Device and method for generating scenario suitable for use as presentation materials

• US 6,473,096 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1999
• Issued: 10/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Yuji, Suzuki, Nobuo, Ishigaki, Tooru
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/386,365
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 707/101, 707/104.1, 707/500.1, 707/515, 707/517, 345/730, 345/731, 345/732, 345/753
• US Class Current: 715/731
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80

Abstract

Described herein are a device and a method of generating a scenario used for presentation materials. A descriptive operation input part is used to perform descriptive operation while contents retained in a contents holding part is being reproduced and operated under control by a contents reproducing part. A history indicative of the descriptive operations is retained in a descriptive operation history holding part and speaker information from a speaker information input part is retained in a speaker information holding part. In a scenario generation processing part, a history information separating part separates the history information related to the descriptive operations into information. Based on the separated information, a descriptive operation contents generating part generates tool-operation reproducing contents, which is in turn retained in a descriptive operation contents holding part. A scenario output part generates a basic scenario, based on history information related to control operations and adds the relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the descriptive operation contents and the speaker information to the basic scenario to thereby complete a scenario.

Claims

1. A device for generating a scenario suitable for use as presentation materials, wherein a reproduced scenario describing layout information of respective contents and a relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents in multimedia contents used for a presentation, is generated, comprising:

a contents holding part that retains therein the multimedia contents including text data, image data, motion picture data, voice data and programs;

a contents reproducing part that reads corresponding contents from said contents holding part based on control operations of an explainer and reproducing and displaying said read contents;

a speaker information input part that receives therein speaker information including at least voice information upon reproduction of the multimedia contents by said contents reproducing part;

a speaker information holding part that retains therein the speaker information inputted from said speaker information input part;

a descriptive operation input part that receives therein descriptive operations including control operations relative to said contents reproducing part and command operations relative to a specific display point of the reproduced contents displayed by said contents reproducing part;

a descriptive operation history holding part that retains therein history information related to the descriptive operations inputted by said descriptive operation input part;

a scenario generation processing part that determines layout information of respective contents and the relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents in relation to a group of the contents reproduced by said contents reproducing part in accordance with the history information, a group of descriptive operation contents for reproducing the command operations, and the speaker information retained in said speaker information holding part to thereby generate a reproduced scenario having a multimedia title;

a descriptive operation contents generating part that generates the descriptive operation contents of an image for reproducing command operations, based on information about said command operations in the history information;

a descriptive operation contents holding part that retains therein the descriptive operation contents generated by said descriptive operation contents generating part; and

a scenario information holding part that retains therein the reproduced scenario generated by said scenario generation processing part.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said contents reproducing part has a user interface part which sequentially reproduces one or more visible contents, based on a reproduction operation command given by an explainer and simultaneously displays the reproduced contents on display areas specified by the explainer.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said user interface part has a plurality of contents display areas capable of individually displaying the reproduced contents, a contents list display area for displaying the contents retained in said contents holding part in list form, a tool display area for displaying tools used to perform command operations on the reproduced contents, and a group of buttons for providing instructions for operations related to the generation of the scenario.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein said contents reproducing part selects one of icons for the contents displayed on said contents list display area of said user interface part in list form in response to the operation input from said descriptive operation input part, detects that said icon is dragged and dropped to said one contents display area and sets the detected result as a command for reproducing the contents corresponding to the selected icon.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said scenario generation processing part has a history information separating part which receives and analyzes history information retained in said descriptive operation history holding part and separates the history information into first history information related to the control operations and second history information related to the command operations, and a scenario output part-which outputs a scenario describing layout information of respective contents and the relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents therein in accordance with a predetermined format, based on the first history information and second history information separated by said history information separating part and the speaker information retained in said speaker information holding part.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein said scenario generation processing part has a noted contents detecting part which detects contents specified and operated from the second history information separated by said history information separating part and outputs layout change information about the corresponding contents and other in-reproduction contents to said scenario output part.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein said layout change information is information re-laid out so that display areas for the contents detected while being reproduced in parallel increase in size and display areas for other in-reproduction contents are reduced in size while mutual positional relations thereof are being maintained in display areas excluding the display areas for said detected contents.

8. The device according to claim 5, wherein said scenario generation processing part has a noted contents detecting part which detects contents specified and operated from the second history information separated by said history information separating part and outputs noted attribute information of the corresponding contents to said scenario output part.

9. The device according to claim 8, further including a scenario changing part which changes layout information of contents, based on the noted attribute information of the respective contents described in the scenario information retained in said scenario information holding part.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein said scenario changing part includes a noted attribute detecting part which detects the noted attribute information from the scenario information retained in said scenario information holding part to thereby specify contents to be noted, a layout rule holding part which retains a plurality of layout rules therein, a layout information changing part which changes layout information about the scenario information laid out so that display areas for said specified contents increase in size and display areas for other contents while being reproduced in parallel are reduced in size while mutual positional relations thereof are being maintained in display areas excluding the display areas for said specified contents, and a rule selection specifying part which selects and specifies a conversion rule applied upon scenario conversion from the plurality of layout rules retained in said layout rule holding part.

11. The device according to claim 5, wherein said scenario generation processing part has a reproduced contents information detecting part which detects information about in-reproduction contents from the first history information separated by said history information separating part and outputs link information for the corresponding contents embedded in said scenario to said scenario output part.

12. A method of generating a scenario suitable for use as presentation materials, wherein a reproduced scenario describing layout information of respective contents and a relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents in multimedia contents used for a presentation is generated, comprising the following the steps of:

reproducing and displaying the multimedia contents including text data, image data, motion picture data, voice data and programs, based on reproduction operations of an explainer;

recording descriptive operations including control operations of said explainer and command operations relative to a specific display point of said displayed reproduced contents and recording speaker information of said explainer, including at least voice information;

determining layout information of respective contents and the relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents in relation to a group of the reproduced contents, a group of descriptive operation contents for reproducing the command operations and the recorded speaker information of said explainer, based on said recorded control operations, thereby to generate a reproduced scenario having a multimedia title; and

generating said group of descriptive operation contents, based on information about the command operations of said recorded descriptive operations.

13. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded therein a scenario generation program for presentation materials, for generating a reproduced scenario describing layout information of respective contents and the relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents in multimedia contents used for a presentation, comprising:

a contents reproducing part that reads and reproduces the corresponding contents from the multimedia contents including text data, image data, motion picture data, voice data and programs, based on control operations of an explainer;

a speaker information recording part that receives and records therein speaker information including at least voice information upon reproduction of the multimedia contents by said contents reproducing part;

a descriptive operation recording part that receives therein descriptive operations including control operations relative to said contents reproducing part and command operations relative to a specific display point of the reproduced contents displayed by said contents reproducing part and records the same therein as history information;

a scenario generation processing part that determines layout information of respective contents and the relationship of synchronism and reproduction between the contents in relation to a group of the contents reproduced by said contents reproducing part in accordance with the history information, a group of descriptive operation contents for reproducing the command operations and the speaker information retained in said speaker information holding part to thereby generate a reproduced scenario having a multimedia title; and

a descriptive operation contents generating part that generates the descriptive operation contents of an image for reproducing control operations, based on information about the command operations in the history information.