewing, based on the received view selections, the part of the visual experience on the display;

determining, during the presentation of the part of the visual experience and based on the view selections, an alteration to a current or future story view or a current or future context view of the visual experience;

providing the alteration, during the presentation of the part of the visual experience, effective to alter the current or future story view or the current or future context view of the visual experience;

determining, based on the received view selections and the viewed part of the visual experience, one or more interest elements of the visual experience, the determined one or more interest elements of the visual experience corresponding to an interest level of the user;

aggregating the determined one or more interest elements of the visual experience into feedback;

transmitting the feedback of the visual experience;

receiving another visual experience, the other visual experience adjusted to correspond to the transmitted feedback; and

presenting the other visual experience on the display of the mobile media-consumption device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determining the alteration determines the alteration from a set of previously created alterations, the set of previously created alterations created based on previously received view selections by other users of a prior-viewed visual experience, the prior-viewed visual experience being identical to, or a prior version of, the visual experience.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the view selections include selecting one or more of the context views and wherein the story ceases to progress through the authored series of events.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the one or more context views include a subordinate story, the subordinate story being an authored series of subordinate events, and wherein the alteration to the current or future story view or the current or future context view alters the subordinate story to add portions to, or delete portions from, the subordinate story.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determining the alteration is further based on user data, the user data including:

a location at which the presentation was made;

an age of the user;

a culture of the user;

an experience in use of prior visual experiences of the user;

a device on which the view selections are made;

a screen size of the display;

ambient noise during presentation of the visual experience;

ambient light during presentation of the visual experience;

a geographical location or type of location at which the presentation of the visual experience is made;

or a current activity of the user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the view selections indicates a selection repeatedly viewing an event of the authored series of events and further comprising altering the event to present clearer audio during the event or to expand the event to include additional visual elements.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising creating or altering a substory for the visual experience based on a set of view selections including the view selections and multiple other view selections from other users.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the visual experience is the live-action film, the live-action film being a movie designed for presentation on a movie screen.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the view selections to view on the display the part of the visual experience are received through an orientation or orientation change of the display.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the orientation or orientation change are sensed through the orientation sensors, the orientation sensors capable of determining selections that tilt, turn, move in, move out, move up, move left, move right, and move down the mobile-device display.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the view selection is a view into the visual experience, the view enabling the user to watch in detail the events of the authored series of events or to deviate from those events to view the context.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the element of the visual experience separate from the authored series of events comprises a contextual character, a contextual object, a contextual person, a contextual animal, or a contextual plant.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the view selections to view on the display the part of the visual experience are received through buttons, capacitive sensors, or touch screens.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the part of the visual experience viewable on the display comprises a contiguous subportion of an entire viewable area of the visual experience.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interest level of the user comprises a higher level and wherein the higher interest level is determined by the user making the view selections that focus on the one or more interest elements.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interest level of the user comprises a lower level and wherein the lower interest level is determined by the user making the view selections that exclude the one or more interest elements from being presented on the display.

17. A mobile media-consumption device comprising:

a display;

orientation sensors;

one or more computer processors; and

one or more computer-readable storage devices comprising processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by the one or more computer processors, implement a storytelling module to perform operations including;

presenting, on the display, a live-action or computer-animated visual experience capable of telling a story through presentation of the visual experience, the story having story views and context views, the story views presenting at least a portion of an event of an authored series of events, the context views presenting context of the visual experience, the context comprising additional detail about at least one of the story views or an element of the visual experience separate from the authored series of events;

receiving, from the orientation sensors, view selections made non-passively during presentation of the visual experience, the view selections configured to view on the display a part, but not all, of the visual experience, the part of the visual experience comprising at least a portion of one of the story views or a portion of one of the context views from among the story views and the context views of the story of the visual experience;

responsive to a view selection to present the portion of the story view showing one of the events of the authored series of events, presenting on the display portions of the visual experience effective to tell the story by progressing through the authored series of events;

or

responsive to a view selection to present the portion of the context view not showing one of the events of the authored series of events, causing the display to cease to progress through the authored series of events;

receiving, from the orientation sensors, an alteration to a current or future story view or a current or future context view of the visual experience, the alteration to the current or future story view or the current or future context view determined based on one or more of the view selections;

responsive to receiving the alteration from the orientation sensors, presenting the visual experience on the display with the alteration to the current or future story view or the current or future context view;

determining, based on the received view selections and the viewed part of the visual experience, one or more interest elements of the visual experience, the determined one or more interest elements of the visual experience corresponding to an interest level of the user;

aggregating the determined one or more interest elements of the visual experience into feedback;

transmitting the feedback of the visual experience;

receiving another visual experience, the other visual experience adjusted to correspond to the transmitted feedback; and

presenting the other visual experience on the display of the mobile media-consumption device.

18. The mobile media-consumption device of claim 17, wherein the processor-executable instructions further implement a feedback module to perform operations including determining the alteration to the current or future story view or the current or future context view based on the one or more of the view selections received from the orientation sensors or to aggregate the interest elements into the feedback, and wherein the storytelling module receives the alteration from the feedback module.

19. The mobile media-consumption device of claim 17, wherein the view selections to view on the display the part of the visual experience are received through an orientation or orientation change of the mobile media-consumption device.

20. The mobile media-consumption device of claim 17, wherein the view selection is a view into the visual experience, the view enabling a user to watch in detail the event in the story view or to deviate from the story view to the context view.