Media Editing With a Segmented Timeline

• US 20100281382A1
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pendergast, Colleen, Meaney, Brian, Stern, Mike, Cerf, Dave, Steinauer, Peter A., Stikich, Michaelle, Holland, Jerremy, Lyons, Charles, Breglio, Melissa
• Granted Patent: US 8,533,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/723
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a computer readable medium storing a media editing application for creating multimedia presentations. The application includes a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI includes a composite display area for displaying a portion of a timeline to which multimedia clips are assigned to create a composite media presentation. The GUI includes a user interface tool for dividing the timeline into segments. The GUI includes an editing tool for applying an effect to each of a plurality of clips in a particular segment of the timeline. The GUI includes a user interface tool for modifying a duration of at least one segment. Different versions of the segments may be created.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium storing a media editing application for creating multimedia presentations, the application comprising a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI comprising:

a composite display area for displaying a portion of a timeline to which multimedia clips are assigned to create a composite media presentation;

a user interface tool for dividing the timeline into segments; and

an editing tool for applying an effect to each of a plurality of clips in a particular segment of the timeline.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the effect is a color correction effect.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the effect is an audio effect.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the segments are user-defined durations of the timeline.

5. A computer readable medium storing a media editing application for creating multimedia presentations, the application comprising a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI comprising:

a composite display area for displaying a portion of a timeline to which multimedia clips are assigned to create a composite media presentation;

a user interface tool for dividing the timeline into segments; and

a user interface tool for modifying a duration of at least one segment.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the user interface tool for modifying the duration of a segment is for moving a segment boundary in the timeline without modifying any multimedia clips in the timeline such that a first segment increases in duration while a second segment decreases in duration.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the user interface tool for modifying the duration of a segment is for moving a segment boundary in the timeline such that at least one multimedia clip at the segment boundary is reduced in duration.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the multimedia clip reduced in duration is before the segment boundary in the timeline, wherein at least one multimedia clip after the segment boundary in the timeline is moved in the timeline.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the GUI further comprises an editing tool for applying a ripple edit that modifies an out point of a particular clip that is within a particular segment.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the ripple edit extends the duration of the particular clip and causes other clips that are within the particular segment and after the particular clip in the timeline to move in the timeline.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein a duration of the particular segment is fixed and the duration of the last clip in the segment is reduced.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein a duration of the particular segment is extended to accommodate the extension of the duration of the particular clip.

13. A method of defining a media-editing application for creating multimedia presentations, the method comprising:

defining a composite display area for displaying a portion of a timeline to which multimedia clips are assigned to create a composite media presentation;

defining a tool for dividing the timeline into a plurality of segments, each segment including a set of multimedia clips assigned to a particular duration of the timeline; and

defining a feature for creating multiple versions of the segments, each version of a particular segment including a different set of multimedia clips.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each version of a particular segment corresponds to a different version of the composite media presentation.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein a first version of the particular segment includes a first clip with first in and out points of a particular source file and a second version of the particular segment includes a second clip with second in and out points of the particular source file.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first clip includes at least some of the same content from the particular source file as the second clip.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein a first version of the particular segment includes a first clip from a particular source file and a second version of the particular segment does not include any clips from the particular source file.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising defining an outline window for displaying a selectable item corresponding to each segment, each selectable item comprising an indicator as to whether multiple versions are defined for the corresponding segment.

19. A method of defining a media-editing application for creating multimedia presentations, the method comprising:

defining a composite display area for displaying a portion of a timeline to which multimedia clips are assigned to create a composite media presentation;

defining a tool for dividing the timeline into a plurality of segments, each segment including a set of multimedia clips assigned to a particular duration of the timeline;

defining a rendering engine for rendering the composite presentation to create a single output file; and

defining a feature for identifying, for a particular segment, whether to render the particular segment when the composite presentation is rendered.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the feature is for creating different versions of a composite media presentation.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein each multimedia clip is a link to a portion of a source file, wherein the rendering engine is for pulling the data from the portions of the source files for the multimedia clips assigned to the timeline and using the data to create the single output file.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein when a particular segment is identified to not be rendered, the rendering engine does not pull data from the portions of the source files for the multimedia clips assigned to the particular segment'"'"'s duration of the timeline.