Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-11
2001-08-07
Nguyen, Huy (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272279
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a moving image editing apparatus used for producing programs such as television broadcasting programs and video programs and more particularly, to an editing method of a moving image editing apparatus which is (are) suitable for editing image information to which special effect processing of moving image information is applied.
Higher functions have been achieved rapidly in recent years in production equipment for producing television broadcasting programs and video programs by using computers.
To produce a program, it has been a customary practice to employ an image editing method which uses a video tape recorder and repeats fast-forward and rewinding operations of a tape by referring to a tape address counter so as to edit image information. To replace this method, an image editing method using a moving image editing apparatus for editing image information by reading out digital image information stored once in a random access storage device, which is easy to use, can easily store data and is economical, such as a hard disk and an optical disk, has been used in most cases.
When editing is made by using such an editing apparatus, it is one of the indispensable editing works for producing a program to apply a special effect processing to a certain portion or portions in the moving images in order to enrich the representation effects of the image.
The term “special effect” used hereby includes a freeze effect which continuously outputs the image of one frame in the moving image in such a manner as to freeze them for a certain period, and a motion effect represented by a variable effect which reproduces more slowly (slow) or more quickly (fast) a certain portion of the moving images than a normal reproduction speed at which images of 30 frames per second are reproduced. The special effect includes further a superimpose effect which is produced by combining a telop with the moving images of a certain portion and effects which connect cuts and scenes of moving images by using connecting methods such as “wipe”, “dissolve”, “fade”, etc, between the cuts as moving image information corresponding to a series of image contents or between the scenes comprising a plurality of cuts.
Hereinafter, the explanation will be given on the procedures of a processing method when a variable effect processing is applied to moving images in a heretofore known editing apparatus.
The term “variable effect processing” means a processing applied to the moving images which are reproduced at a reproduction speed different from a standard reproduction speed. It will be assumed hereby that the standard reproduction speed is 30 frames per second, for example. When the moving images recorded at 30 frames/sec are reproduced twice an each frame continuously, this reproduction becomes a slow reproduction at a 50% speed. And a high speed reproduction at a 200% speed can be achieved by outputting the moving images recorded at a 30 frame/sec while the odd-numbered or even-numbered frames are being skipped.
FIGS. 2 and 3
depict an original moving image
1101
by the framework image of the picture film. Square frames with reference numerals
0
to
9
represent respectively the frames of the moving image. Reproduction is effected from the frame
0
(frame with frame No.
0
) to the frame
9
(frame with frame No.
9
).
The explanation will be given hereby on the editing work for obtaining 50% slow reproduction images from a part of this moving image
1101
.
It will be assumed that a variable effect for setting the reproduction speed to 50% of the normal speed is applied to three frame image portions from the time code (time code corresponding to the frame number) “
3
” to the time code “
5
” of the original image material
1101
. As a result, a new image material
1103
, that is, the image information in which each of the three frame images described above continues twice, is registered as a new cut to an image editing apparatus, as shown in
FIG. 2. A
new contracted image information corresponding to the image material
1103
registered in this manner is stored in a memory and its contracted image is displayed on a screen.
FIG. 5
shows an example of an operation screen display in a monitor of the image editing apparatus. On the screen are displayed a material window
201
for tabulating and displaying a contracted moving image corresponding to each image material (image information for each cut) registered to the image editing apparatus, a pop-up monitor window
202
for selecting and designating the image displaying and the special effect processing and a time line window
203
for aligning a plurality of image materials in association with one another in a predetermined sequence.
Here, the contracted images
301
as the representative images of the image materials registered at the start of editing process are displayed in the material window
201
. A text of the name, title, etc, of each image material is displayed below and near the display position of the contracted images
301
.
The contracted image or images corresponding to those image materials which are desired to be used for the program are selected from the material window
201
by an external input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, and so forth. The pop-up monitor window
202
such as the one shown in
FIG. 6
is displayed on the monitor and the image of the selected image material is displayed in a moving monitor area
407
of the pop-up monitor window
202
.
An IN-point button
403
and an OUT-point button
404
are selected and designated so as to select the image range, to which the special effect processing is applied, from among the image materials. When the IN-point button
403
is selected and designated, an instruction is given so as to position as IN-point mark
402
to a position corresponding to the start point of the image range on a position control bar
401
. Next, when an OUT-point button
404
is selected and designated, an instruction is given so as to position an OUT-point mark
405
to a position corresponding to the end point of the image range on the position control bar
401
.
When the kind of the special effect applied to the selected range described above is the variable effect (motion effect), a motion effect button
406
on the pop-up monitor window
202
is selected and designated, so that a motion effect setting panel shown in
FIG. 7
is displayed. In this motion effect setting panel, the reproduction speed is set at a ratio of the reproduction speed after setting to the normal reproduction speed by the mouse or the keyboard operating by using a reproduction speed set dialog box
601
. In the example shown in
FIG. 7
, the ratio is set and inputted to 75.00%. A duration length (the length associated with the number of frames and the time length) is also set by using a duration length set dialog box
602
. In the example shown in
FIG. 7
, the length is set and inputted to 351 frames. Alternatively, a frame ratio corresponding to the number of frames appearing per unit time is set by using a frame ratio set dialog box
603
. In the example shown in
FIG. 7
, the frame ratio is set to 22.50 FPS (frames per second). After any one of the set inputs described above is effected, an OK button
604
is selected and designated and designation of the variable effect is completed. In addition, a button
408
for designating special effects other than the variable effect, such as fit-to-fill, strobe motion, freeze frames, etc, is also provided in the pop-up monitor window
202
shown in FIG.
6
.
When editing is executed to designate the reproduction sequence of the cuts of the image material
1103
which are registered afresh and to which the variable effect is applied or other registered image materials, area displays corresponding to each of the cuts are arranged so that the area displays such as an area display
302
of the time line window
203
represented by oblique lines in FIG.
5
and an area display
303
represented by an oblique grid are arranged at predetermined p
Ueda Hirotada
Yokoyama Toshiaki
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Hitachi Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
Nguyen Huy
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