JP4420454B2 - Multimedia editing apparatus, multimedia editing method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multimedia editing apparatus, a multimedia editing method, a program, and a recording medium. Specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for editing multimedia content including video, audio, and related information, and is applied to video editing and Web page creation. It is preferable.

  Multimedia editing tools for designing and editing multimedia content such as graphics, sound, animation, and text by combining digital materials such as characters, still images, audio, and moving images are attracting attention.

  In order to produce multimedia contents, a technique of editing the time series information of the digital material as described above with reference to a previewer and a timeline display (see Patent Document 1). The method of Patent Document 1 is a method for realizing efficient video editing by linking the time axis display by the timeline and the material display by the previewer.

Multimedia contents produced by such multimedia editing tools are used in a wide range of fields such as presentations such as research announcements and product demonstrations, educational software, games, and encyclopedias.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-162556

  However, although the video editing based on the timeline used in the conventional video editing is intuitive, it is difficult to operate and edit the structure of the video itself because it is based on the time axis. In other words, when editing while maintaining the relationship between video, audio, and content synchronized with them (still images, PPT slides, etc.), such timeline editing tends to be complicated.

  For example, when trying to produce a 60-minute drama, the logical structure of the first part, the main part, and the end part is represented by a timeline in which the first part and the end part are short and the main part is long. When editing these three logical structures as finer logical structures, it is difficult to operate.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and expresses the logical structure of multimedia content in an easy-to-understand manner and can efficiently produce multimedia content, a multimedia editing method, It is an object of the present invention to provide a program for executing functions of an editing apparatus and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

In order to solve the above problems, the multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention uses multimedia content having a time axis and documents and images related to the multimedia content in synchronization with the time axis as objects, Based on an interface that expresses the logical structure of the multimedia content using link information that expresses a relationship between the objects, an input receiving unit that receives an input from a user, and an input that the input receiving unit receives, rearranging the rows Utotomoni of the object and the link information represented as metaphor, and a object editing means for editing while confirming the user an editing screen the multimedia content without providing the time axis, the time axis An object with Or characterized in that it is a voice part.

Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing apparatus, an object having a leading SL time axis has an end position information and the start position information and the information to a single object.

Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing apparatus, link information for representing the relationship between the object was to be a link representing the hierarchy between objects.
Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing apparatus, link information for representing the relationship between the object was to be a link to represent synchronization along the time axis.
Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing apparatus, link information for representing the relationship between the object was to be a link representing the appearance sequence.
Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing apparatus, link information for representing the relationship between the object was to be a URL link on the Web.
Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing apparatus, link information for representing the relationship between the object was to be a link to the attribute information held.

Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing device has a processing method suitable for the characteristics of the object in advance, by presenting operation corresponding to the drag and drop destination of the controlled object, to the object without explicit operation was also good strange.
Multimedia editing apparatus of the present invention, in the multimedia editing system, represented by metaphor the operation according to the situation, and to instruct the start of operation by dropping the object to that metaphor.

In the multimedia editing method of the present invention, the interface is a multimedia content having a time axis and a document or an image related to the multimedia content in synchronization with the time axis as an object, and the relationship between the object and the object An expression step for expressing the logical structure of the multimedia content using link information that expresses, a step in which the input receiving unit receives an input from the user, and an object editing unit in the input received by the input receiving unit based on the replacement of the object and the link information expressed as metaphors in a row Utotomo, and a step of editing while confirming the user an editing screen the multimedia content without providing the time axis, the An object with a time axis And wherein the Tsu is a flop or voice part.

Program of the present invention causes a computer, a program for executing the function of the multimedia editing apparatus.
The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the above program is recorded.

According to the present invention, it is possible to express the logical structure of multimedia content in an easy-to-understand manner by handling multimedia content having a time axis and related documents and images synchronously on the time axis as objects. Can produce multimedia content.
In addition, the logical structure of the multimedia content can be handled more efficiently than in the case of producing multimedia content using only the conventional timeline.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to a multimedia editing apparatus of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, terms used in the description of the present embodiment will be described.
An “object” refers to a material that does not have a time axis (for example, a still image, a document, text, etc.), a material that has a time axis (for example, video, sound, audio, etc.), and combinations thereof. In particular, a material having a time axis does not generate a clip by physically dividing the material, but handles logical structure information including a start position and an end position representing a part of the material as one object. In rare cases, one entire material may become one clip.
The following types of “objects” exist.

Page: A logical object that constitutes one page.
Text: A logical object that represents a single text (string) and a text area.
Image: A logical object that represents an image and a region in the image.
Video: An object that represents one video and one clip in the video.
Audio: An object that represents one voice and one part in the voice.
Menu: An object indicating one item of table of contents information configured to indicate a synchronization instruction.
Further, the Page object can hold a Layout attribute (object placement information within one page) as attribute information.

There are the following types of links between objects.
Object Link: A link expressing a relationship (hierarchical structure) between objects.
Time Link: A link that expresses synchronization along the time axis.
Sequence Link: A link expressing the order of appearance (order).
URL Link: URL link on the Web.
Attribute Link: Link to attribute information to be held.

  FIG. 1 is an example in which a plurality of multimedia composite contents are constituted by the above-described objects. In the figure, a rectangle with corners is an abstract object, a rectangle with rounded corners is a data object, a diamond is a scene transition insertion of an operation object, a circle is a superimpose insertion of an operation object, and a hexagon is a layout attribute information object. Shall be shown.

This multimedia content includes four page objects Page 1, 2, 3, and 4.
In the object Page1, an object Layout11 and two objects Text12 and 13 are linked.
Further, an object Page4 is linked as a Web page from the object Text12, and an object Page2 is linked as a Web page from the object Text13. That is, when the text 12 is clicked, the page 4 Web page is displayed.

In the object Page2, a layout object 21, two objects Text22 and 23, an object Image24, and an object Video25 are linked. A data object Image 241 is linked from the object Image 24.
A data object Clip 251 is linked from the object Video 25. From this object Video 25, an object Audio 26 is object-linked, and a data object Part 261 is linked to this object Audio 26.
Furthermore, Clip 251 and Part 261 are time-linked, indicating that they are synchronized.

  The same applies to the object Page3, but since this layout attribute is Layout 21, it indicates that Page2 and Page3 use the same layout.

The object Page4 indicates that each Menu object 44, Image object 45, Video object 46, and Audio object 47 each have five data objects. These five data objects are linked in order of appearance from left to right.
Furthermore, the data object to synchronize is linked by Time Link. For example, the data objects connected by the vertical lines of Item 441, Slide 451, Clip 461, and Part 471 operate in synchronization in time series. Therefore, when Clip 461 is moved to another position, the data objects are synchronized. Data objects that are present will be moved at the same time.

Next, an operation set as a default for the above-described object will be described.
(1) Insertion operation (scene transition, superimpose insertion, etc.)
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a link state between objects after performing an insertion operation on the multimedia content of FIG.
For example, when a title is inserted before the clip 52 by a superimpose operation such as a scene transition or a superimpose represented by subtitles in video information, the time link order between the object Clip52 and the object Part53 is maintained. The
Similarly, even if the operation object 55 is inserted in order to perform a dissolve effect on the Clip 54, it is inserted while maintaining the order of the time links of the Clip 56.

(2) Audio Mixing FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a link state between objects after inserting a blend operation object that overlaps a plurality of audio tracks on the same part.
When another audio object 63 is inserted into the audio object Part 61 using a blend operation object (an object corresponding to a mixer), the playback level of each audio part is adjusted.

(3) Replacement of some video tracks (video switch)
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a link state between objects after an operation of replacing a part of video (with audio) is performed.
When replacing part of the video clip 71 and the audio part 72 synchronized therewith with another part of the video clip 73 and the audio part 74 synchronized therewith, it is inserted between the sequence links and is synchronized with the necessary objects using the time link. It will be relinked.

(4) Selection of Object FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the effect when one object is selected. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, when one object Slide 82 is selected, the objects (Item 81, Clip 83, Part 84 in the vertical direction) connected to the object through time links are also automatically selected and become operation targets. Similarly, when Clip 83 is selected, Item 81, Slide 82, and Part 84 are also automatically selected.
For example, when an item 81 is selected and a deletion operation is performed, the other slides 82, Clip 83, and Part 84 linked to the time are automatically deleted.

(5) Division of Objects FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a link state between objects after dividing one object.
For example, when a clip 93 is created by dividing one object Clip 91 and an audio part 92 synchronized with this clip is also created to create a part 94, the clip 93 and part 94 are inserted along the sequence link, and necessary Time Link is generated according to the above. This Time Link is set so that Clip 91 and 93 are linked to Clip 90, and Clip 93 and Part 94 are linked.

(6) Detailed editing of each object By performing an operation on each object and the link as described above, the logical structure of the multimedia content can be efficiently operated.
However, detailed operations on each material, for example, operations with frame accuracy such as changing the clip range or deleting unnecessary portions cannot be performed.
When editing an actual instance of each object, double-clicking the object with the mouse will display an edit screen that matches the characteristics of the object, allowing detailed operations (Fig. 7).

In FIG. 7, for example, when the Item object is double-clicked, a text editor is activated, and the character string of the menu item can be edited.
When the Slide object is double-clicked, an image editor is activated and image editing can be performed. When the Clip object is double-clicked, a video editor is activated and division and cutting can be performed with frame accuracy. In addition, video and audio editors can be edited together.

Next, the interface of the object editing editor will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an interface for editing the logical structure of multimedia content. This interface usually performs operations such as inserting / deleting necessary objects while placing objects on the mesh, and creating the necessary links between the objects, each object is optimally placed on the mesh, The logical structure of the content is completed.
In addition, when there are a plurality of content hierarchical structures, each hierarchy is represented by a mesh interface as described above, and by double-clicking an object in the upper hierarchy, the logical structure in the lower hierarchy of the object is changed. It can be displayed on the mesh interface.
With this interface, the logical structure of content can be expressed in an abstract manner.

The object editing editor has a metaphor interface.
The object in this embodiment has not only data related to the object but also a function unique to the object, and a method that can be operated between the objects and between the objects and the link information is defined in advance.

Basic operations are performed on such objects by dragging and dropping with a mouse or the like.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the Audio object is dragged and moved to the Clip object, a processing method that can be operated between the Audio object and the Clip object is presented. The presented processing method is expressed as a menu or metaphor, and a desired process is executed by overlaying an object on the desired menu or metaphor. Furthermore, as a drop destination of an object, a link stretched between the objects can also be targeted.
As a result, it is possible to perform an intuitive operation, so that it is not necessary to conventionally instruct the processing method for each object with a menu (see FIG. 9A).

By configuring as described above, it is possible to handle multimedia contents having a time axis and related documents and images synchronously on the time axis as objects, and to express the logical structure of multimedia contents in an easy-to-understand manner. Can often produce multimedia content.
Even users who do not need detailed editing can create multimedia contents simply by operating the upper structure, and detailed editing can be performed on the instance, so that even experts can use it.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments. Each function constituting the above-described embodiment is programmed, written in advance on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and this CD-ROM is mounted on a computer equipped with a medium driving device such as a CD-ROM drive. The object of the present invention can be achieved by storing the program in a memory or a storage device of a computer and executing the program.

  As a recording medium, a semiconductor medium (for example, ROM, nonvolatile memory card, etc.), an optical medium (for example, DVD, MO, MD, CD-R, etc.), a magnetic medium (for example, magnetic tape, flexible disk, etc.) Either may be sufficient.

  In addition, the case where an operating system, an application program, or the like performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the loaded program and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

In addition, when the above-mentioned program is stored in a storage device such as a magnetic disk of a server computer and downloaded from a user computer connected via a network and distributed, or distributed and distributed from a server computer, The storage device of this server computer is also included in the recording medium of the present invention.
In this way, by programming the function of the present invention, recording it on a recording medium and distributing it, it is possible to improve cost, portability and versatility.

It is a figure for demonstrating the link between an object. It is a figure for demonstrating the link state between the objects after performing insertion operation. It is a figure for demonstrating the link state between objects after inserting the blend operation object which overlaps a several audio track on the same part. It is a figure for demonstrating the link state between the objects after performing operation which replaces a part of image | video (with audio | voice). It is a figure for demonstrating the effect when one object is selected. It is a figure for demonstrating the link state between the objects after dividing | segmenting one object. It is a figure for demonstrating the user interface at the time of editing an object in detail. It is a figure for demonstrating the interface when editing the logical structure of a multimedia content. It is a figure for demonstrating a metaphor interface.

Claims (12)

Using the multimedia content having a time axis and the documents and images related to the multimedia content synchronously on the time axis as objects, and the multimedia using link information expressing the relationship between the objects and the objects An interface that represents the logical structure of the content;
Input receiving means for receiving input from the user;
Edited based on input by the input acceptance unit accepts, rearranging the rows Utotomoni of the object and the link information represented as metaphor, while confirming the edited screen to the user the multimedia content without providing the time axis And an object editing means for
The multimedia editing apparatus, wherein the object having the time axis is a video clip or an audio part.   The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object having the time axis has start position information and end position information, and the information is one object.   The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link information for expressing the relationship between the objects is a link expressing a hierarchical structure between the objects.   4. The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link information for expressing the relationship between the objects is a link that expresses synchronization along a time axis. Editing device.   5. The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link information for expressing the relationship between the objects is a link expressing an appearance order. 6.   6. The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link information for expressing the relationship between the objects is a URL link on the Web.   7. The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link information for expressing the relationship between the objects is a link to attribute information to be held.   8. The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object has a processing method suitable for the characteristics of the object and presents an operation according to a drag-and-drop destination of the operation target object. A multimedia editing apparatus characterized by not having to explicitly specify an operation for.   9. The multimedia editing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an operation according to a situation is expressed by a metaphor, and an operation start is instructed by dropping an object in the metaphor. The interface uses multimedia content having a time axis, and documents and images related to the multimedia content synchronously on the time axis as objects, and using the link information expressing the relationship between the objects and the objects. An expression step for expressing a logical structure of the multimedia content;
A step of receiving input from the user by the input receiving means;
Object editing means, based on the input received by the input receiving means, rearranging the rows Utotomoni of the object and the link information represented as metaphor, edit the multimedia content without providing the time axis to the user screen Editing while confirming ,
The multimedia editing method, wherein the object having the time axis is a video clip or an audio part.   A program for causing a computer to execute the function of the multimedia editing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 11.