Method and system for generating a movie file from a slide show presentation

• US 6,369,835 B1
• Filed: 05/18/1999
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lin, Tony Hongtong
• Primary Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US09/313,917
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• Field of Search: 345/730, 345/731, 345/732, 345/723, 345/719-726, 345/704, 345/474, 345/547, 345/825, 345/805, 345/818, 700/17, 700/18, 700/28, 117/46, 117/47
• US Class Current: 715/726
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and system for generating a movie file from a slide show presentation created with a presentation program. When the movie file is played back, a movie of the slide show presentation is displayed to a user. Objects in the slide show presentation are identified and automatically transformed into corresponding movie data that is saved in the movie file. The movie data includes visual, e.g., video, and audio samples linked to respective tracks that are referenced to the slide show presentation. Also, the objects of the slide show presentation may be copied into the movie file so that an application program that recognizes the copied objects in the movie file may present the slide show presentation. The content of the movie file may be selected for compressing with a compression method and the user may select how to optimize the method. A movie application programming interface (API) such as “QuickTime” and “Video for Windows” is employed to create and save the movie data in the movie file. Also, the operating system is used to set file extensions/attributes to the movie file and indicate a format of the movie data in the movie file. The video and audio samples and their respective tracks may be edited with an editor that uses the movie API.

Claims

1. A method for generating a movie file from a slide show presentation that includes a plurality of slides, the playing of the movie file causing a movie of the slide show presentation to be displayed, comprising:

(a) selecting the slide show presentation to be saved as movie data in the movie file;

(b) identifying each object in each slide of the slide show presentation;

(c) automatically transforming each object in the slide show presentation into corresponding movie data; and

(d) saving the movie data in the movie file, so that the movie of the slide show presentation is displayed when a program capable of playing the movie file is employed to open the movie file.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising copying the objects of the slide show presentation into the movie file, so that the slide show presentation is displayed to the user when a program capable of presenting the slide show presentation is employed to open the movie file.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising selectively compressing the content of the movie file, the content of the movie file including movie data and objects in the slide show presentation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein compressing the contents of the movie file further comprises selecting a type of compression method.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein compressing the contents of the movie file further comprises selecting a type of optimization for the compression method.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the saving of the movie data in the movie file further comprises adding a file extension to the movie file, the file extension indicating a format of the movie data in the movie file.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the saving the movie data in the movie file further comprises adding a file attribute to the movie file, the file attribute indicating a format of the movie data in the movie file.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting at least one of the plurality of slides in the slide show presentation to correspond to at least one visual sample.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the movie data further comprises visual samples linked to references on a track, the visual samples being contained in a media.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the visual sample is a video sample that is linked to a position on a video track, the position on the video track being referenced to the corresponding slide in the slide show presentation.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising another video sample associated with a transition between slides in the slide show presentation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the other video sample is linked to a position on another video track, the position on the other video track being referenced to the corresponding transition in the slide show presentation and another position on the video track linked to the video sample.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the media is video media, the video media being a container for video data, the video data including the video sample, the other video sample, the video track and the other video track.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the slide show presentation to be saved as movie data causes a movie application programming interface (API) to be called to save the movie data in the movie file.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the movie API includes “

QuickTime” and

“

Video for Windows.”

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising editing the movie data with functions provided by the movie API.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises generating a video effect for the video data, the video effect including fade, wipe, move, swivel and spiral.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting the key frame rate for the video sample.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting a number of colors to be used for an image in the video sample.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting a size of a display for playing back the movie.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting a position of a display of the movie in a display window.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting a default time period for playing the video sample that corresponds to the slide in the slide show presentation.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting an inline movie to overlap the entire display of the video sample that corresponds to the slide in the slide show presentation.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein editing the movie data further comprises selecting a movie within a movie to overlap a portion of the display of the video sample that corresponds to the slide in the slide show presentation.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting at least one Graphic Interchange Animation (GIF) object in the slide show presentation to be transformed into an image include in the movie data.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein transforming each type of object in the slide show presentation into corresponding movie data further comprises selecting a transformation method, including sprite-based, frame-based and vector graphic-based.

27. The method of claim 8, wherein the movie data further comprises an audio sample linked to an audio track, the audio sample being contained in an audio media and being associated with a sound produced for a slide by the slide show presentation.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the audio sample is linked to a position on the audio track, the position being referenced to the associated sound produced for the slide by the slide show presentation.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising another audio sample that is associated with another sound produced for a transition between slides by the slide show presentation.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the other audio sample is linked to a position on another audio track, the position on the other audio track being referenced to the associated sound produced for the transition between slides and another position on the audio track for the audio sample.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the audio media is a container for audio data, the audio data including the audio sample, the other audio sample, the audio track and the other audio track.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising editing the audio data with functions provided by a movie API.

33. The method of claim 27, wherein the sound produced for the slide comprises a slide narration.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the other audio sample comprises a background sound.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the program capable of playing the movie file includes a browser program, a presentation program and an operating system.

36. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method recited in any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 6 or 7.

37. A method for generating a movie file from a slide show created with a presentation program, a movie of the slide show presentation being display able by a program capable of playing the movie file, comprising:

(a) selecting the slide show presentation to be saved as movie data in the movie file, the movie data including a video sample on a track;

(b) identifying each object in the slide show presentation;

(c) converting objects in the slide show presentation into movie data; and

(d) saving the movie data in the movie file, so that the movie of the slide show presentation is displayed to a user when a program capable of playing the movie file is employed to play back the movie data in the movie file.

38. An apparatus for generating a movie file from a slide show created with a presentation program, the playing of the movie file causing a movie of the slide show presentation to be displayed, comprising:

(a) a processing unit; and

(b) a storage medium coupled to the processing unit, the storage medium storing program code implemented by the processing unit for;

(i) selecting the slide show presentation to be saved as movie data in the movie file;

(ii) identifying each type of object in the slide show presentation;

(iii) automatically transforming each object in the slide show presentation into movie data; and

(iv) saving the movie data in the movie file, so that the movie of the slide show presentation is displayed when a program capable of playing the movie file is employed to play back the movie data in the movie file.