JP2006146428A - Device and program for setting edition condition of photo-movie - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce time and labor required for the input of edition conditions to be performed by a customer himself or herself when ordering a photo-movie. <P>SOLUTION: In inputting the edition conditions of a photo-movie, when zoom effects or pan effects for enlarging and displaying a portion of a segmented still image are selected, a segmentation region being the object of the segmentation of the still image is set. The segmentation region is preliminarily designated by a user, and when the face image of a figure is detected in the segmentation region, it is automatically adjusted into the segmentation region having an attractive optimal margin on the basis of the position and size of the face image. When any face image is not detected in the segmentation region, the position and size of the face image is changed by manual adjustment. When performing manual adjustment, the size of the segmentation region is restricted so as to be made larger than the preliminarily decided size. Thus, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the quality of the photo-movie due to the excessive increase of magnifying power. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a photo movie editing condition setting device and an editing condition setting program for setting editing conditions for creating a photo movie to be viewed as a moving image from a still image as a material.

  A photo movie is obtained by converting a still image of a material into a moving image by processing and editing a still image recorded using a digital camera or the like and applying a special effect. This special effect includes an electronic zoom effect that zooms in / out by focusing on a part of a still image, an electronic Pan effect that scrolls the image in a close-up state, and a reduced image that is displayed in a straight line or curved line. There are a moving effect for moving, a rotating effect for rotating an image around a specific point, a distortion effect for giving distortion (skew), a combined effect combining these, and the like.

  In a photo movie, by using these special effects to change the viewpoint of a still image in a pseudo manner, it is possible to produce a specific subject of interest and to express an image dynamically. In addition, multi-screen effects that display multiple images at the same time, animation images, decorative images, visual effects by combining subtitles, and those that display images as a slide show without giving these special effects, such as There are various display forms. In the following description, these special effects are referred to as effects.

  Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1 describe software for creating a photo movie. In these softwares, a photo movie can be created by selecting a still image as a material for the photo movie and then setting editing conditions such as a reproduction order and an effect type. The created photo movie can be viewed on these softwares. Also, if the video of the photo movie is converted into a general-purpose digital video format and recorded on an optical disc such as a DVD, the photo movie can be viewed on a home DVD player or the like without using the above software.

The software described in Non-Patent Document 1 has a manual editing mode in which the user can set editing conditions for all images, and an automatic editing mode in which a photo movie is automatically created simply by selecting an image as a material. It is prepared. In the automatic editing mode, the playback order is determined according to the selection order of the still images, and the effect type of each image is automatically set by the program, so that the operation procedure becomes very simple.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-200843 Digital Stage Co., Ltd. LIFE * with-Photo-Cinema [Search April 6, 2004] Internet <URL: http://www.digitalstage.net/jp/product/life/index.html>

  However, in the above-described automatic editing mode, the effect is not appropriately set based on the content of the image, so when an effect for enlarging an image such as an electronic zoom effect or an electronic panning effect is selected, There is a drawback that it may be difficult to obtain a work desired by the user because the video may ignore a human subject. Also, when trying to avoid such a situation using the conventional manual editing mode, the user details the position and size of the clipping region that determines the specific part of the still image that is clipped to enlarge the image. In order to display the person of each image in a balanced manner on the screen, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time and effort. Further, since not only a person but also a landscape, a building, or the like may be a subject of attention, there is a problem that a great deal of labor is required for editing in order to obtain a work desired by the user.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and the manual editing mode can reduce the labor of editing necessary to display a person's subject in a good-looking manner compared to the conventional one, and can be used for landscapes and buildings. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photo movie editing condition setting device and an editing condition setting program that can make a subject other than a person such as a subject of interest and easily create a work desired by a user.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention cuts out a part of a still image, applies a processing and editing process to the still image, and creates a photo movie using the still image as a material. In a photo movie editing condition setting device for setting a clipping region to be clipped as a photo movie editing condition, face image detection means for detecting a human face image from the still image and a display screen of a display Cutout area designating means for designating the cutout area on the still image, face image determining means for judging whether or not the face image exists in the cutout area, and the face image in the cutout area Clipping region adjusting means for adjusting the clipping region based on at least one of the position and size of the face image in the clipping region when Characterized by comprising.

  The cutout area specifying means defines a cutout area having a predetermined size with the specified point as a base point by specifying one arbitrary point on the still image.

  The face image detection means detects the face image from an image in the cutout region.

  When the image in the cutout area is enlarged and displayed, when the number of pixels in the cutout area is smaller than a predetermined reference value, the size of the cutout area is larger than the reference value. It is characterized by comprising a pixel number adjusting means for adjusting the number of pixels.

  An area adjustment selection unit is provided for selecting whether or not to adjust the cutout area by the cutout area adjustment unit.

  The image processing apparatus includes a first image quality correction unit that performs image quality correction processing on the still image from which the face image is detected by the face image detection unit.

  Image reading means for reading image data of the still image from a storage medium, and second image quality correction means for performing image quality correction processing on the read image data before setting the editing conditions And

  The editing condition setting program of the present invention cuts out a part of the still image when a part of the still image is cut out and processed and edited to create a photo movie using the still image as a material. A process for setting a target cut-out area as an editing condition of the photo movie is executed by a computer, and is displayed on a display screen of a face image detecting means for detecting a human face image from the still image. Cutout area designating means for designating the cutout area on the still image, face image determining means for judging whether or not the face image exists in the cutout area, and the face image in the cutout area A cutout region adjusting hand that adjusts the cutout region based on at least one of the position and size of the face image in the cutout region And characterized by causing a computer to function as a.

  According to the present invention, when editing conditions related to an effect that requires setting of a clipping region, such as an electronic zoom effect and an electronic panning effect with an enlarged image display, are set in the clipping region specified by the user. Determining whether or not a face image of a person detected from a still image exists, and if it is determined that a face image exists in the cutout region, based on at least one of the position or size of the face image Since the cutout area is adjusted, the optimum cutout area focused on the person can be easily set, and a photo movie can be obtained in which the face of the person looks good and is stored on the screen. In addition, it is possible to set a cutout region that focuses on a part of the landscape or background, and obtain a photo movie that reflects many of the user's intentions.

  In addition, when the user performs an operation of specifying a cutout area, a cutout area having a predetermined size with the specified point as a base point is defined by specifying any one point on the still image. It is easy to specify the clipping area.

  In addition, since the cutout area is specified on the still image displayed on the screen and the face image is detected from the image in the cutout area, the face image is compared with the case of detecting the face image from the entire still image. The time required for detection can be shortened.

  In addition, since the clipping region with the number of pixels below the predetermined reference value cannot be specified, the magnification at which the image in the clipping region is enlarged does not become extremely large when an excessively small clipping region is specified. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the quality of the photo movie from being deteriorated due to the deterioration of the image quality that makes the displayed image coarse.

  In addition, since it is now possible to select whether to enable or disable adjustment of the cutout area, even if a face image is detected from an image in the cutout area, a cutout area in which the person and the background are stored in a balanced manner It can be set, and a photo movie reflecting more user's intentions can be obtained.

  By performing image quality correction processing on the still image from which the face image is detected, it is possible to reduce the deterioration of the quality of the photo movie due to the roughness of the image when the face image is enlarged and displayed.

  By performing image quality correction processing on all the still images read from the storage medium, it is possible to improve the accuracy of face image detection and to know the quality of the photo movie when setting the editing conditions.

  In FIG. 1, a photo movie order receiving system 10 includes an order receiving machine 11 and a photo movie output machine 12. The order reception device 11 and the photo movie output device 12 are installed in the same store such as the DPE store, and are connected to each other through a local network (LAN) of the store. In the case where the order receiving machine 11 is installed at a remote location with respect to the photo movie output machine 12, both may be communicably connected via the Internet.

  The order receiving machine 11 includes an input operation unit 15 for a customer to input order details and a display unit 16 for displaying the order details. The input operation unit 15 includes a touch panel provided integrally with the display screen of the display unit 16, and input processing is performed by touching a position of a selection key or the like displayed on the screen. The media reading unit 17 reads image data from a storage medium brought by the customer, and can read data from the memory card 18 and a CD or DVD optical disk 19. The memory card 18 is detachable from the digital camera, and is used for storing captured images. The optical disk 19 is a large-capacity storage medium in which image data stored in a personal computer or the like is copied and can store more photographed images than the memory card 18.

  The communication unit 21 transmits and receives data between the order receiving machine 11 and the photo movie output machine 12. The receipt output unit 22 issues a receipt 23 that serves as an exchange certificate when the customer receives the product. The receipt 23 is printed with identification information for identifying the order contents of the customer. In this identification information, the order number, the identification code of the accepting machine that accepted the order, the delivery date and time of the product, information indicating the delivery store, etc. are recorded in bar code and characters, respectively.

  The control unit 25 and the editing condition setting unit 26 cause the microprocessor to execute an operating system stored in a storage device built in the order receiving machine 11 and an editing condition setting program for setting photo movie editing conditions. Realized. This storage device is constituted by, for example, a hard disk storage device (HDD) or a memory unit including a large number of memory chips. The control unit 25 controls the hardware such as the media reading unit 17 and the communication unit 21 and manages the operation of each unit according to the operation performed by the input operation unit 15.

  The editing condition setting unit 26 performs processing for setting editing conditions such as the presence / absence of an effect and the type of each still image used for the photo movie by a customer's input operation or the like. The editing condition setting unit 26 includes an automatic editing mode in which effects of all still images are automatically determined according to a prepared scenario template, and a manual editing mode in which effects are set for each image by a customer's manual setting. Have. There are several types of scenario templates for the automatic editing mode for different themes such as seasons and annual events. Templates for travel, templates for weddings and graduations, New Year, Hinamatsuri, Tanabata, Christmas There are templates. The type of decoration image to be combined with the photographed image and the effect that can be easily selected are different for each template.

  The preview moving image output unit 28 outputs a preview photo movie to which an effect is applied in the same manner as a photo movie actually created based on the editing conditions set by the editing condition setting unit 26. The preview moving image output unit 28 generates a low resolution image in which the number of pixels of the captured image read from the memory card 18 or the optical disk 19 is reduced, and creates a preview photo movie from the low resolution image. By using the low-resolution image, the load on the microprocessor required to generate and display the preview photo movie is reduced. The preview photo movie is displayed on the display unit 16, and the quality of the finished product is transmitted to the customer.

  The editing condition setting unit 26 includes a scenario data generation unit 29, a cutout region setting unit 30, and a face image detection unit 31. The scenario data generation unit 29 creates scenario data incorporating editing conditions in which the image playback order, the presence / absence of the effect of each image, and the type thereof are specified. The scenario data is configured by associating the effect type and its detailed setting contents with the file name of the image data. The scenario data is transmitted to the photo movie output machine 12 together with still image data as part of the order information.

  The cutout area setting unit 30 sets a cutout area for cutting out a part of a still image and adding a special effect. This cropping area is displayed by zooming in and out, focusing on a part of the still image, a panning effect that scrolls the image in a close-up state, and darkened by excluding part of the still image. This is an effect parameter used when it is desired to produce a subject of interest in a still image, such as a spotlight effect that produces an effect as if a spotlight is applied to an image.

  For example, the zoom effect displays a still image by changing the magnification between a display range determined by a cutout region from a state where the entire still image is reduced or displayed at the same magnification. That is, the cut-out area defines a display range at the end of zoom-in and a display range at the start of zoom-out. In addition, in the Pann effect, an extraction range of an image to be closed up at the start and end of Pann is determined, and in the spotlight effect, a brightly displayed region is determined. In the zoom effect and pann effect, a rectangular cutout area with a fixed aspect ratio is set based on the aspect ratio of the screen of the display device that plays and displays the photo movie. In the spotlight effect and other effects, the shape of the cutout area is set. Other shapes such as a circle can be specified. In the zoom effect, one clipping region is set, and in the panning effect, a plurality of clipping regions are set. These cutout areas are displayed on the screen of the display unit 16 as a cutout frame F11 (see FIG. 4).

  The face image detection unit 31 detects a face image of a person present in a still image. When a face image is detected, a range for detecting the face image is designated by the cutout area, and the face image in the cutout area is detected. In the face image detection process, the skin color is identified based on the color information for each pixel of the still image, and the face image is identified based on the presence or absence of pupils, eyebrows, and hair. Further, the contours of the face and head are identified based on the arrangement pattern of skin-colored pixels indicating the skin of the face and black pixels indicating the hair, eyebrows, and pupils, the luminance difference from the background, and the like, and the shape is specified. .

  In the cutout area setting unit 30, a cutout that optimizes the left and right margins of the face image based on the detected face image so that the face of the person detected by the face image detection unit 31 is displayed with good appearance. The recommended margin data for defining the area is stored. Since the optimum margin varies depending on various shooting scenes, the recommended margin data is, for example, the number of detected face images (when the still image of the material is a horizontally long image and a vertically long image ( Numbers classified according to feature information such as the number of persons), the positional relationship of each face, and the ratio of the face image to the entire still image are prepared in advance.

  The cutout area setting unit 30 adjusts the position and size of the cutout area based on the feature information of the face image detected by the face image detection unit 31, and does not adjust the specified cutout area, There are two types of operation modes, a manual adjustment mode that reflects input operations as they are. The automatic adjustment mode and the manual adjustment mode are switched depending on whether or not a face image exists in the specified cutout area. If a face image exists in the cutout area, the mode shifts to the automatic adjustment mode and the face image exists. If not, shift to manual adjustment mode.

  In addition, if a predetermined input operation is performed, the automatic adjustment mode can be forcibly shifted to the manual adjustment mode. After a face image is detected from the cutout area, depending on the suitability of the cutout area determined by the customer, Can be changed to a clipping region that can be freely specified. In the manual adjustment mode, the minimum size of the designated cutout area is limited, and the lower limit of the number of pixels included in the cutout area is set as the reference value. This prevents an excessively small cutout area from being designated.

  The image quality correction unit 32 performs image quality correction processing such as color tone correction on the image data. The image quality correction process includes a set-up correction process that is uniformly performed on all the image data read from the media reading unit 17 and a high-quality process that is performed when a human face is recognized by the face image detection unit 31. There is. In the setup correction process, basic image quality correction processes such as gray balance adjustment, color tone adjustment for adjusting the tone of skin color pixels, and contrast adjustment are performed on all images. The high-quality processing is performed on a still image in which a human face is present by the face image detection unit 31 like a zoom effect or a pann effect, and distortion or peripheral light reduction due to lens performance at the time of shooting is performed. Image quality correction processing is performed to improve image quality, such as correction, red-eye correction processing, noise reduction processing, sharpness correction, and jaggy reduction processing.

  The photo movie output machine 12 analyzes the scenario data embedded in the order information, the communication unit 35 that receives the order information transmitted from the order receiving machine 11, the order information storage unit 36 that stores the received order information. In addition, a photo movie output unit 37 that outputs a photo movie based on the transmitted image data, and a video movie conversion unit 38 that converts the photo movie video into a video based on a general-purpose digital video format are provided. . As one of the digital moving image formats, the MPEG2-DVD-Video format is adopted so that a photo movie can be viewed as a DVD image.

  The control unit 39 manages a series of flow from order information processing to product finishing by controlling each unit based on an order processing program incorporated in advance. The media recording unit 40 records photomovie data on an optical disc 41 made of a CD or DVD. The label printing unit 42 prints identification information for identifying the order contents and a label image indicating the contents of the photo movie on the surface of the optical disc 41.

  Next, the operation of the photo movie order receiving system 10 will be described. In FIG. 2, when the storage medium of the memory card 18 or the optical disc 19 storing still image data is set in the media reading unit 17 of the order receiving machine 11, the control unit 39 detects the set storage medium. Then, reading of the image data is started.

  When the image data is copied from the storage medium, the image quality correction unit 32 performs setup correction processing on all the image data. Also, thumbnail images are generated from the image data that has undergone the setup correction process, and the thumbnail images are displayed as a list on the display unit 16. An image to be used as a photo movie material can be selected with reference to the displayed thumbnail image, and an operation of determining whether to use all images or a part of images is performed.

  When the selection of the image is completed, an operation for selecting either an automatic edit mode for automatically creating a photo movie using the selected image or a manual edit mode for allowing the customer to select a playback order, an effect type or the like is performed. The When the automatic editing mode is selected, the editing condition setting unit 26 determines the playback order in the order in which thumbnail images are arranged, and determines the presence / absence and type of effect for each image. At this time, scenario templates prepared in advance according to themes such as annual events and seasons can be selected.

  In the manual editing mode, the customer himself / herself sets editing conditions such as the playback order of images, the presence / absence of effects of each image, the type of effect, and detailed settings indicating how to apply the effect. In a state where thumbnail images of the read images are displayed as a list on the display unit 16, it is possible to determine the reproduction order of the images by changing the arrangement order of the images on the screen of the display unit 16 via the input operation unit 15. it can. Further, when an item designating that an effect is to be applied to a predetermined image is selected, the process proceeds to a step for performing detailed setting of the effect.

  The effects include zoom effects, effects with enlarged display such as pan effects, spotlight effects that darken the image except for a portion of the still image, and a straight line from the edge of the screen A move effect that moves in a curved line, a fade-in effect that gradually turns the previously displayed still image transparent and gradually darkens the next image displayed, a composite effect that combines decorative images and subtitles, etc. Many types of composite effects are available. In the following description, the case where the Pann effect is selected will be described as an example.

  In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when the pan effect is selected, the process proceeds to a step of designating the base point of the pan operation. In the Pann effect, a cutout region that is a start point indicating a Pann start position and an end point indicating an end position is specified as a base point of the Pan operation, and a relay point between the start point and the end point can be specified as necessary. As shown in FIG. 4B, on the screen of the display unit 16, an edit window W1 that displays a still image in which an effect is designated, a preview window W2 that displays an image cut out by the cutout area, and the details of the effect A setting window W3 for setting is displayed. When designating the base point of the panning operation, the person's face is designated on the screen of the editing window W1.

  In the editing window W1, for example, an image in which a subject A1 of a person and a subject A2, a subject A3 of a landscape are captured is displayed as an editing target image for which a panning effect is designated. The setting window W3 displays setting keys K1, K2, and K3 for designating the start point, end point, and relay point of the panning operation. Further, in the automatic adjustment mode, when the manual adjustment key K4 for forcibly switching to the manual adjustment mode and the face of a person that cannot be detected by the face image detection unit 31 are designated, the face image is detected as a face image. A recognition key K5 to be recognized by the unit 31 is displayed. In order to designate the starting point of the panning operation, the setting key K1 is operated. On the screen of the display unit 16, a message prompting the user to specify a point on the editing window W1 is displayed.

  When the start point of the panning operation is designated, if the customer desires to close up the face of the subject A1, the position of the face of the subject A1 is designated. In the editing window W1, as shown in FIG. 4B, a mark M1 indicating the designated coordinates is displayed, and a cutout area having a predetermined size and having a rectangular shape centered on the mark M1 is displayed by the cutout frame F11. Is displayed. Note that the size and shape of the cutout area, that is, the cutout frame F11 is determined by the initial setting, but can be changed.

  The face image detection unit 31 performs face detection processing inside the cutout frame F11. The face of the subject A1 is detected from the cutout area by the face detection process. In addition, the face outline of the subject A1 is specified, and the recognition range of the face image is highlighted based on the specified outline. It is specified that the number of people included in the cutout frame F11 is one from the number of detected face images. The cutout area setting unit 30 refers to the recommended margin data based on the position and size of the face of the subject A1, and calculates the optimum position and size of the cutout area. The cutout frame F11 is adjusted to the optimized cutout frame F12. The center of the cutout frame F12 is the same as the center C1 of the face recognition range. In the preview window W2, an image cut out by the cutout frame F12 is displayed. Thus, the cutout area is determined, and the setting of the start point of the panning operation is completed.

  In FIG. 5, the end point of the panning operation is set next. When the customer desires to close up the face of the subject A2, the position of the face of the subject A2 is designated. In the editing window W1, as shown in FIG. 5B, a mark M2 indicating the designated coordinates is displayed, and a cutout area having a predetermined size centered on the mark M2 is displayed by a cutout frame F21. The face image detection unit 31 performs face detection processing for the cutout frame F21. However, since the subject A2 is shown as a profile, the facial features are insufficient, and the face image of the subject A2 cannot be detected. Therefore, the cutout area setting unit 30 determines that no face exists inside the cutout frame F21, and displays the cutout frame F21 with a double line. At this time, the recognition key K5 blinks and a message prompting the user to redo the face image detection is displayed. The customer can understand that the detection of the face image has failed because the cutout frame F21 is displayed with a double line and the recognition key K5 blinks.

  Therefore, the recognition key K5 is operated to redo the human face detection. When the recognition key K5 is operated, a message prompting the user to specify the face position is displayed. The customer designates the position of the face of the subject A2 according to the message, and the designated coordinates are displayed by the mark M3. The face image detection unit 31 detects the skin color pixels distributed around the mark M3 indicating the designated coordinates, regards the area where the skin color pixels are gathered as a face, and specifies the contours of the face and the head. As a result, the face image of the subject A2 is forcibly recognized, and the range estimated as the face image is highlighted. The cutout area setting unit 30 refers to the recommended margin data based on the position and size of the face of the subject A2, and calculates the optimum position and size of the cutout area. The cutout frame F21 is updated as the adjusted cutout frame F22. The center of the cutout frame F22 is the same as the center C2 of the face recognition range. In the preview window W2, an image cut out by the cutout frame F22 is displayed. The cutout area is determined in this way, and the setting of the end point of the panning operation is completed.

  In FIG. 6, when an operation for designating coordinates on the subject A3, which is the background of a mountain, is performed as a relay point for the Pann effect, a clipping frame F31 is displayed together with a mark M4 indicating the coordinates. The face image detection unit 31 performs face image detection processing from the cutout area defined by the cutout frame F31. However, since the face image cannot be found from the subject A3 that is the background of the mountain, the face image detection unit 31 detects the face image. I can't. The cutout area setting unit 30 displays the cutout frame F31 with a double line. At this time, the manual adjustment key K4 is lit to notify that the manual adjustment mode is in effect. The recognition key K5 blinks and a message prompting the user to redo the face image detection is displayed. Note that even if the recognition key K5 is operated to input specific coordinates of the subject A3, the face image cannot be detected, and the cutout frame F31 remains displayed as a double line.

  A restriction frame RF1 for restricting the size of the cutout frame F31 is displayed inside the cutout frame F31. Although the position and size of the cutout frame F31 can be changed by an operation on the screen, the cutout frame F31 cannot be changed to be smaller than the restriction frame RF1, and the minimum size of the cutout frame F31 is limited. The restriction frame RF1 serves to prevent deterioration in image quality due to the image in the cutout frame F31 being enlarged and displayed at an excessively large magnification. When the cutout frame F31 is manually adjusted and the position and size are determined, an operation for confirming this is performed.

  In this way, the clipping frames F12, 22, 31 are determined for the start point, the end point, and the relay point of the pann effect, and when the detailed setting of the pann effect is completed, the image for which the pann effect is designated by the image quality correction unit 32 is determined. High quality processing is performed. The high-quality processing reduces the deterioration in image quality that occurs when the subjects A1, A2, and A3 are enlarged and displayed, and prevents the quality of the photo movie from being impaired. In the setup correction process and the high-quality process, image quality adjustment suitable for enhancing the appearance of a person is performed. Therefore, for a non-person subject such as the subject A3, when setting a clipping region, etc. Color tone correction or the like may be performed separately.

  In FIG. 7, the photo movie in which the base point of the Pann effect is set as described above starts with an image in which the face of the subject A1 is close-up, and the screen moves on the screen from the subject A1 toward the subject A3. Realistic Pann is reproduced. Further, when the subject A3 is closed up, the screen moves toward the subject A2, and the process shifts to a video in which the profile of the subject A2 is closed up, and the process ends. In the Pann effect, an image cut out by the cutout frame F12 and the like is enlarged and displayed on the entire screen. Therefore, if the cutout frame F12 and the like are reduced, the enlargement magnification is increased accordingly, and if the cutout frame F12 is large, the enlargement is performed. The magnification is reduced. Further, since at least two cutout areas of the start and end points of the panning operation are designated, for example, if the sizes of the cutout frames F12, F22, and F31 are different, the enlargement magnification changes during the panning operation.

  In FIG. 2, the presence / absence of an effect and the type thereof are set for other images, and when the input of all editing conditions is completed, a preview photo movie is created by the preview moving image output unit 28. The preview photo movie is displayed on the display unit 16 and confirmed by the customer. If there is no need to change the editing conditions, an operation for moving to the next step is performed, and the flow shifts to a step for inputting personal information such as name and address. When these input processes are completed, the scenario data generation unit 29 creates scenario data in which all editing conditions are recorded. Further, the control unit 25 creates order information in which scenario data, image data, customer personal information, identification information for identifying order contents, and the like are collected, and the order information is transmitted to the photo movie output machine via the communication unit 21. 12 to send.

  When the transmission of the order information is completed, the control unit 39 operates the receipt output unit 22. When the receipt output unit 22 issues a receipt 23 on which the order content identification information is printed, the order receiving process ends.

  The photo movie output machine 12 that has received the order information creates a photo movie based on the scenario data and the image data incorporated in the order information. The created photo movie is converted into video data such as MPEG2-DVD-Video format that can be viewed as a DVD video based on the contents of the order, and this video data is recorded on the optical disk 41 such as a DVD by the media recording unit 40. The optical disc 41 on which the photo movie is recorded is delivered to the customer in exchange for the receipt 23.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, as in the order receiving machine 11 and the photo movie output machine 12, the editing condition input setting and the like. The creation of a photo movie is not limited to being performed by separate devices, but may be performed by a single device. In addition, by distributing an application program equivalent to the function of the order receiving machine 11 and incorporating it into a personal computer owned by the customer, editing condition input settings and photo movie orders can be sent from home via communication means such as the Internet. You may be able to do it.

  In addition, when a plurality of face images are detected by the face image detection unit 31, a step of designating a face image serving as a reference for determining a cutout region is added, so that all or one of the detected face images can be specified. It is preferable to be able to freely specify the part and to set the editing conditions of the photo movie with a simple operation even when a plurality of still images of a shooting scene are used as materials. Further, in addition to detecting a person's face image, it may be possible to detect a whole body image of a person, or a building or terrain such as an animal, a plant, or a tourist attraction.

  In the above embodiment, the input operation unit 15 is configured by a touch panel integrated with the screen of the display unit 16, but may be configured by another input device such as a pointing device. When designating the cutout area, it is not limited to designating the coordinates of one point on the still image as shown in the above embodiment, but by designating two coordinates located on the diagonal of the rectangle, You may make it specify directly. In addition to detecting a human face image after specifying a cutout area, if a human face image is detected from the entire image and the cutout area can be specified, recognition is performed depending on the presence or absence of a face image that is not detected. It is convenient to know immediately whether or not the operation of the key K5 is required.

  In addition, the product form is not limited to data recorded in a video movie format on DVD media. For example, photo movie viewer software is distributed to users, and data in a format that can be played back on a computer on which the viewer software is installed. May be recorded. In addition to images recorded with a digital camera, the still images used as material are extracted from images obtained by scanning printed photographs and photo films with a scanner, and videos obtained by shooting with a video camera, etc. An image of one frame may be used.

It is a schematic block diagram of a photo movie order reception system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of an order reception machine. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of a cut-out area | region setting process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the screen at the time of the start point setting of a pan effect. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the screen at the time of the end point setting of a pan effect. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the screen at the time of the relay point setting of a Pann effect. It is explanatory drawing which shows the transition of the image | video of a photo movie.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Photo movie order reception system 11 Order reception machine 12 Photo movie output machine 15 Input operation part 26 Editing condition setting part 28 Preview moving image output part 29 Scenario data generation part 30 Cutout area setting part 31 Face image detection part 32 Image quality correction part A1, A2, A3 Subject F11, F12, F21, F22, F31 Cutout frame W1 Edit window W2 Preview window W3 Setting window RF1 Restriction frame

Claims (8)

When a part of a still image is cut out and processed and edited to create a photo movie using the still image as a material, the cut-out area to be cut out of the part of the still image is edited in the photo movie. In the photo movie editing condition setting device to be set as a condition,
Face image detecting means for detecting a human face image from the still image;
Clipping area designating means for designating the clipping area on the still image displayed on the display screen of the display;
Face image determination means for determining whether or not the face image exists in the cutout region;
And a cutout area adjusting unit configured to adjust the cutout area based on at least one of a position and a size of the face image in the cutout area when the face image exists in the cutout area. Photo movie editing condition setting device.   The clip region specifying means defines a clip region having a predetermined size with a specified point as a base point by specifying one arbitrary point on the still image. 1. A photo movie editing condition setting device according to 1.   The photo movie editing condition setting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face image detecting unit detects the face image from an image in the cutout region.   When the image in the cutout area is enlarged and displayed, when the number of pixels in the cutout area is smaller than a predetermined reference value, the size of the cutout area is larger than the reference value. 4. The photo movie editing condition setting device according to claim 1, further comprising a pixel number adjusting means for adjusting the number of pixels.   5. The photo movie editing condition according to claim 1, further comprising region adjustment selection means for selecting whether or not to perform adjustment of the cutout area by the cutout area adjustment means. Setting device.   6. The photo movie according to claim 1, further comprising first image quality correction means for performing image quality correction processing on a still image in which a face image is detected by the face image detection means. Editing condition setting device. Image reading means for reading image data of the still image from a storage medium;
7. The photo movie according to claim 1, further comprising second image quality correction means for performing image quality correction processing on the read image data before setting the editing conditions. Editing condition setting device. When a part of a still image is cut out and processed and edited to create a photo movie using the still image as a material, the cut-out area to be cut out of the part of the still image is edited in the photo movie. In a photo movie editing condition setting program that causes a computer to execute processing to be set as a condition,
Face image detecting means for detecting a human face image from the still image;
Clipping area designating means for designating the clipping area on the still image displayed on the display screen of the display;
Face image determination means for determining whether or not the face image exists in the cutout region;
When the face image exists in the cutout area, the computer functions as cutout area adjustment means for adjusting the cutout area based on at least one of the position and the size of the face image in the cutout area. Photo movie editing condition setting program.

Images