Reducing differential resolution of separations

• US 7,218,793 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2005
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: America Online Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.), Warner Bros Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: America Online Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.), Warner Bros Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Perlmutter, Sharon M., Perlmutter, Keren O., Wang, Eric, Klamer, Paul R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns; Andrew W.
• Application Number:
  US11/206,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20060034541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 635 Days
• Field of Search: 382/162, 382/191, 382/195, 382/199, 382/254, 382/266, 382/275, 382/284, 382/299, 348/96, 348/97, 348/576, 348/577, 348/612, 348/625, 352/66, 352/67
• US Class Current: 382/266
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20064 Wavelet transform [DWT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20192 Edge enhancement; Edge preservation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/403 Edge-driven scaling; Edge-based scaling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4084 in the transform domain, e.g. fast Fourier transform [FFT] domain scaling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/10 using non-spatial domain filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/12 Edge-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/58 Edge or detail enhancement; Noise or error suppression, e.g. colour misregistration correction H04N1/62 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects

Abstract

Certain disclosed implementations use digital image processing to reduce the differential resolution among separations or images in film frames, such as, for example, red flare. A location in the red image may be selected using information from another image. The selected location may be modified using information from that other image. The selection may include comparing features of an edge in the first image with features of a corresponding edge in the other image. The modification may include performing wavelet transformations of the two images and copying certain coefficients (or a function of these coefficients) produced by the application of the transformation to the second image to the coefficients produced by the application of the transformation to the first image. The copied coefficients may be correlated with the selected location. Other disclosed techniques vary from the above and may be applied to other fields.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing a first image of a scene, the first image including a first region;

accessing a second image of at least a portion of the scene, the second image including a second region that corresponds to the first region;

identifying a feature that is in both the first region and the second region;

determining, based on the first image, a first set of data characterizing a particular aspect of the feature;

determining, based on the second image, a second set of data characterizing the particular aspect of the feature;

selecting one or more data elements of the second set of data; and

modifying each of the selected one or more data elements of the second set of data based on corresponding data elements of the first set of data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the feature comprises an edge,

the particular aspect of the feature comprises spectral information for the edge, and

the first set of data characterizing the particular aspect comprises a set of coefficients of a transformation of the first region.

3. A method comprising:

accessing a first image of a scene;

determining, based on the first image, a property for a first region that is in the first image;

accessing a second image of at least a portion of the scene;

determining, based on the second image, the property for a second region that is in the second image and that corresponds to the first region, wherein determining the property for the second region comprises determining a frequency-based property for the second region; and

modifying the property for the second region based on the property for the first region.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein:

the first and second images are digital images and the first and second regions include pixels, and

determining the property for the first and second regions further comprises determining a property that characterizes each of the pixels in the first and second regions, respectively.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising modifying the pixels in the second region based on the property for the first region.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein modifying the property for the second region comprises setting the property for the second region equal to a function of the property for the first region.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein determining the frequency-based property comprises determining a coefficient of a transformation, into a frequency domain representation, of at least a portion of the second region.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein determining the coefficient of the transformation comprises determining a coefficient of a wavelet transformation of at least the portion of the second region.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein modifying the property for the second region comprises replacing the determined coefficient of the wavelet transformation of at least the portion of the second region with a function of a coefficient of a wavelet transformation of at least a portion of the first region.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein replacing the determined coefficient comprises replacing the determined coefficient with a scaled value of the coefficient of the wavelet transformation of at least the portion of the first region.

11. A method comprising:

accessing a first image of a scene;

determining, based on the first image, a property for a first region that is in the first image;

accessing a second image of at least a portion of the scene;

determining, based on the second image, the property for a second region that is in the second image and that corresponds to the first region; and

modifying the property for the second region based on the property for the first region,

wherein determining the property for the second region comprises;

identifying a feature that is in the portion of the scene, wherein the feature comprises an edge, and identifying the feature comprises identifying the edge; and

determining measurable criteria related to the feature in the second image, wherein the measurable criteria comprise spectral information, and determining the measurable criteria comprises determining spectral information for the edge.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the spectral information corresponds to red coloration in the portion of the scene, and modifying the property for the second region comprises modifying the spectral information corresponding to red coloration in the portion of the scene, thereby reducing red fringing of the edge.

13. A method comprising:

accessing a first image of a scene;

determining, based on the first image, a property for a first region that is in the first image;

accessing a second image of at least a portion of the scene;

determining, based on the second image, the property for a second region that is in the second image and that corresponds to the first region; and

modifying the property for the second region based on the property for the first region,

wherein;

the property comprises a set of data characterizing a particular aspect,

determining the property for the first region comprises determining a first set of data characterizing the particular aspect of the first region, and

determining the property for the second region comprises determining a second set of data characterizing the particular aspect of the second region.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising selecting one or more data elements of the second set of data, and wherein modifying the property for the second region based on the property for the first region comprises setting each of the selected one or more data elements of the second set of data equal to a function of the corresponding data elements of the first set of data.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein:

each of the selected one or more data elements comprises a separate coefficient of a transformation of the second region, and

setting each of the selected one or more data elements equal to a function comprises setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to a function of a corresponding coefficient of a transformation of the first region.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein:

each of the separate coefficients characterizes a non-baseband subband of the transformation, and

setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to the function of the corresponding coefficient comprises setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to a function of a corresponding coefficient characterizing a corresponding non-baseband subband of the transformation of the first region.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the function of the corresponding coefficient is equal to the corresponding coefficient, and

setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to the function of the corresponding coefficient comprises setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to the corresponding coefficient of the transformation of the first region.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the function of the corresponding coefficient scales a value of the corresponding coefficient, and

setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to the function of the corresponding coefficient comprises setting each of the one or more separate coefficients equal to a scaled value of the corresponding coefficient of the transformation of the first region.

19. A method comprising:

accessing a first image of a scene;

determining, based on the first image, a property for a first region that is in the first image;

accessing a second image of at least a portion of the scene;

determining, based on the second image, the property for a second region that is in the second image and that corresponds to the first region; and

modifying the property for the second region based on the property for the first region,

wherein;

the first image comprises a first separation of the scene, and accessing the first image comprises accessing the first separation, and

the second image comprises a second separation of the scene, and accessing the second image comprises accessing the second separation.

20. An apparatus comprising a computer readable medium that includes instructions for performing at least the following:

accessing a first image of a scene;

determining, based on the first image, a property for a first region that is in the first image;

accessing a second image of at least a portion of the scene;

determining, based on the second image, the property for a second region that is in the second image and that corresponds to the first region, wherein determining the property for the second region comprises determining a frequency-based property for the second region; and

modifying the property for the second region based on the property for the first region.