Collaborative production asset management

• US 9,070,415 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2014
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qwire Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qwire Holding LLC
• Inventors: Roberts, Leigh B. Jr., Ehrlich, Jonathan Louis, Freiman, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): HARVEY, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US14/335,794
• Publication Number:
  US 20140328571A1
• Time in Patent Office: 347 Days
• Field of Search: 386/278, 386/281, 386/282
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/029 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/323 Time code signal, e.g. on a cue track as SMPTE- or EBU-time code

Abstract

In an approach, a method of spotting music for a motion picture comprises: receiving music editor (MXE) cue related data defining a plurality of cues each having a start timecode value and an end timecode value; based on the MXE data, creating and storing an MXE timecode path, a composer (CMP) timecode path, and a cue sheet timecode path; copying one or more of the MXE cue related data to CMP cues in the CMP timecode path in a CMP spotting dataset; receiving one or more changes to the CMP cues without also modifying the MXE cue related data; applying an editing lock to the CMP cues; auto-populating the CMP cues to cue sheet cues in the cue sheet timecode path; receiving one or more changes to the cue sheet cues without also modifying the CMP cues; finalizing and distributing a cue sheet based on the cue sheet cues; wherein the method is performed by one or more special-purpose computing devices.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a production manager computer, at a time before closing a media production, cue metadata defining a plurality of music cues for the media production, wherein a first part of the cue metadata is received from a first computer and a second part of the cue metadata is received from a second computer that is different than the first computer, wherein the first part of the cue metadata includes a first plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues and the second part of the cue metadata includes a second plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues, wherein the first part of the cue metadata is received by the first computer via a first graphical user interface displayed by the first computer and the second part of the cue metadata is received by the second computer via a second graphical user interface displayed by the second computer;

storing, by the production manager computer, one or more records in a database based on the cue metadata, wherein the database stores both the first plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues and the second plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues;

generating, by the production manager computer, a cue data set based on the one or more records;

causing, by the production manager computer, display of the cue data set;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing the cue metadata to one or more error conditions and, if an error condition of the one or more error conditions is met, displaying a warning that identifies the error condition.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the error condition specifies that a particular value of the cue metadata cannot exceed a particular threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first part of the cue metadata defines a starting time and an ending time of a particular cue of the plurality of cues and the second part of the cue metadata includes information pertaining to one or more assignees of the particular cue.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information pertaining to the one or more assignees includes one or more of:

one or more names of one or more rights holders, one or more societies to which the one or more rights holders belong, or payment information for the one or more rights holders.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the production management computer sending the cue data set to a third party computer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the production management computer generating the cue data set at a time after the media production has closed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the cue metadata specifies at least a starting time and an ending time for each music cue of the plurality of music cues.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the production manager computer preventing modification of the one or more records when the media production is closed.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cue data set includes one or more of:

one or more cue names for the plurality of music cues, one or more cue numbers for the plurality of music cues, a duration of each music cue of the plurality of music cues, usage information for the plurality of music cues, one or more writers of the plurality of music cues, one or more affiliations of each writer of the one or more writers, a percentage share for each writer of the one or more writers, one or more publishers of the plurality of music cues, one or more affiliations of each publisher of the one or more publishers, a percentage share for each publisher of the one or more publishers, character information or story information associated with the plurality of music cues, recording information associated with the plurality of music cues, musicians associated with the plurality of music cues, artists or performers associated with the plurality of music cues, a starting time and a stopping time into the media production of each music cue of the plurality of music cues, ownership information for the plurality of music cues, or licensing information for the plurality of music cues.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform steps comprising:

receiving, by a production manager computer, at a time before closing a media production, cue metadata defining a plurality of music cues for the media production, wherein a first part of the cue metadata is received from a first computer and a second part of the cue metadata is received from a second computer that is different than the first computer, wherein the first part of the cue metadata includes a first plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues and the second part of the cue metadata includes a second plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues, wherein the first part of the cue metadata is received by the first computer via a first graphical user interface displayed by the first computer and the second part of the cue metadata is received by the second computer via a second graphical user interface displayed by the second computer;

storing, by the production manager computer, one or more records in a database based on the cue metadata, wherein the database stores both the first plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues and the second plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues;

generating, by the production manager computer, a cue data set based on the one or more records;

generating, by the production manager computer, a cue data set based on the one or more records;

causing, by the production manager computer, display of the cue data set.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the steps further comprise comparing the cue metadata to one or more error conditions and, if an error condition of the one or more error conditions is met, displaying a warning that identifies the error condition.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein the error condition specifies that a particular value of the cue metadata cannot exceed a particular threshold.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the first part of the cue metadata defines a starting time and an ending time of a particular cue of the plurality of cues and the second part of the cue metadata includes information pertaining to one or more assignees of the particular cue.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the information pertaining to the one or more assignees includes one or more of:

one or more names of one or more rights holders, one or more societies to which the one or more rights holders belong, or payment information for the one or more rights holders.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the steps further comprise the production management computer sending the cue data set to a third party computer.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the steps further comprise the production management computer generating the cue data set at a time after the media production has closed.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the cue metadata specifies at least a starting time and an ending time for each music cue of the plurality of music cues.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, further comprising the production manager computer preventing modification of the one or more records when the media production is closed.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the cue data set includes one or more of:

one or more cue names for the plurality of music cues, one or more cue numbers for the plurality of music cues, a duration of each music cue of the plurality of music cues, usage information for the plurality of music cues, one or more writers of the plurality of music cues, one or more affiliations of each writer of the one or more writers, a percentage share for each writer of the one or more writers, one or more publishers of the plurality of music cues, one or more affiliations of each publisher of the one or more publishers, a percentage share for each publisher of the one or more publishers, character information or story information associated with the plurality of music cues, recording information associated with the plurality of music cues, musicians associated with the plurality of music cues, artists or performers associated with the plurality of music cues, a starting time and a stopping time into the media production of each music cue of the plurality of music cues, ownership information for the plurality of music cues, or licensing information for the plurality of music cues.