System and method for managing the creation and production of computer generated works

• US 6,243,706 B1
• Filed: 07/24/1998
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Avid Technology Incorporated
• Inventors: Moreau, Sylvain, Cajolet, Claude, Gagné, Réjean
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US09/121,972
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: 707/203, 707/1, 707/101, 707/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system and method for managing the creation and production of computer generated works permits two or more users to create a work by a collaborative process. The work, or a component of a work, to be created and/or produced is organised into a project structure which includes a plurality of scene structures, each of which can include a plurality of element structures which are used to construct the scenes. A project manager device operates to manage the accessing and modification of elements structures and scenes in the project by the users and manages the relationships between elements structures. The project manager device performs read reference locking of element structures and scenes to ensure that users are always using an appropriate version of the elements and/or scenes and that updates to elements and scenes are correctly propagated to other elements and to users. The project manager device allows users to work in parallel, on different elements and scenes, without requiring other elements or scenes to have been completed and allows users the ability to interact with other elements or scenes, whether completed or not, while an element or scene of interest is worked on by the user. The system and method allow the decomposition of a work into elements which can be re-used and/or which can easily be altered and modified. The system and method is essentially non-intrusive to users and much of the management of the creation and production of the work is performed automatically by the system and method.

Claims

1. A method for managing the creation and production of a computer generated animation by a plurality of users, comprising the steps of:

(i) defining a project data structure for the animation, the project data structure including at least one scene data structure associated with a scene of the animation, the scene data structure including at least one element data structure associated with a component of the scene;

(ii) defining for each said element data structure an access control list of the type of accesses to the respective element data structure permitted to each said user;

(iii) from at least one of the users, receiving a request to access one of the element data structures, and for the requested access identifying permitted ones of the at least one uses from the access control list associated with the one element data structure;

(iv) permitting the requested access concurrently for at least two of the permitted users;

(v) respectively increasing and decreasing a record lock count associated with the accessed element data structure in accordance with an initiation and a termination of said permitted access by each said permitted user; and

(vi) upon receipt of a modified one of the accessed element data structures, accessing the record lock count associated with the modified one element data structure, and replacing the accessed element data structure with the modified one element data structure upon accessing a zero value of the accessed record lock count.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of informing each said user other than said user modifying said element data structure that a modified element data structure has been created.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step a choice between accessing said one element data structure and said modified element data structure.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein when a user has selected and modified a structure element other than said most recent structure element, said modified element structure is saved as the most recent version of said selected element structure.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of maintaining a record of defined interdependencies between each said element data structure in said project data structure and, propagating any said interdependencies defined for said element data structure to said modified element data structure.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of updating the access of each one of said at least two users from accessing said element structure to accessing said modified element structure at a time preselected by each said one user.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of immediately updating the access of each one of said at least two users from accessing said element structure to accessing said modified element structure.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein each one of said at least two users can define a list of element structures to be accessed by said one user each time said project structure is accessed by said one user.

9. A system for managing the creation and production of a computer generated animation by a plurality of users, comprising:

at least one data storage device having stored thereon a project data structure for the animation, the project data structure including at least one scene data structure associated with a scene of the animation and at least one element data structure representing a component for said at least one scene data structure, the at least one data storage device further including an access control list associated with the at least one element data structures;

a plurality of workstations for providing the users with access to the at least one element data structures; and

a project manager in communication with the workstations and the at least one data storage device, the project manager being configured to (i) receive, from at least one of the users, a request to access one of the element data structures, (ii) identify in response to the access request permitted ones of the at least one users from the access control list associated with the one element data structure, (iii) permit the requested access concurrently for each said permitted user, (iv) respectively increase and decrease a record lock count associated with the accessed element data structure in accordance with an initiation and a termination of said permitted access by each said permitted user, (v) receive a modified one of the accessed element data structures, (vi) access the record lock count associated with the modified one element data structure, and (vii) replace the accessed element data structure with the modified one element data structure upon accessing a zero value of the accessed record lock count.

10. The system according to claim 9 wherein said workstations and said at least one data storage device are connected to a computer network and said project manager is executed on a server connected to said computer network.

11. The system according to claim 9 wherein said project structure is defined by a user completing a set of project design sheets presented in a graphical user interface on one of said at least two workstations.