Mobile studio

• US 8,269,900 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2009
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Musion Ip Liminted
• Original Assignee: Musion IP Ltd. (Musion DAS Hologram Limited)
• Inventors: O'Connell, Ian
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): MONTOYA, OSCHTA I
• Application Number:
  US12/468,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20100134695A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/722
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 5/021 Mixing live action with images projected on translucent screens
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/00 Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/00 Stereoscopic photography
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/222 Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00

Abstract

A mobile studio for producing video and audio content includes a vehicle having a body mounted on a chassis. The body includes a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls, and the floor includes a stage area. The mobile studio further includes at least one LED lighting assembly located in the studio chamber enclosure that is suitable for providing sufficient illumination for image capture such that a captured image is suitable for projection as a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image, at least one camera to capture an image of a subject on the stage area and generate the captured image, and a communications device to transmit the captured image.

Claims

1. A mobile studio for producing video and audio content, comprising:

a vehicle comprising a body mounted on a chassis, said body having a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls, said floor comprising a stage area;

at least one light emitting diode (LED) lighting assembly located in the studio chamber enclosure suitable for providing sufficient illumination for image capture such that a captured image is suitable for projection as a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image;

an image projection apparatus comprising a projector, a frame, a light source and an at least partially transparent screen, wherein the at least partially transparent screen is inclined at an angle with respect to a plane of emission of light from the projector, and the light source is arranged to illuminate at least part of the image projection apparatus, the at least partially transparent screen having a front surface arranged such that light emitted from the projector is reflected therefrom, and the projector being arranged to project an image such that light forming the image impinges upon the at least partially transparent screen such that a virtual image is created from light reflected from the at least partially transparent screen, the virtual image appearing to be located behind the at least partially transparent screen;

at least one camera to capture an image of a subject on the stage area and generate the captured image; and

a communications device to transmit the captured image.

2. The mobile studio of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is a high definition (HD) camera.

3. The mobile studio of claim 1, wherein the at least one LED lighting assembly comprises an LED assembly having a low profile that allows the LED assembly to be unobtrusively mounted to the ceiling and/or the spaced opposite outer side walls and/or the spaced outer front and rear walls of the studio chamber enclosure.

4. The mobile studio of claim 1, further comprising at least one device for compressing and/or encoding the captured image which comprises a codec connected to an output of the at least one camera.

5. The mobile studio of claim 1, wherein the communications device comprises a high speed network connection suitable for carrying broadcast quality streaming video signals.

6. The mobile studio of claim 5, wherein the communications device comprises a microwave radio wave transmitter or a satellite transmitter.

7. The mobile studio of claim 6, wherein the microwave radio transmitter is adapted to transmit a radio signal to a microwave base station using a unidirectional or omni-directional antenna.

8. The mobile studio of claim 6, wherein the microwave radio wave transmitter has a signal latency of less than 200 ms or less than 100 ms.

9. The mobile studio of claim 1, further comprising at least one video monitor to display an image and at least one audio recording device to record and broadcast voice and sound.

10. The mobile studio of claim 9, wherein the at least one video monitor comprises a greater than 20 inch HD monitor.

11. The mobile studio of claim 1, wherein the studio chamber enclosure further comprises a non-reflecting light absorbing material suitable for a background, the non-reflecting light absorbing material located on an inside surface of the outer rear wall.

12. The mobile studio of claim 1, wherein the studio chamber enclosure comprises a sound deadening material applied to the spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls of the studio chamber enclosure to provide a high acoustic performance.

13. The mobile studio of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera has a camera shooting height that is inline with an eyeline height of the subject on the stage area.

14. A method of producing video and audio content from a mobile studio, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a vehicle comprising a body mounted on a chassis, said body having a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls, said floor of the studio chamber enclosure comprising a stage area;

forming an image;

lighting the studio chamber enclosure with at least one light emitting diode (LED) lighting assembly to provide sufficient illumination for image capture such that a captured image is suitable for projection as a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image;

producing a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image using an image projection apparatus comprising a projector, a frame, a light source and an at least partially transparent screen, wherein the at least partially transparent screen is inclined at an angle with respect to a plane of emission of light from the projector, and the light source is arranged to illuminate at least part of the image projection apparatus, the at least partially transparent screen having a front surface arranged such that light emitted from the projector is reflected therefrom, and the projector being arranged to project an image such that light forming the image impinges upon the at least partially transparent screen such that a virtual image is created from light reflected from the at least partially transparent screen, the virtual image appearing to be located behind the at least partially transparent screen;

capturing an image of a subject on the stage area to generate the captured image; and

transmitting the captured image using a communications network.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of capturing the image of the subject on the stage area is performed by at least one high definition (HD) camera.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of lighting the studio chamber enclosure with at least one LED lighting assembly comprises lighting the studio chamber enclosure with a LED assembly having a low profile allowing that allows the LED assembly to be unobtrusively mounted to the ceiling and/or the spaced opposite side walls and/or the spaced outer front and rear walls of the studio chamber enclosure.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of compressing and/or encoding the captured image using a codec connected to an output of the at least one camera.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of transmitting the captured image comprises transmitting the captured image using a high speed network connection suitable for carrying broadcast quality streaming video signals.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of displaying an image using at least one video monitor and recording and broadcasting voice and sound using at least one audio recording device.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of providing a non-reflecting light absorbing material suitable for a background, the non-reflecting light absorbing material located on an inside surface of the outer rear wall.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of applying a sound deadening material to the spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls of the studio chamber enclosure to provide a high acoustic performance.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of positioning the at least one camera so that a camera shooting height of the at least one camera is inline with an eyeline height of the subject on the stage area.

23. A mobile studio for producing video and audio content, comprising:

a vehicle comprising a body mounted on a chassis, said body having a studio chamber enclosure formed by a floor, a ceiling, spaced opposite outer side walls and spaced outer front and rear walls, said floor of the studio chamber enclosure comprising a stage area;

an image projection apparatus comprising a projector, a frame, a light source and an at least partially transparent screen, wherein the at least partially transparent screen is inclined at an angle with respect to a plane of emission of light from the projector, and the light source is arranged to illuminate at least part of the image projection apparatus, the at least partially transparent screen having a front surface arranged such that light emitted from the projector is reflected therefrom; and

the projector being arranged to project an image such that light forming the image impinges upon the at least partially transparent screen such that a virtual image is created from light reflected from the at least partially transparent screen, the virtual image appearing to be located behind the at least partially transparent screen;

at least one LED lighting assembly located in the studio chamber enclosure suitable for providing sufficient illumination for image capture such that a captured image is suitable for projection as a Pepper'"'"'s Ghost image;

at least one camera to capture an image of a subject on the stage area and generate the captured image;

a device for compressing and/or encoding the captured image;

a communications device to transmit the captured image; and

wherein the mobile studio allows a real time communication of a two-way interaction between two or more subjects located remotely of one another.