Creation and playback of computer-generated productions using script-controlled rendering engines

• US 20050171964A1
• Filed: 03/23/2005
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DigiMedia Tech, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Quonsil PL 3 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Kulas, Charles J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,199,150 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/00 Animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/16 involving adaptation to the client's capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/08 Bandwidth reduction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2213/04 Animation description language
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2213/08 Animation software package
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2213/12 Rule based animation

Abstract

A system for controlling a rendering engine by using specialized commands. The commands are used to generate a production, such as a television show, at an end-user'"'"'s computer that executes the rendering engine. In one embodiment, the commands are sent over a network, such as the Internet, to achieve broadcasts of video programs at very high compression and efficiency. Commands for setting and moving camera viewpoints, animating characters, and defining or controlling scenes and sounds are described. At a fine level of control math models and coordinate systems can be used make specifications. At a coarse level of control the command language approaches the text format traditionally used in television or movie scripts. Simple names for objects within a scene are used to identify items, directions and paths. Commands are further simplified by having the rendering engine use defaults when specifications are left out. For example, when a camera direction is not specified, the system assumes that the viewpoint is to be the current action area. The system provides a hierarchy of detail levels. Movement commands can be defaulted or specified. Synchronized speech can be specified as digital audio or as text which is used to synthesize the speech.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a rendering engine, the method comprising

accepting signals from a user input device to allow a human user to specify character actions, wherein default character actions are automatically specified if omitted by the human user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein an automatically specified character action includes a character'"'"'s gait.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein default audio is specified.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of a character model is automatically specified.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising

accepting signals from a user input device to specify a character'"'"'s physical characteristics;

and

using at least one specified physical characteristic to generate a character model.