JP4353483B2 - Digital content production system - Google Patents

Description

The technical field of the present invention is a mechanism for continuously and efficiently generating digital video files that can be handled on a computer from video and audio input signals from analog / digital device devices that handle video and audio in real time. as well as referring to, such as the distribution technology of digital video is related basis and such Lud digital content production system.

  In recent years, it has been influenced by the “eJapan Strategy” formulated by the Japanese government, and waves of IT have rushed in various directions. “Education of IT” is being promoted in educational institutions and in-house training, etc., and it is generally known as “e-learning” and is widely used in classes and training called content. In addition, a mechanism has been established for delivering presentation content, organization compliance information, etc. as video content.

  For example, consider the production process of digital content (FIG. 1) in which a moving image and a material to be distributed are linked in the e-learning field. Assuming that the production target is a “general lesson at school”, the explanation material provided by the instructor (Fig. 2) and the explanation by the instructor using the material are assumed in the lesson. The

  In the conventional method, first, a video device or the like is used to shoot a video of a lecturer's explanation or a class scene to be photographed. At the same time, the instructor who has set the shooting start time as 0 minutes records the time timing when the display of the explanatory material is switched (FIG. 3). At this time, the staff involved in shooting needs to stay on the spot from the beginning to the end of shooting in order to record, and can not forget or mistakenly record the switching timing.

  Next, when shooting is finished, the video taken from the video device is taken into a personal computer as a digital video file via IEEE 1394 or USB (FIG. 4). This video capturing operation requires a time equivalent to or longer than the time required for shooting when capturing video from a video tape. For example, if a 60-minute class is taken, it takes more than 60 minutes to capture the video. The captured video file is generated as one video file regardless of the number of explanatory materials used in the class.

  Then, using video editing software that supports the imported video file format (generally AVI file), video corresponding to each of the presenter's explanatory materials according to the switching timing recorded in FIG. In order to generate a file, visual confirmation of the switching timing based on the video and manual video division editing work are performed (FIG. 5). That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when there are five explanatory materials, one video file must be divided into five video files so as to match the five materials in accordance with the switching timing of A to D. I must.

  Then, after the video division editing work, the digital content as shown in FIG. 1 is produced by the work of combining the divided video files and the corresponding explanatory materials as a set. In the prior art, this combination work is also produced by using a dedicated design software (such as homepage creation software) to manually create a digital content set (FIG. 6).

  In addition, when considering the scenario structure of digital content that includes video and materials as a set, in general, as shown in Fig. 2, the "straight line" scenario structure and the chapter table, section, A “hierarchical” scenario structure composed of terms can be considered (FIG. 7).

  At this time, the physical arrangement information of the video file and the explanation material file is handled in the digital content, and the actual physical arrangement position of the digital content on the computer is also affected.

  In other words, in order to clarify the scenario configuration, it becomes necessary to match the arrangement information of the video and material embedded in the digital content with the configuration of the actual arrangement position. When constructing such a configuration, in the conventional method, an arrangement of physical files, folders, and the like is also formed manually, and location information of each file referred to by digital contents is described according to the arrangement configuration. It will be.

  In the conventional technology, when producing digital content mainly composed of video, it is necessary for the shooting staff, which is different from the instructor, to record the instruction material switching timing of the instructor manually at the same time as the video recording from the beginning. There are some points to pay attention to, such as time constraints of staff and prevention of recording errors.

  Also, during the editing phase, the captured video is captured on a computer that is to be edited after shooting, and is manually adjusted to match the slide switching timing recorded at the time of shooting using video editing software that matches the video file format. Edit video with. As described above, it is necessary to manually generate digital video files one by one and perform video editing work, and there is a current situation in which an increase in time cost for capturing and editing is inevitable.

  In addition, in the structure construction phase, a “scenario structure with educational significance” is constructed based on the explanatory materials used by the instructor, and a scenario structure is formed when video and materials are assigned to this structure. For each scenario element, it is necessary to perform a structure editing operation in which a set of digital video files and materials generated by the above-described editing operation is assigned manually one by one.

  Considering the above situation, digital content producers must always play a role of timekeeper to record the switching timing during shooting, and also use or use multiple video editing software You will be forced to perform advanced video editing tasks such as memorizing complicated operation methods of the software to be used, and collating the video part linked with the instructor's explanation material on the software, and all to the manual scenario hierarchy structure It is necessary to assign video / material files. As described above, the overall work load in the digital content production process is very large, which results in an increase in time and money costs and a situation in which the content cannot be provided promptly.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, in order to reduce the overall work load in the digital content production process, to reduce time and money costs, and to provide content quickly. of, for example, there is provided a digital content production system, such as WEB distribution type content.

  The gist of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In a digital content production system for producing a digital content group with a hierarchical structure, a video data file composed of lecture videos photographed by photographing means for photographing a lecture and an explanatory material slide comprising a plurality of pages for explaining the lecture When the lecturer photographs the lecture by the photographing unit according to the page order of the explanatory material slide data in a state where any one of the explanatory material slide data is selected and the recording unit for recording the explanatory material data file including the data In response to the switching operation for switching the document slide data to a different page, the lecture video displayed in the explanatory material slide data displayed immediately before the explanatory material slide data displayed immediately before the switching by the switching operation is displayed. Each video data file consisting of Video data file identification information and video data file association means for recording the video data file in the recording means, and the explanation material slide data switched by the switching operation has already been used during the lecture. Switching operation identification means for recording in the recording means switching operation identification information for identifying whether the recording material is not yet used, each explanation material slide data, and each video data in each explanation material slide data Digital content set generation means for generating digital content sets for displaying the video data files associated with each other by file identification information on one screen and recording the digital content sets in a predetermined hierarchical structure on the recording means. The set generation means is configured such that the switching operation identification information is the lecture When recording a digital content set that includes the explanation material slide data that has already been used, the digital content set that includes the explanation material slide data in which the previous switching operation identification information has not been used yet The digital content production system is characterized in that a digital content set is recorded in a predetermined hierarchical structure by sequentially recording in the same hierarchy .

Also, an editing screen is displayed which includes a structure editing area for displaying the hierarchical structure of the explanation data data file in an editable state and a preview area for displaying one page of the explanation data slide data selected in the structure editing area. The digital content production system according to claim 1, further comprising an edit screen display means.

The digital content production system according to any one of claims 1 and 2 , wherein photographing means for generating a video data file from a digital or analog input stream signal is used.

  Since the present invention has been described above, for example, a digital video file and an explanation material file linked to the material after the explanation is automatically generated in a format corresponding to a hierarchical structure (scenario hierarchical structure). It is possible to produce digital contents without requiring video editing work and structural editing work.

  As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the work time in digital content production, and it is possible to greatly improve work efficiency and cost in digital content production and to provide content quickly.

  Embodiments of the present invention that are considered suitable (how to carry out the invention) will be briefly described with reference to the drawings, illustrating the operation of the present invention.

When a digital content set is produced by combining video data files consisting of lecture videos taken by shooting means and explanation data slide data, the video data file linked to the explanation materials is automatically created by the video data file association means. And the digital content set generating means can generate a digital content set for displaying the explanatory material and the video data file on one screen by using the digital content set generating means, and the digital content set generating means Digital content that can be recorded in a predetermined hierarchical structure according to a predetermined rule using the switching operation identification information, and does not require video editing work and structural editing work (or minimum structural editing work) after shooting by the shooting means. Can be produced.

  Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  For example, in the case of shooting a general lesson at school, WEB distribution type content is produced as an example. The teacher who conducts the lesson is called “user” here. Note that the screen of the video production program used in the detailed description of the present embodiment is a presentation example simplified for explaining the present embodiment, and there is a possibility that these screens may be expanded and used. Need to be considered.

  FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are overall configuration diagrams of the system assuming this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment includes a processing computer for performing video processing and content generation, and the processing computer has a video input device such as a video device and a microphone according to the connection form shown in FIG. Voice input devices such as can be connected. A video / audio signal is input through a device connected to the processing computer. The processing computer can store the input video / audio signal in a desired digital video format such as AVI format, and further searches the video / audio compression filter registered on the computer and applies the corresponding compression. By passing the filter, it is also possible to save it as a digital video file having a smaller data amount.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a content production program using this embodiment is installed in the processing computer. By operating this content production program, it is possible to generate a real-time digital video file in conjunction with shooting based on the input signal from the video / audio device described above.

  The content production program is started in the processing computer, and the instructional material (explanation material data file) actually used in the class is specified and imported through the explanatory material acquisition screen as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, there is a designated area for explanatory material to be captured on the screen, and a “reference” button and a “capture” button are included. When the “Browse” button is clicked, a file specification screen for specifying an import file is displayed. An explanation material (for example, a Microsoft PowerPoint (registered trademark) file) used in the class is designated from the file designation screen.

  When the setting of the explanatory material to be imported on the file designation screen is completed, the information of the explanatory material data file is actually imported to the content production program by clicking the “Import” button, and at the same time the predetermined hard disk existing on the processing computer The explanatory data file specified in the directory location is saved. At the same time, the information of the explanation material data file taken in is stored in the “scenario management file” as shown in FIG. 13 described later together with the scenario structure (that is, the hierarchical structure) as an initial state.

  When the taking of the explanatory material is completed, a transition is made to an editing screen as shown in FIG. On this screen, there are prepared an area where the captured explanatory material can be displayed in a hierarchical structure, and an area where a display preview regarding one explanatory material selected therefrom can be viewed. In the former area, the hierarchical structure of the explanatory material can be edited by a predetermined mouse operation or the like. That is, by using the structure editing area, it is possible to freely edit the hierarchical structure of the explanatory material before photographing and after photographing. In addition, a “digital content automatic generation” button for automatically generating a digital content set in which a digital video file and an explanation material file described later are set is also arranged. Hereinafter, the hierarchical structure of the explanatory material is referred to as “scenario structure”.

  Here, considering the scenario structure display after the above-mentioned explanation material is taken in, immediately after taking in, the simple explanation of only one layer with the “explanation material root” as shown in FIG. 20 as the top directory. Structure. Here, the “slide XXX title” described in this figure corresponds to one slide material actually used in the explanatory material. At this time, the scenario management file is in the state shown in FIG.

  In addition, when the structure is changed in this structure editing area by a mouse operation or the like, it is possible to configure a multi-level structure having the structure of “Chapter 2 Section 2” as shown as an example in FIG. Become. When a change is made to the scenario structure, the change result of the structure is saved in the scenario management file as shown in FIG. The multi-layer structure can be performed before shooting is started and after shooting is finished.

  When the scenario structure editing before shooting is completed (the scenario after editing the scenario structure assumes the state of FIGS. 14 and 21), a shooting screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. In this shooting screen, it is possible to record the explanation video in the actual class according to the edited scenario structure. However, before shooting on this screen, it is necessary to connect an appropriate video and audio input device to the video processing computer and make it physically available on the program structure.

  On this shooting screen, an area for displaying the scenario structure of the explanatory material used for explaining the lesson and a display area for displaying one explanatory material selected from the scenario structure are arranged, and shooting is started. A “shooting start” button and a “shooting end” button are arranged.

  When shooting is actually started, shooting is started by selecting an explanatory material to be used for the first explanation from the scenario structure area and then clicking a “shooting start” button. Further, when the shooting is finished, the shooting is ended by clicking the “shooting end” button.

  In addition, the display material switching operation is activated by the following user action.

  (1) When a material to be displayed from the scenario structure display area is clicked by a mouse operation.

  (2) When the user clicks on the explanatory data display area with the mouse.

  (3) When an arbitrary command is selected from the displayed context menu after right-clicking on the explanatory data display area with the mouse.

  (4) When a specific material transition button or combo box arranged on the screen is clicked by a mouse operation.

  (5) When a specific key (such as a cursor key or numeric keypad) on a keyboard connected to the video processing computer is pressed.

  (6) When a specific screen transition key is pressed using an external device for presentation operation (such as a projector remote control key) connected to the video processing computer.

  The material display processing that is activated when the user actions (1) to (6) are performed is in the following display state.

・ "Next" of current display materials: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
・ "Return" from the current display materials: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
・ Jump from current display material to any explanatory material: (1), (2), (3)
By clicking the “shooting start” button, the digital video file is generated simultaneously with the start of shooting, but the digital video file is divided and generated in conjunction with the user actions (1) to (6) described above. .

  FIG. 17 shows a relationship diagram of digital video file division generation by the user's specific operation.

  FIG. 17 shows a specific user action for manipulating the explanatory material, a time from when shooting is started until the specific user action is activated, a display order of the explanatory material, a material name of the displayed explanatory material, and a specific user action. A relationship diagram of digital video file names corresponding to explanatory materials generated upon activation is shown.

  According to this figure, the time axis at the start of shooting when the “shooting start” button is clicked is set to “00:00:00”, and the digital video file is recorded in real time. At that time, the digital video file name to be saved is recorded as “movXXXXXX_i_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.avi”. The “XXXXX” part of the file name is the serial number part corresponding to the corresponding explanatory material name, “i” is the display order number of the explanatory material, and “YYYYMMDD” is the video production computer on which the video production program runs The current date and time (year / month / day) above, and “HHMMSS” is the time (hours, minutes, and seconds) at which a specific user action activation event was acquired based on “00:00:00”, which is the time when shooting started ) Is assigned as text. In addition, FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 show program flowcharts for realizing these operations.

  As shown in FIGS. 17, 18, and 19, a predetermined directory location on the hard disk in which digital video files corresponding to explanatory materials are continuously and automatically present on the video processing computer in conjunction with a specific user action. Is generated.

  The actual shooting is performed in the order of display of the explanatory materials as shown in FIGS. 17, 18, and 19. Finally, the “external shooting” button is clicked or the displayed explanatory material is the last explanatory material. If this happens, shooting ends. When shooting is completed, the scenario management file saved after shooting is saved as shown in FIG. In FIG. 15, the display data of the material is stored in the <suffix-sequences> area according to the material display order designated by the user during shooting (see FIG. 17 for the display order in this case).

  The scenario structure before shooting is the display material arranged in the order that the user will explain in class, but the scenario structure after shooting is the display order actually instructed by the user during shooting, The order may be different. Therefore, there is a possibility that a structural change occurs between the scenario structure before photographing and the scenario structure after photographing. That is, the scenario structure applied after shooting is the scenario structure after shooting according to the actual display order during shooting, and the final scenario structure should be reconstructed according to this structure.

  That is, when shooting is completed on the shooting screen shown in FIG. 12 and the screen changes again to the editing screen shown in FIG. 11, the scenario structure to be displayed in the structure display area must be as shown in FIG. In order to realize this, the scenario management file must be saved as shown in FIG.

  In order to generate the scenario management file as shown in FIG. 16, the display order data of the explanatory material recorded in the <suffix-sequences> area from the scenario management file shown in FIG. 15 and the scenario structure before photographing <prefix- The display order data in the sequences> area must be compared, and the parts with different order must be reflected in the structural data in the <scenarios> area. That is, here, it is necessary to return from the explanation material “sld0004” to “sld0003” and realize the state jumped from the explanation material “sld003” to “sld0005” on the structure. At this time, the sequencing and restructuring on the scenario structure must follow the sequencing definition on the scenario structure shown in FIG.

  Here, the “scenario management file” shown in FIGS. 13 to 16 will be described. The scenario management file is a data management file that records the structure management of materials and sequencing information of explanatory materials actually used at the time of shooting. In the example, the data management system is constructed using XML. However, the data management system is not limited to XML, and other text data management methods and management systems using databases are also included in this configuration. .

  The scenario management file is mainly composed of four data areas as shown below. Further, since the data areas further divided can be defined by optimizing the data, a data area utilization method other than the areas listed here may be used.

  (1). <slides> area: A data area for managing each master data of the explanatory material.

  (2). <scenarios> area: A data area that manages the scenario structure of explanatory materials.

  (3). <prefix-sequences> area: A data area that manages sequence information that summarizes the order in which actual explanations are presented from the scenario structure into one hierarchical level.

  (4). <suffix-sequences> area: A data area that records the presentation order of explanatory materials actually performed in class using the sequence information defined in the <prefix-sequences> area.

  (1) Information such as the slide title, page number, and file name of the explanatory material is collected for each explanatory material in the area, and the data can be referred from other areas using the “sldid” attribute as a key. Yes.

  (2) In the area, the scenario structure of the material used for explanation is defined, and the “sldidref” attribute is defined to refer to which explanation material information in (1) area corresponds to one of the structures Has been. Also, the “sceid” attribute is defined to refer to the structure correspondence from the sequence information area of (3) area.

  In the (3) area, sequence information (material presentation order) is defined in which the scenario structure defined in the (2) area is flattened to present a material in an actual class. On the shooting screen of the video production program, materials are presented on the screen according to the order of the explanatory materials selected by the user, and display processing according to the presentation order is performed using the data defined in this (3) area. It will be.

  In the (4) area, the presentation order of the explanatory materials according to the order that the user actually explained during the photographing is recorded according to the material presentation order defined in the (3) area before photographing. In this area, the presentation number of the material, (1) region and (2) “sldidref” and “sceidref” attributes for referring to the region, the name of the video file shot corresponding to the explanatory material, and the material described later Attributes for maintaining the relevance of materials when a “return” operation is performed are defined.

  After shooting, the screen returns to the editing screen shown in FIG. 11. By clicking the “Automatic digital content generation” button from here, the digital video file and the explanatory material as shown in FIG. Automatically generate a digital content set consisting of files.

  In order to generate this set, an HTML file corresponding to each slide from, for example, a Microsoft PowerPoint (registered trademark) file, which becomes the base file of the explanatory material used according to the data recorded in the <slides> area of FIG. Are generated in a predetermined directory location on the hard disk existing on the video processing computer.

  With reference to the structure of the divided digital video file corresponding to the scenario unit described in the <prefix-sequences> area of the scenario management file in FIG. 16 and the HTML file of the explanatory material, the video is displayed on one screen to be distributed. The “screen layout HTML” shown in FIG. 24 is generated at the same time to arrange a set of explanatory materials.

  This “screen layout HTML” is dynamically generated as an HTML file using a data file such as a scenario management file, and a method for dynamically generating an HTML file is not particularly mentioned. For example, in this example, the data file that is the source of the screen is an XML format file that is used as a scenario management file, and the HTML file is dynamically generated by converting the data with an XSLT file that defines the screen layout. It provides a mechanism to do this.

  Further, a physical directory structure is constructed and generated in accordance with the scenario structure shown in the <scenarios> area of FIG. 16 at a predetermined directory position on the hard disk existing on the video production computer. When building a directory, refer to the “type” attribute of the <scenario> tag. If it is “directory”, a directory is generated. If it is “file”, a digital content set is generated and stored in the specified directory. To do.

  When generating digital content, “digital video file” and “explanatory material” are stored by copying the file stored at a predetermined location, and “screen layout HTML” is dynamically generated by the method described above. Save it in the same directory as the digital video file and explanatory material.

  Through the above operation, as shown in FIG. 25, it is possible to automatically generate a digital content set having a hierarchical structure in which a digital video file obtained by class photography and explanatory materials used for explanation are set. .

  Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the specific configuration of each component can be designed as appropriate.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the digital content which linked the conventional moving image and data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the explanatory material illustrated by FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the example of the display switching timing recording of the explanatory material shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the video signal taking-in method from the conventional video equipment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the division | segmentation edit operation | work of the video file according to the conventional switching timing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the production image of the digital content used as the conventional delivery object. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the conventional linear type and hierarchical scenario structure (hierarchical structure). It is explanatory drawing which shows the apparatus structure image which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a connection structure of the apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the capture screen of the explanatory material which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the edit screen which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the imaging | photography screen which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario management file (initial acquisition) which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario management file (at the time of scenario editing) which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario management file (just after completion | finish of imaging | photography) concerning a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario management file (at the time of imaging completion state reflection) concerning a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship figure of the digital video file production | generation timing which concerns on a present Example. It is <Flowchart 1> of the image | video production | generation flowchart which concerns on a present Example. It is <Flowchart 2> of the video generation flowchart according to the present embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario structure (at the time of initial capture) concerning a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario structure (at the time of scenario organization) concerning a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the scenario structure (after completion | finish of imaging | photography) which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the definition regarding sequencing of the scenario structure which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the digital content set which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the physical arrangement | positioning of the digital content set which concerns on a present Example.

Claims (3)

In a digital content production system for producing a digital content group with a hierarchical structure, a video data file composed of lecture videos photographed by photographing means for photographing a lecture and an explanatory material slide comprising a plurality of pages for explaining the lecture When the lecturer photographs the lecture by the photographing unit according to the page order of the explanatory material slide data in a state where any one of the explanatory material slide data is selected and the recording unit for recording the explanatory material data file including the data In response to the switching operation for switching the document slide data to a different page, the lecture video displayed in the explanatory material slide data displayed immediately before the explanatory material slide data displayed immediately before the switching by the switching operation is displayed. Each video data file consisting of Video data file identification information and video data file association means for recording the video data file in the recording means, and the explanation material slide data switched by the switching operation has already been used during the lecture. Switching operation identification means for recording in the recording means switching operation identification information for identifying whether the recording material is not yet used, each explanation material slide data, and each video data in each explanation material slide data Digital content set generation means for generating digital content sets for displaying the video data files associated with each other by file identification information on one screen and recording the digital content sets in a predetermined hierarchical structure on the recording means. The set generation means is configured such that the switching operation identification information is the lecture When recording a digital content set that includes the explanation material slide data that has already been used, the digital content set that includes the explanation material slide data in which the previous switching operation identification information has not been used yet A digital content production system configured to record a digital content set in a predetermined hierarchical structure by sequentially recording in the same hierarchy . An editing screen for displaying an editing screen comprising a structure editing area for displaying the hierarchical structure of the explanatory data file in an editable state and a preview area for displaying one page of the explanatory data slide data selected in the structural editing area 2. The digital content production system according to claim 1, further comprising display means. The digital content production system according to any one of claims 1 and 2 , wherein photographing means for generating a video data file from a digital or analog input stream signal is used.

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