JP3534592B2 - Representative image generation device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a representative image generating device in a moving image editing device, a multimedia editing device, a moving image database, a moving image file management device, etc., which is provided with a storage device capable of random access When automatically determining the frame to be used for the list display, the image is configured not to be uniformly determined mechanically but to be displayed by determining the image frame that accurately represents the contents of the moving image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional representative image generation apparatus, for example, a leading frame of a target moving image material or a frame at a time point after a certain time has passed from the beginning (for example, 5 frames from the beginning).
The method of using the contents of (frame number) as an index still image (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-89549), and the method of detecting the frame cut (or the frames before and after that) by detecting the switching of video cuts as the index still image ( JP-A-5-183862, JP-A-9-
200687) is known.

However, the conventional representative image generating apparatus described above has a problem that it does not accurately show the contents of the moving image (what kind of image it is).

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a representative image generating apparatus capable of presenting an image serving as an index that accurately represents the contents of a moving image.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, and the provided moving image in frame units. Frame memory to store,
Cut detection means for reading out image data in frame units stored in the frame memory to detect a cut, cut length calculation means for calculating a cut length of each cut, and cut length storage means for storing the calculated cut length And cut
Compose a video scene by combining cuts such as pictures that are similar between
And the length of the composed scene
Scene length calculation means and a system that stores the calculated scene length.
Scene length storage means and the longest scene length from the stored scene lengths.
The longest scene is determined to be the longest scene
Scene determination means and representative frame image from the longest scene
It is characterized by comprising index still image determination means for determining an image as an index still image and index still image output means for outputting the determined index still image.

As described above, it is possible to provide a representative image generating device capable of presenting an image as an index that accurately represents the contents of a moving image.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been photographed and stored in advance, and the provided moving image is stored in frame units. A frame memory, a cut detection means for detecting a cut by reading out image data in frame units stored in the frame memory, a cut length calculation means for calculating a cut length of each cut, and a calculated cut length and cut length storage means for, similar between cut
Put together cuts such as existing pictures (colors, arrangement of things)
Scene composition means that compose the scene and the length of the composed scene
And the calculated scene length
From the stored scene length storage means and the stored scene length
The scene with the longest scene length is determined as the longest scene.
Longest scene determining means to be defined, and representative from the longest scene
An index still image determination means for determining a frame image as an index still image, and an index still image output means for outputting the determined index still image, which is a representative image generation device, It has an effect that a picture of a scene, which is most important in terms of video time distribution that reflects the intention of the creator, can be used as an index still image when shooting and editing the video.

[0008]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and accumulated in advance, and a frame memory for storing the provided moving image in frame units. A frame interval unit for extracting image data stored in the frame memory on a frame-by-frame basis one frame at a time, and a plurality of extracted frames that are similar to each other to compose a scene. A scene structuring means for configuring, a scene length calculating means for calculating the length of the configured scene, and a scene length storing means for storing the calculated scene length,
Longest scene determination means for determining the scene having the longest scene length from the stored scene lengths as the longest scene, and a representative frame image indexed from the longest scene.
And index still picture determination means for determining as a still image, which has a representative image generating apparatus characterized in that it is composed of an index still picture output means for outputting the determined index still pictures, video shooting and When editing,
It has the effect that the picture of the scene, which is the most important in terms of video time distribution that reflects the intention of the creator, can be used as the index still image.

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

[0014]

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, and a frame memory for storing the provided moving image in frame units. A cut detecting means for detecting a cut by reading out image data in frame units stored in the frame memory, a cut length calculating means for calculating a cut length of each cut, and a cut length storage for storing the calculated cut length and means, the short-cut sections stored cut short the cut length from the cut length is continuous it
Re one a scene, and the longest scene determining means that determine <br/> constant as the longest scenes with the longest scenes length the longest short cut sections from the scene, the representative <br/> frame image from the longest scenes Is a representative image generation device characterized by comprising an index still image determination means for determining as an index still image and an index still image output means for outputting the determined index still image. This has the effect that the picture of the scene that is most important in terms of the number of cuts at the time of shooting and editing can be used as an index still image, that is, a representative image.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image which has been previously captured and accumulated, and a frame memory which stores the provided moving image in frame units. A frame interval unit for extracting image data stored in the frame memory on a frame-by-frame basis one frame at a time, and a plurality of extracted frames that are similar to each other to compose a scene. A scene structuring means for configuring, a scene length calculating means for calculating the length of the configured scene, and a scene length storing means for storing the calculated scene length,
From the stored short scenes, the longest short scenes are the longest among the short scenes that are short scenes.
A short scene period determining means for determining a scene section, before
Representative frame image index from the longest short scene section
And index still picture determination means for determining as a still image, which has a representative image generating apparatus characterized in that it is composed of an index still picture output means for outputting the determined index still pictures, video shooting and When editing,
This has the effect that the picture in the short scene section , which is most important in terms of the number of scenes, can be used as the index still picture, that is, the representative picture.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the representative image generation apparatus includes a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, a frame memory 2 that stores the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame memory 2
The cut detection means 3 for reading out the image data of the frame unit stored in to detect the cut (one set of video data), the cut length calculation means 4 for calculating the cut length of each cut, and the calculated cut length. A cut length storage means 5 to be stored, a longest cut determination means 6 to determine a cut having the longest cut length from the stored cut lengths, and a frame image suitable as an index is determined from the cuts having the longest cut length. The index still image determining means 7 and the index still image outputting means 8 for outputting the determined index still image are included. In the above structure, the moving image taken out from the moving image input means 1 is inputted to the frame memory 2 and the index still image determining means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described with reference to FIG. 2 by taking an example of a moving image composed of a plurality of cuts starting from the frame image start point of the moving image taken out from the moving image inputting means 1. That is, the cut detection means 3 grasps the cut start point by focusing on the cut change point. The longest cut determination means 6 specifies the cut having the longest cut length among the grasped cuts. The index still image determining means 7 determines the frame images at a certain ratio from the beginning of the cut, for example, 30% from the beginning of the cut length.
A frame image at a nearby position (a little less than one-third of the longest cut) is determined as a representative image. The reason for deciding so is that in the above moving picture example, a frame image having a certain proportion from the beginning of the cut having the longest cut length in the moving picture, for example, 30% from the beginning of the cut having the longest cut length. It is based on the empirical rule in video production that frame images in the vicinity are often frame images suitable for representing the contents of the moving image. As a method of detecting a cut, a technique of detecting a change point of a cut based on a change rate of a correlation coefficient of a feature amount between adjacent frame images is known, and thus the technique may be used.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention, at the time of shooting and editing a video,
Provides a representative image generation device that can display the index still image that accurately represents the contents of the video, by making the picture of the scene that is the most important in terms of video time allocation that reflects the creator's intention can do.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the representative image generation apparatus includes a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and accumulated in advance, and a frame memory 2 that stores the provided moving image in frame units.
A cut detecting means 3 for reading out image data in frame units stored in the frame memory 2 to detect a cut (one set of video data); a cut length calculating means 4 for calculating a cut length of each cut; A cut length storage means 5 for storing the cut lengths, a scene construction means 9 for constructing a video scene by grouping cuts such as pictures (colors, object arrangements ) similar between the cuts, and the length of the constructed scenes. A scene length calculating means 10, a scene length storage means 11 for storing the calculated scene length, and a longest scene that determines the scene having the longest scene length from the stored scene lengths as the longest scene. and decision means 12 and the cash from the longest scene
An index still picture decision unit 7 for determining the table frame image as an index still picture, and a index still picture outputting means 8 for outputting the determined index still picture. In the above-mentioned structure, the moving picture taken out from the moving picture inputting means 1 is inputted to the frame memory 2, the scene forming means 9 and the index still picture deciding means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described with reference to FIG. 4 by taking an example of a moving picture composed of a plurality of cuts starting from the frame image start point of the moving picture taken out from the moving picture inputting means 1. That is, the cut detection means 3 grasps the cut start point by focusing on the cut change point. The scene composing means 9 composes cuts of similar pictures (colors, arrangement of things, etc.) among a plurality of cuts to compose a video scene. The index still image determining means 7 is a frame image at a fixed ratio from the beginning of the scene having the longest scene length among the composed scenes, for example, a position near 30% from the beginning of the scene having the longest scene length (longest A frame image in a little less than one-third of the scene) is determined as a representative image. The reason for making such a determination is that in the above-mentioned moving image example, a frame image at a certain ratio from the beginning of the scene with the longest scene length in the moving image, for example, in the vicinity of 30% from the beginning of the scene with the longest scene length. It is based on the empirical rule in video production that the frame image at the position is often a frame image suitable for representing the contents of the moving image. Note that determining similar cuts among a plurality of cuts is ultimately determining similarity between frame images. On the other hand, since a technique for determining similarity between frame images is known, that technique is used. To do.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention, at the time of shooting and editing a video,
Provides a representative image generation device that can display the index still image that accurately represents the contents of the video, by making the picture of the scene that is the most important in terms of video time allocation that reflects the creator's intention can do.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the representative image generation apparatus includes a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, a frame memory 2 that stores the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame memory 2 A constant interval section frame extracting means 13 for reading out the frame-by-frame image data stored in the frame one by one for each constant interval section, and a scene forming a scene by collecting similar video sections among a plurality of extracted frames. The composition means 9, the scene length calculation means 10 for calculating the length of the composed scene, the scene length storage means 11 for storing the calculated scene length, and the scene having the longest scene length from the stored scene lengths is the longest. The longest scene determining means 12 for determining a scene and the representative frame from the longest scene.
The index still image determination unit 7 determines the index image as the index still image, and the index still image output unit 8 outputs the determined index still image. In the above-mentioned configuration, the moving image taken out from the moving image input means 1 is composed of the frame memory 2, the scene forming means 9,
It is input to the index still image determination means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described with respect to the frame images extracted from the frame image start point of the moving image extracted from the moving image input means 1 one by one at regular intervals. That is, the constant interval section frame extracting means 13 extracts one frame image for each constant interval section. The scene composing means 9 composes a scene by collecting sections of similar images among a plurality of extracted frame images. The index still image determining means 7 is a frame image at a fixed ratio from the beginning of the scene having the longest scene length among the composed scenes, for example, a position near 30% from the beginning of the scene having the longest scene length (longest A frame image in a little less than one-third of the scene) is determined as a representative image. The reason for making such a determination is that in the above-described moving image example, a frame image at a certain ratio from the beginning of the scene having the longest scene length in the moving image, for example, 30% from the beginning of the scene having the longest scene length. It is based on the empirical rule in video production that frame images in the vicinity are often frame images suitable for representing the contents of the moving image. Since the technique for determining the similarity between frames as described above is known, that technique may be used.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the third embodiment of the present invention, at the time of shooting and editing a video,
Provides a representative image generation device that can display the index still image that accurately represents the contents of the video, by making the picture of the scene that is the most important in terms of video time allocation that reflects the creator's intention can do.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the representative image generation apparatus includes a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, a frame memory 2 that stores the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame memory 2
Feature amount parameter extraction means 14 for reading out all frames or a part of the frames of the target moving image stored in and extracting the frame feature amount (some parameter value) among them.
A feature amount calculation means 15 for calculating the size of the feature amount from the extracted feature amount parameter, a maximum feature amount storage means 16 for storing the largest of the calculated feature amount sizes, and a maximum feature amount. The index still image determining unit 7 determines that the frame image having the index is a frame image to be indexed, and the index still image output unit 8 that outputs the determined index still image. In the above structure, the moving image taken out from the moving image input means 1 is inputted to the frame memory 2 and the index still image determining means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described for successive frame images taken out from the moving image input means 1. That is, the feature quantity parameter extraction means 14
Extracts a frame feature amount (some parameter value) from all or some of the frames of the read target moving image. Next, the characteristic amount calculation means 15 calculates the size of the characteristic amount from the extracted characteristic amount parameter. Then, the maximum feature amount storage means 16 stores the maximum of the calculated feature amounts. The index still image determination means 7 determines the representative image as the frame image to be indexed, which is the frame image exhibiting the maximum feature amount.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, for example, the frame having the largest volume, the frame having a large amount of movement, the frame having the most complicated pattern, and the extremely large amount of red color. It is possible to provide a representative image generation device that can use a frame image having the maximum feature amount such as a frame as an index still image, and can present an index image that accurately represents the contents of a moving image. In the above example, the index image is determined by focusing on the frame image having the maximum feature amount, but conversely, the index image is determined by focusing on the frame image having the minimum feature amount. Good. Further, in the case of a compressed moving image such as MPEG, it is often possible to obtain these characteristic amounts such as the amount of movement of a frame and the degree of complexity by the characteristic amount parameter included in the compressed moving image data. It can be greatly reduced.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the representative image generation device is a moving image input means 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, a frame memory 2 that stores the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame memory 2
Feature amount parameter extraction means 14 for reading out all frames or a part of frames of the target moving image stored in and extracting a frame feature amount (some parameter value) from them.
And a feature quantity calculating means 15 for calculating the size of the feature quantity from the extracted feature quantity parameter, and a feature quantity determining means for determining the time point when the magnitude of the calculated feature quantity exceeds a specified value.
17, an index still image determining means 7 for determining a frame image exceeding a specified value as a frame image to be indexed, and an index still image output means 8 for outputting the determined index still image. There is. In the above configuration, the moving image extracted from the moving image input means 1 is
It is input to the frame memory 2 and the index still image determining means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described for successive frame images taken out from the moving image input means 1. That is, the feature quantity parameter extraction means 14
Scans sequentially from the frame (for example, the first frame) of the target moving image, and extracts the frame feature amount (some parameter value, for example, luminance information). Next, the characteristic amount calculation means 15 calculates the characteristic amount, for example, the size of the brightness information, from the extracted characteristic amount parameter. Then, the feature amount determination means 17 determines the time when the calculated feature amount, for example, the size of the brightness information exceeds a preset specified value. The index still image determination means 7 determines the representative image as a frame image suitable for the index of the frame image at the time when the value exceeds the specified value (threshold value). And output it.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the fifth embodiment of the present invention, normally, the leading image of a moving image or the leading image of a scene change point in the middle of a moving image is a frame image which is black and has no content. Often, but frame features,
For example, since the frame image at the time when the brightness information exceeds a certain threshold is used as the representative image, it is possible to avoid generating a black index still image and present an index image that accurately represents the contents of the moving image. An image generation device can be provided.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, the representative image generation device is a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing moving images that have been captured and accumulated in advance, a frame memory 2 that stores the provided moving images in frame units, and a frame memory 2
Detecting means for detecting an object while sequentially (or intermittently) scanning the image data in frame units stored in
18, a detection object determination means 19 for determining whether or not the object is detected in a specific area (for example, near the center) of the frame image when the object is detected, and a time when the object is detected by the detection object determination means 19. The index still image determining means 7 for determining that the frame image is a frame image to be indexed, and the index still image outputting means 8 for outputting the determined index still image. In the above configuration, the moving image extracted from the moving image input means 1 is
It is input to the frame memory 2 and the index still image determining means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described for successive frame images taken from the moving image input means 1. That is, the object detecting means 18 detects an object based on, for example, a change in the integrated value of the density data of the brightness while sequentially (or intermittently) scanning from the frame (for example, the first frame) of the target moving image. The detected object determining means 19 determines whether the area in which the object is detected is in a specific area (for example, near the center) of the image. Then, the index still image determination means 7 determines a representative image based on the determination result of the detected object determination means 19 by regarding the frame image at that time as a suitable frame image as an index. The index still image output means 8
Outputs the determined frame image.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the sixth embodiment of the present invention, normally, the leading image of a moving image or the leading image of a scene change point in the middle of a moving image is Although it is often a frame in which the object is not displayed, the image of the target person or object of the moving image was detected when it was determined that the object was in a specific area (for example, near the center) of the image. Therefore, by providing the detected object determination means for determining the image of the person or the object in the specific area, the frame image at the time when the person or the object is displayed at the specific position of the frame area can be used as the representative image. It is possible to provide a representative image generation device that can present an index image that accurately represents the contents of a moving image.

(Seventh Embodiment) FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, a representative image generating apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention is a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and accumulated in advance, and the provided moving image in frame units. The frame memory 2 to be stored in, the telop detection means 20 for detecting the subtitle super or telop while scanning the image data in frame units stored in the frame memory 2 in order (or intermittently), and the detected subtitle super or telop. A telop information storage unit 21 to be stored, an index still image determining unit 7 that determines a frame image in which a subtitle super and a telop are inserted when the telop is detected as an image to be indexed, and a determined index still image On the other hand, based on the telop information stored in the telop information storage means 21, for example, an index still image is displayed. An index still picture processing means 22 for processing the index still picture as telop can display an enlarged telop as read reliably,
It comprises an index still image output means 8 for outputting a processed index still image. In the above structure, the moving image taken out from the moving image input means 1 is inputted to the frame memory 2 and the index still image determining means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described for the frame image extracted from the moving image input means 1. That is, the telop detection means 20 detects a subtitle super or a telop while sequentially (or intermittently) scanning from a frame (head frame) having a target moving image.
Since the telop detection technique itself is known, it will not be described in detail here. Next, the telop information storage means 21 stores the detected subtitle super and telop. In response to the telop being stored, the index still image determination means 7 determines that the frame image at the time when the telop is detected is the image to be indexed. The determined index still image is given to the index still image processing means 22, and the telop information is processed based on the telop information stored in the telop information storage means 21, that is, the telop can be surely read even in the index still image. For example, the telop is processed so that it can be enlarged and displayed. Then, the index still image is output from the index still image output means 8.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the seventh embodiment of the present invention, since the frame image in which the caption for explanation is put by the video editor becomes the index still image, the moving image is the news material, In the case of a news program or moving image material for education, a representative image suitable for the representative image can be easily generated in the representative image. Therefore, a representative image generation device capable of presenting an index image accurately representing the contents of the moving image is provided. You can

(Eighth Embodiment) FIG. 10 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, a representative image generating apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention is a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, and the provided moving image in frame units. The frame memory 2 to be stored in, the cut detection unit 3 that reads the image data in frame units stored in the frame memory 2 to detect a cut (a set of video data), and the cut length that calculates the cut length of each cut. The calculation means 4, the cut length storage means 5 that stores the calculated cut length, the longest cut determination means 6 that determines the cut having the longest cut length among the stored cut lengths, and the longest cut length Camera operation extraction means 23 for extracting camera operations such as zoom, pan, and tilt in a cut, and before and after the frame image on which the camera operation is performed. Camera operation information storage means 24 for storing frames, index still image determination means 7 for selecting one frame from the stored previous and next frame images and determining an image to be indexed, and outputting the determined index still image Index still image output means 8 for In the above configuration, the moving image taken out from the moving image input means 1 is stored in the frame memory 2 and
It is input to the camera operation extracting means 23, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described for successive frame images taken out from the moving image input means 1. That is, the camera operation extracting means 23 extracts camera operations such as zoom, pan, and tilt in the cut having the longest cut length. The camera operation information storage means 24 stores the frame images before and after the frame image on which the camera operation is performed. A technique for detecting a camera operation such as zooming, panning, and tilting is known per se, and will not be described in detail here. Next, the index still image determining means 7 selects one frame, for example, a frame image immediately after zooming in, from the stored preceding and following frames and determines a suitable frame image as an index. Then, the index still image is output from the index still image output means 8.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the eighth embodiment of the present invention, at the time of shooting and editing a video,
The index still image is a picture of the scene that is most important in terms of cutting time and quantity, and the scene that is most important in terms of the effect of operating the camera. A representative image generation device capable of presenting an image can be provided.

(Ninth Embodiment) FIG. 11 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, a representative image generating apparatus according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention is a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and accumulated in advance, and the provided moving image in frame units. The frame memory 2 to be stored in, the cut detection unit 3 that reads the image data in frame units stored in the frame memory 2 to detect a cut (a set of video data), and the cut length that calculates the cut length of each cut. A calculating means 4, a cut length storing means 5 for storing the calculated cut length, and a short cut section in which short cuts from each of the stored cut lengths are continuous as one scene.
And, the longest the longest short cut sections from the scene
Longest scene determining means 25 for determining the longest scene having a scene length, and a representative frame image from the longest scene.
An index still picture decision unit 7 for determining the index still picture, and a index still picture outputting means 8 for outputting the determined index still picture. In the above configuration, the moving image extracted from the moving image input means 1 is
It is input to the frame memory 2 and the index still image determining means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described with reference to FIG. 12 by taking an example of a plurality of cuts starting from the frame image start point of the moving picture taken out from the moving picture inputting means 1. That is, the cut detection means 3 grasps the cut start point by focusing on the cut change point. Further, the cut length calculation means 4 calculates the length of each cut. Then, the longest scene determination means 25 selects a short cut section in which cuts each having a short cut length continue from the stored cut lengths.
One scene, and the longest short
The segment is determined as the longest scene having the longest scene length . Then, the index still image determination means 7
A frame image at a certain ratio from the beginning of the longest scene , for example, a frame image at a position near 30% from the beginning of the longest scene is determined as the representative image. The reason for deciding so is that in the above video example, the longest short cut section in the video , that is, the longest scene, is the scene where the most emphasis is placed on the number of cuts when shooting and editing the video. Is based on the rule of thumb that the creators often use this to impress the viewer.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the ninth embodiment of the present invention, when photographing and editing a video,
The picture of the scene with the most emphasis on the number of cuts can be used as the index still image, that is, the representative image, and the index image that accurately represents the contents of the video can be presented when the video is a movie or drama video. A representative image generation device can be provided.

(Tenth Embodiment) FIG. 13 shows the configuration of a representative image generating apparatus according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13, the representative image generation apparatus according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention is a moving image input unit 1 capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, and the provided moving image in frame units. The frame memory 2 for storing the image data in frame units stored in the frame memory 2 and the constant interval section frame extracting means 13 for reading out one frame at a time for each constant interval section, and the extracted image of a plurality of similar frames. Scene composition means 9 that composes a scene by collecting sections, scene length calculation means 10 that calculates the length of the composed scene, scene length storage means 11 that stores the calculated scene length, and each stored scene short scene section determined to be determined from among the short scene section the successive short scene length scenes from the length of the longest short scene period as the top length scene section A stage 26, the and a top length representative frame image from the scene section and index still picture decision unit 7 for determining the index still picture, and outputs the determined index still picture index still image output means 8. In the above-mentioned structure, the moving picture taken out from the moving picture inputting means 1 is inputted to the frame memory 2, the scene forming means 9 and the index still picture deciding means 7, respectively.

The process of determining the representative image will be described with respect to the frame images taken out one frame image at a fixed interval from the frame image start point of the moving picture taken out from the moving picture inputting means 1. That is, the constant interval section frame extracting means 13 extracts one frame image for each constant interval section. The scene composing means 9 composes a scene by collecting sections of similar images among a plurality of extracted frame images. The scene length calculation means 10 calculates the length of each scene. Then, the short scene section determiner 26 determines the longest short scene section from the short scene sections in which the scenes with short scene lengths continue. Then, the index still image determination means 7
Is a frame image at a fixed ratio from the beginning of the longest short scene section, for example, 30 frames from the beginning of the determined short scene section.
The frame image in the vicinity of% is determined as the representative image. Reason is the longest short scene segments in the video in the video example as described above, when the photographing and editing of the video, a picture of a short scene period most emphasis is placed in terms of scenes quantity to be determined as such However, it is based on the rule of thumb that the creators often use this to impress the viewers. Since the technique for determining the similarity between frames as described above is known, that technique may be used.

As described above, according to the representative image generating apparatus of the tenth embodiment of the present invention, at the time of shooting and editing a video, a picture of a short scene, which is most important in terms of the number of scenes, is displayed as an index still image. That is, it is possible to provide a representative image generation device that can be used as a representative image and can present an index image that accurately represents the contents of a moving image when the moving image is a movie or drama video.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the still image is the representative image has been described. However, it is not necessary to limit the representative image to the still image, and the moving image can be used as the representative image. deep.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a representative image generating apparatus capable of presenting an image as an index that accurately represents the contents of a moving image.

[0050] Further a precaution, when describing the effect every aspect of the present invention, according to the invention described in claims 1 to 2, at the time of photographing and editing the image, reflecting an intention of the author It is possible to provide a representative image generation device that can render a picture of a scene that is most important in terms of video time allocation as an index still image, and that can present an index image that accurately represents the contents of a moving image.

[0051]

[0052]

[0053]

[0054]

[0055]

According to the third aspect of the present invention, at the time of shooting and editing the video, the picture of the scene that is most important in terms of the number of cuts can be used as the index still picture, that is, the representative picture, and the moving picture can be displayed. It is possible to provide a representative image generation device capable of presenting an index image that accurately represents the contents of a moving image such as a movie or a drama image.

According to the invention described in claim 4 , the picture in the short scene section , which is most important in terms of the number of scenes, can be used as the index still picture, that is, the representative picture, at the time of shooting and editing the video. It is possible to provide a representative image generation device capable of presenting an index image that accurately represents the contents of a moving image when the moving image is a movie or drama video.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the representative image generation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the representative image generation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a third embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the representative image generation device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a representative image generation device according to a tenth embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Video Input Means 2 Frame Memory 3 Cut Detection Means 4 Cut Length Calculation Means 5 Cut Length Storage Means 6 Longest Cut Determining Means 7 Index Still Image Determining Means 8 Index Output Means 10 Scene Constructing Means 10 Scene Length Calculating Means 11 Scene Length Means Means 12 longest scene determination means 13 constant interval section frame extraction means 14 feature amount parameter extraction means 15 feature amount calculation means 16 maximum feature amount storage means 17 feature amount determination means 18 object detection means 19 detected object determination means 20 telop extraction means 21 telop information Storage means 22 Index still image processing means 23 Camera operation extraction means 24 Camera operation information storage means 25 Longest scene determination means 26 Short scene section determination means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-8-191411 (JP, A) JP-A-8-32924 (JP, A) JP-A-9-233422 (JP, A) JP-A-7- 111630 (JP, A) JP-A-6-149902 (JP, A) JP-A-6-89549 (JP, A) JP-A-6-113253 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/76-5/956

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and accumulated in advance, a frame memory for storing the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame unit stored in the frame memory. Cut detection means for detecting the cuts by reading the image data of, cut length calculation means for calculating the cut length of each cut, cut length storage means for storing the calculated cut length, and a similar picture between the cuts. From the stored scene length, the scene composition means that composes a video scene by collecting cuts, etc., the scene length calculation means that calculates the length of the composed scene, the scene length storage means that stores the calculated scene length, the longest scene determination means, representative <br/> frame image from the longest scene in that determine <br/> up a scene having a longest scene length as the longest scenes And index still picture determining means for determining a hex still image, the representative image generating apparatus characterized in that it is composed of an index still picture output means for outputting the determined index still picture. 2. A moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and accumulated in advance, a frame memory for storing the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame unit stored in the frame memory. Constant interval section frame extracting means for reading out one frame of the image data for each constant interval section, scene composing means for composing a scene by collecting similar video sections among a plurality of extracted frames, and the composed scene A scene length calculation means for calculating the length of the scene, a scene length storage means for storing the calculated scene length, and a longest scene determination means for determining a scene having the longest scene length from the stored scene lengths as the longest scene. the index still picture determining means for determining a representative frame <br/> beam image as an index still image from the longest scene, Representative image generating apparatus characterized in that it is composed of an index still picture output means for outputting a constant has been indexed still image. 3. A moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, a frame memory for storing the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame unit stored in the frame memory. Cut detection means for reading out the image data of to detect the cut, cut length calculation means for calculating the cut length of each cut, cut length storage means for storing the calculated cut length, and each stored cut length The short cut sections where short cuts are continuous are treated as one scene,
Of the above scenes, the longest short cut section is the longest scene
Longest scene determination means for determining the longest scene having a length, and indexing a representative frame image from the longest scene
Index still image determination means for determining as a still image,
A representative image generation device, comprising: an index still image output unit that outputs the determined index still image. 4. A moving image input means capable of reading and providing a moving image that has been captured and stored in advance, a frame memory for storing the provided moving image in frame units, and a frame unit stored in the frame memory. Constant interval section frame extracting means for reading out one frame of the image data for each constant interval section, scene composing means for composing a scene by collecting similar video sections among a plurality of extracted frames, and the composed scene Scene length calculation means for calculating the length of a scene, a scene length storage means for storing the calculated scene length, and a longest short scene from short scene sections in which short scenes are consecutive from the stored scene lengths. a short scene section determining unit, a representative frame <br/> over beam image from the uppermost length scene section indenyl determining the interval as the top length scene section And index still picture determining means for determining a scan still image, the representative image generating apparatus characterized in that it is composed of an index still picture output means for outputting the determined index still picture.