Data structures for a media-editing application

• US 8,954,477 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2011
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Agnoli, Giovanni, Carson, Kenneth M., Angquist, Nils, Demkin, Andrew S., Poole, Shaun M.
• Primary Examiner(s): FILIPCZYK, MARCIN R
• Application Number:
  US13/111,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20120209889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 707/695, 707/740, 707/803, 707/806, 707/999.101, 707/999.102, 707913-915, 715/201, 715/202, 715/723
• US Class Current: 707/803
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/113 Details of archiving lifecycle management in storage systems G06F3/0649; backup systems G06F11/1446
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/70 of video data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/00 Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units program control for peripheral devices G06F13/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4092 Image resolution transcoding, e.g. by using client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/00 Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00822 Selecting or setting a particular reading mode, e.g. from amongst a plurality of modes, simplex or duplex, or high or low resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4172 Progressive encoding, i.e. by decomposition into high and low resolution components
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/212 Selecting different recording or reproducing modes, e.g. high or low resolution, field or frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/42 by switching between different modes of operation using different resolutions or aspect ratios, e.g. switching between interlaced and non-interlaced mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/14 Picture signal circuitry for video frequency region cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/913 Multimedia

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method for defining a data structure for representing a media file imported into a media-editing application. The method defines a reference to an original version of a media file. The method defines references to one or more transcoded versions of the media file. Each of the transcoded versions has a different resolution. The method defines a set of metadata storing information regarding the media file. In some embodiments, the media file includes both audio and video. The method defines a video clip data structure for the media file that references the first data structure and an audio clip data structure for the media file that also references the asset data structure. The method defines a media clip data structure that contains the video clip data structure and the audio clip data structure. The media clip data structure is for editing into a composite video presentation.

Claims

1. A method for defining a data structure for representing a media file imported into a media-editing application, the method comprising:

receiving an import command for adding a media file to a media-editing application from an external device;

upon receipt of the import command, automatically creating a media clip specific to the media file, the media clip comprising a data structure that has a reference to the media file and metadata retrieved from the media file; and

upon generation of a set of transcoded versions of the media file having different resolutions from each other and from the media file, defining additional references automatically in the data structure, each additional reference referring to a different data structure for a different transcoded version of the media file, wherein when the media clip is added to a composite presentation that is being edited by the media-editing application, the media-editing application uses the references defined in the data structure to access the different transcoded versions of the media file during the editing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, upon generation of a set of analysis data files that store analysis data for the media file, defining additional references to additional data structures for the analysis data files in the data structure.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the analysis data comprises color balancing data for images of the media file.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the analysis data comprises shake detection data that comprises (i) data indicating whether the media file comprises images captured by a shaking camera and (ii) data defining how to correct the shake.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the analysis data comprises data indicating a presence of people in images of the media file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transcoded versions of the media file comprise versions of the media file optimized for editing.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure is a first data structure, the method further comprising defining a second data structure for the media clip, the second data structure referencing the first data structure.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second data structures are defined within a third data structure that contains data structures for a plurality of different media files.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the media file comprises both audio and video and the second data structure is for a video clip, the method further comprising defining a third data structure for an audio clip that references the first data structure.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of transcoded versions of the media file comprises a first higher resolution version of the media file and a second lower resolution version of the media file.

11. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one processing unit defines a data structure for representing a media file imported into a media-editing application, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving an import command for adding a media file to a media-editing application from an external device;

automatically creating, upon receipt of the import command, a media clip specific to the media file, the media clip comprising a data structure that has a reference to the media file and metadata retrieved from the media file; and

automatically defining, upon generation of a set of transcoded versions of the media file having different resolutions from each other and from the media file, additional references in the data structure, each additional reference referring to a different data structure for a different transcoded version of the media file, wherein when the media clip is added to a composite presentation that is being edited by the media-editing application, the media-editing application uses the references defined in the data structure to access the different transcoded versions of the media file during the editing.

12. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 11, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for defining, upon generation of a set of analysis data files that store analysis data for the media file, additional references to additional data structures for the analysis data files in the data structure.

13. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the analysis data comprises color balancing data for images of the media file.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the analysis data comprises shake detection data that comprises (i) data indicating whether the media file comprises images captured by a shaking camera and (ii) data defining how to correct the shake.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the analysis data comprises data indicating a presence of people in images of the media file.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 11, wherein the transcoded versions of the media file comprise versions of the media file optimized for editing.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a set of processing units for executing sets of instructions;

a machine-readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one of the processing units defines a data structure for representing a media file imported into a media-editing application, the program comprising sets of instructions for;

receiving an import command for adding a media file to a media-editing application from an external device;

automatically creating, upon receipt of the import command, a media clip specific to the media file, the media clip comprising a data structure that has a reference to the media file and metadata retrieved from the media file; and

automatically defining, upon generation of a set of transcoded versions of the media file having different resolutions from each other and from the media file, additional references in the data structure, each additional reference referring to a different data structure for a different transcoded version of the media file, wherein when the media clip is added to a composite presentation that is being edited by the media-editing application, the media-editing application uses the references defined in the data structure to access the different transcoded versions of the media file during the editing.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set of transcoded versions of the media file comprises different versions of the media file that are suitable for editing.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the set of transcoded versions of the media file comprises at least one of a high resolution version of the media file and a low resolution version of the media file.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein when the media file is encoded in a format suitable for editing, the set of transcoded versions of the media file comprises only the low resolution version of the media file, wherein when the media file is not encoded in a format suitable for editing, the set of transcoded versions of the media file com rises both of the high resolution and low resolution versions of the media file.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for defining, upon generation of a set of analysis data files that store analysis data for the media file, additional references to additional data structures for the analysis data files in the data structure.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set of transcoded versions of the media file comprises a first higher resolution version of the media file and a second lower resolution version of the media file.