AUTOMATICALLY GENERATING AUDIOVISUAL WORKS

• US 20120236005A1
• Filed: 05/25/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Redbrick Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Bradley C. Jefferson, Jason R. Hsiao, Stephen J. Clifton, Thomas M. Clifton
• Inventors: Clifton, Stephen J., Hsiao, Jason R., Jefferson, Bradley C., Clifton, Thomas M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,717,367 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/473
• 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 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3264 of sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3266 of text or character information, e.g. text accompanying an image H04N2201/3226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3267 of motion picture signals, e.g. video clip

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method comprises inferentially selecting one or more design animation modules based upon analysis of information obtained from digital visual media items and digital audio media items; and automatically creating an audiovisual work using the selected design animation modules. Audiovisual works can be automatically created based upon inferred and implicit metadata including music genre, image captions, song structure, image focal points, as well as user-supplied data such as text tags, emphasis flags, groupings, and preferred video style.

Claims

1. In a system comprising one or more computing devices, a method for automatically generating an audiovisual work comprising:

inferentially selecting one or more design animation modules of a plurality of design animation modules to use to generate an audiovisual work based at least in part upon all of;

(a) one or more detected visual characteristics of at least one of one or more digital visual media items,

(b) one or more detected audio characteristics of at least one of one or more digital audio media items, and

(c) one or more metadata values of one or more attributes obtained from at least one of the plurality of design animation modules;

wherein each design animation module of the plurality of design animation modules is an independent interchangeable unit that can be combined with other design animation modules of the plurality of design animation modules to form different audiovisual works; and

generating the audiovisual work using the one or more selected design animation modules, the one or more digital visual media items, and the one or more digital audio media items.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein at least one design animation module of the one or more selected design animation modules comprises at least one visual media item placeholder for eventual replacement by a digital visual media item; and

wherein generating the audiovisual work comprises replacing the at least one digital visual media item placeholder with a digital visual media item of the one or more digital visual media items.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to successfully generating the audiovisual work, sending a notification to a user that the audiovisual work has been successfully generated; and

wherein the user receives the notification at a computing device of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to successfully generating the audiovisual work, sending a notification to a user that the audiovisual work has been successfully generated; and

wherein the user receives the notification at a mobile phone of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to successfully generating the audiovisual work, sending an e-mail notification to a user that the audiovisual work has been successfully generated.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to successfully generating the audiovisual work, sending a notification to a user that the audiovisual work has been successfully generated; and

wherein the notification comprises a link for downloading the generated audiovisual work.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to inferentially selecting the one or more design animation modules, receiving a specification of an online service from which the one or more digital visual media items can be downloaded; and

downloading the one or more digital visual media items from the online service responsive to receiving the specification.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to inferentially selecting the one or more design animation modules, receiving a specification of an online service from which the one or more digital audio media items can be downloaded; and

downloading the one or more digital audio media items from the online service responsive to receiving the specification.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to inferentially selecting the one or more design animation modules, receiving from a user'"'"'s computing device a request to generate the audiovisual work; and

while generating the audiovisual work, causing a video advertisement to be displayed at the user'"'"'s computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, prior to inferentially selecting the one or more design animation modules, receiving from a user'"'"'s computing device the one or more digital visual media items.

11. The method of claim 1, prior to inferentially selecting the one or more design animation modules, receiving from a user'"'"'s computing device the one or more digital audio media items.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more detected visual characteristics of the at least one digital visual media item comprises a digital image orientation of the at least one digital visual media item;

and wherein the one or more metadata values of one or more attributes obtained from the at least one design animation module indicate a digital image orientation that a digital visual media item placeholder of the at least one design animation module is capable of accepting.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising re-timing one or more of the selected design animation modules to one or more of the digital audio media items.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the digital visual media items is a digital video.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more detected audio characteristics of the at least one digital audio media item include beat points and song structure attributes of the at least one digital audio media item.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more detected audio characteristics of the at least one digital audio media item include a ramp-up period, climactic point, verse, chorus, bridge, genre, or style of the at least one digital audio media item.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more detected visual characteristics of the at least one digital visual media item include a focal point, hue, saturation, orientation, brightness, or contrast of the at least one digital visual media item.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining one or more text values associated with a collection of the digital visual media items; and

inferentially selecting one or more design animation modules of a plurality of design animation modules to use to generate an audiovisual work, based at least in part upon all of (a), (b), (c), and the one or more text values.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a preferred style for the audiovisual work; and

inferentially selecting one or more design animation modules of a plurality of design animation modules to use to generate an audiovisual work, based at least in part upon all of (a), (b), (c), and the preferred style.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a preferred style for the audiovisual work;

obtaining a genre of the digital audio media items; and

inferentially selecting one or more design animation modules of a plurality of design animation modules to use to generate an audiovisual work, based at least in part upon all of (a), (b), (c), the preferred style, and the genre.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the audiovisual work comprises layering at least two of the selected design animation modules.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of design animation modules is generated using design animation software.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of design animation modules is generated using Blender design animation software.

24. The method of claim 1,

wherein one or more of the selected design animation modules comprise one or more digital visual media item placeholders;

wherein each placeholder of the one or more digital visual media item placeholders accepts a range of digital visual media items;

wherein the selected design animation modules that comprise the digital visual media item placeholders comprise one or more particular metadata values, each particular metadata value corresponding to one digital visual media item placeholder of the one or more digital visual media item placeholders;

wherein each particular metadata value of the one or more particular metadata values indicates a range of digital visual media items that the corresponding digital visual media item placeholder accepts;

wherein the method further comprises;

obtaining the one or more particular metadata values from the design animation modules that comprise the digital visual media item placeholders; and

inferentially selecting, from among the plurality of design animation modules, the design animation modules that comprise the digital visual media item placeholders to use to create the overall audiovisual work, based at least in part upon a comparison, for each of the received digital visual media items, between a detected visual characteristic of the each received digital visual media item and one of the particular metadata values.

25. The method of claim 24:

wherein each of the digital visual media items is a digital image;

wherein each particular metadata value of the one or more particular metadata values indicates an image orientation of digital visual media items that the corresponding digital visual media item placeholder accepts;

wherein the method further comprises inferentially selecting, from among the plurality of design animation modules, the design animation modules that comprise the digital visual media item placeholders to use to create the overall audiovisual work, based at least in part upon a comparison, for each of the received digital visual media items, between a detected image orientation of the each received digital visual media item and one of the particular metadata values.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one selected design animation module comprises a specification of an animation scene.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one selected design animation module comprises one or more digital visual media item placeholders that according to the at least one selected design animation module are animated in an animation scene.

28. The method of claim 28, wherein generating the audiovisual work comprises replacing the one or more digital visual media item placeholders with one or more of the digital visual media items such that according to the at least one selected design animation module the one or more digital visual media items are animated in the animated scene instead of the one or more digital visual media item placeholders.

29. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of a method for automatically generating an audiovisual work comprising:

inferentially selecting one or more design animation modules of a plurality of design animation modules to use to generate an audiovisual work based at least in part upon all of;

(a) one or more detected visual characteristics of at least one of one or more digital visual media items,

(b) one or more detected audio characteristics of at least one of one or more digital audio media items, and

(c) one or more metadata values of one or more attributes obtained from at least one of the plurality of design animation modules;

wherein each design animation module of the plurality of design animation modules is an independent interchangeable unit that can be combined with other design animation modules of the plurality of design animation modules to form different audiovisual works; and

generating the audiovisual work using the one or more selected design animation modules, the one or more digital visual media items, and the one or more digital audio media items.

30. A system for interfacing with an online service for automatically generating audiovisual works, comprising:

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing downloadable instructions which, when downloaded and executed by a computing device, allow a user of the computing device to;

provide the online service an indication of one or more digital visual media items,

provide the online service an indication of one or more digital audio media items, and

request the online service to generate an audiovisual work based on the one or more digital visual items and the one or more digital audio media items; and

wherein the online service responsive to receiving a request from the computing device to generate the audiovisual work is configured to;

inferentially select one or more design animation modules of a plurality of design animation modules to use to generate the audiovisual work based at least in part upon all of;

(a) one or more detected visual characteristics of at least one of the one or more digital visual media items,

(b) one or more detected audio characteristics of at least one of the one or more digital audio media items, and

(c) one or more metadata values of one or more attributes obtained from at least one of the plurality of design animation modules,

wherein each design animation module of the plurality of design animation modules is an independent interchangeable unit that can be combined with other design animation modules of the plurality of design animation modules to form different audiovisual works, and

generate the audiovisual work using the one or more selected design animation modules, the one or more digital visual media items, and the one or more digital audio media items.