JPH04115674A - Generation of moving picture information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a moving picture easy to see with the rich power of expression by enlarging/reducing segmented respective pictures to fixed size, jointing plural frames continuously with the picture as the frame and generating moving picture information. CONSTITUTION:The device for the subject method consists of an operation processor 101 to generate, to modify and to define moving picture information, a main storage device 102 to store moving picture cut data, data in processing and so on, an auxiliary storage device 110 of a magnetic disk and so on. Then, first, picture data to be used by a user as an original, picture are inputted to the computer 101 and next, it is instructed that cut is generated from the original picture. The computer 101 segments the one part of the original picture according to the instruction of the user, enlarges/reduces the segmented picture, converts it into the picture of fixed size which is equivalent to a frame and stores it. This processing is repeated for the number of times equal to the number of the frames within the cut and the cut of a moving picture is generated. Thus, the moving picture easy to see with the rich power of expression can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field J] The present invention is an electronic editing method that arranges, connects, or replaces moving image information materials (hereinafter referred to as cuts) and edits them electronically on a computer. The present invention relates to a method for generating moving image information that allows even users without specialized knowledge or skills to create high-quality cuts of movies or other moving images.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, there have been two methods for creating cutting data for moving images. The first method is to create the image using computer graphics, and the second method is to capture images with a video camera and accumulate continuous frames as image data. Here, a cut is a group of images that form one scene from the beginning to the end of a certain action in a moving image such as a video or a movie.

In the first method, first, an object to be photographed is created as three-dimensional shape data, and the object and lighting etc. are placed in a pseudo space inside a computer.
After determining the viewpoint, calculations are made for light, illumination, and anti-elbow angles, and by reproducing the state of the pseudo-space seen from that viewpoint, this is stored as image data. Next, this calculation is repeated while gradually moving the placement of the object in the pseudo space and the viewpoint, and the results of each calculation are accumulated as image data to form a plurality of continuous frames.

In addition, in the second method, real scenery and people are actually photographed using a video camera, etc., and the photographed natural moving images are digitized frame by frame on a computer and imported.
Each frame is stored as image data to form a plurality of consecutive frames.

In addition, as a document regarding the manipulation of video image information, for example, "Technical report of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers" IE89-6゜p
There are those described in 9.49-56.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the first method, it is extremely difficult to create three-dimensional shape data on a graphic display using a computer, unless it can be created by a simple combination of basic figures. In other words, there are the following issues.

(i) It is difficult to create a composition in which objects with complex shapes are reflected. In other words, in general, when creating cuts using graphics, it is easy to create a 2D image, but creating a 3D image on the screen is extremely difficult and requires a lot of effort and time. .

On the other hand, the second method described above has the following problems.

(u) Camera vibration (shake) is likely to occur during shooting.

(5) Inconsistency occurs in the speed of panning operations that change the direction of the optical axis of the camera during shooting.

(iv) Unevenness occurs in the speed of the zoom operation that changes the viewing angle of the camera during photographing.

(V) The cut results in an inappropriate composition. In other words, there may be cases where the entire image is not shown or the desired object is omitted from the composition.

(vi) The length of the cut is too long or too short. In other words, the time may be too short and the last scene is not included, or the time may be too long and an extra scene is included.

Among the above problem items, (ii) to (fv) are problems with the image quality of moving images depending on the skill level of the operator who operates the camera, and images handled by less skilled operators tend to be jittery. Become. Therefore, these are issues regardless of whether captured moving image data is edited or not.

On the other hand, the above (V) and (vi) are caused by a lack of prior consideration and planning when photographing. Specifically, this problem occurred because it was not possible to accurately grasp the overall picture of the scenario and the relationship between specific cuts when shooting cuts; normally, the majority of the scenario is created by piecing together the cuts. In many cases, the problem is not discovered until the problem occurs. Therefore, in the second method, it is necessary to frequently reshoot images.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve these conventional problems, and to easily obtain moving images that are as easy to view and expressive as those captured using advanced camera operation techniques.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for generating moving image information that can easily create high-quality cuts.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a method for generating moving image information according to the present invention includes: (f) when an instruction is given to cut out a plurality of images from arbitrary different regions on an original image; , the processing device cuts out the specified images, enlarges or reduces each cut-out image to a predetermined size, uses the processed images as frames, and creates a moving image by sequentially joining multiple frames together. Characteristic in generating information 6
(n) When the area to be cut out from the original image to create the first and last frames of the video to be created and the number of frames included in the video to be created are specified, the processing device Another feature of the present invention is that the cutting positions of consecutive frames are sequentially determined based on the area and the number of frames, and the cutting process is executed at each determined position to create moving image information. In addition, in order to create an arbitrary number of frames included in the video image to be created, the processing device determines the regions to be cut out from the original image and the number of frames in the video image to be created for each region. Another feature is that the frame number is specified. In addition, (fv) the processing device is
When the cropping path between the first and last frame is specified, the position of any point within the image cropping area on the original image is set based on the specified path, and the cropping positions of consecutive frames are sequentially set. There are also characteristics in making decisions. (V) When the movement rate of each cutout image between the first and last frames is specified, the processing device changes the position of an arbitrary point within the image cutout area on the original image at the specified movement rate. Another feature is that the settings are based on the following, and the positions at which consecutive frames are to be cut out are sequentially determined.

Furthermore, when the size change rate of each cutout image between the first and last frames is specified, the (vf) processing device changes the size of the cutout area of each image on the original image according to the specified size change rate. Another feature is that the size of the area to be cut out of successive frames is sequentially determined based on the following.

(vii) When the size of the area from which the image is cut out is changed, the processing device is configured to adjust the image so that a predetermined point on the original image is always displayed at a point on the moving image created by the change. Another feature is setting the position of the area to be cut out.

Further, (4) the processing device is characterized in that, when designated moving image information is generated, the processing device immediately reproduces the generated moving image information and continuously plays each frame.

Furthermore, the (IX) processing device is characterized in that when continuously reproducing a plurality of generated moving image information, the order of each frame is changed and reproduced.

[Operation] In the present invention, a user first inputs image data to be used as an original image into a computer, and then instructs the computer to generate a cut from the original image. The computer cuts out a part of the original image according to the user's instructions, enlarges or reduces the cut out image, converts it into a fixed size image (equivalent to a frame), and stores the image. This process is repeated the same number of times as the number of frames in the cut to generate a cut of the moving image.

Thereby, by moving the position of the region to be cut out from the original image at a constant speed or while smoothly changing the speed, a panning operation without speed unevenness can be performed. Also,
By changing the size of the area to be cut out from the i-image at a constant speed or while changing the speed smoothly, a zoom operation without speed unevenness can be performed. Furthermore, since cuts can be generated at any time and played back and checked immediately, cuts with appropriate composition and length for the entire scenario can be created during cut editing. Furthermore, since a natural image captured from a camera or the like can be used as the original image, it is possible to easily create compositions that include shapes that are difficult to create using computer graphics.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the moving image information generation process according to the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a supplementary explanatory diagram of FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4, 401 is a moving image cut editor indicating editing information on the original image specified by the user, 403 is a cut generation command created by a program, and 40
5 is a file in which cuts of N frames created by commands are stored.

First, the user interactively defines the cut he wants to create on the video cut editor 401. That is, an area to be cut out to create a frame of a moving image to be created is specified for the original image displayed on the display screen. To do this, (1) specify the start frame, (2) specify the end frame, (3) specify the number of frames, (4) specify the zoom speed,
(5) Specify pan speed and route.

The user's cut definition input in the video cut editor 401 is converted into a cut generation command in a frame 403 by an arrow 402 . Based on the cut generation command 403, cut generation processing is executed using an arrow 404. That is, based on the cut generation command 403, a specified area is cut out from the original image, an image size conversion process is performed to enlarge or reduce it to an image of a prespecified size, and then the converted image data is converted into a moving image. It is stored in a file 405 as a frame. Then, when a cut is generated, the cut is immediately reproduced as a moving image by continuously displaying the accumulated frame image data.

In this way, a cut is generated using the arrow 404, and the cut data stored in the file 405 is immediately played back on the display screen in response to the user's request, so you can check the created cut while processing. This can be modified or redefined by repeating this process.

FIGS. 11(a) to (c) show the moving image editor 4 of FIG.
01 is a diagram for detailed explanation, 2 is the original image, A is the first image to be cut out, the mouth is one of the images to be cut out, C is the last image to be cut out, E and H are both frames. be. For example, if the original image is an image of an object standing in a field, the entire landscape is first displayed, the focus is sequentially focused on a person, and the image ends with an enlarged image of the person's face. Consider a case where you are trying to create a cut (scene). To do this, first cut out the image A, and finally cut out only the face area as shown in C, and in between, cut out multiple area images. Then, the first image A is cut out and then reduced slightly to generate a frame H, and the last image C is cut out and then greatly enlarged to generate a frame H. Further, the plurality of cut-out images including the mouth between them are appropriately reduced/enlarged by 11 to generate frames of the same size as E and H. The cuts from E to B of these frames are the cuts specified by the user. One point of the X mark in image C is also shown at the position of the X mark in frame E and frame H.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a moving image information generation system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 101 is an arithmetic processing unit for generating, modifying, and defining moving image information, 102 is a main storage device for storing moving image cut data, data being processed, etc., and 103 is a mouse, which is a pointing input device. , 104 is a display device such as a bitmap display, and 110 is an auxiliary storage device such as a magnetic disk. The disk device 110 includes a program storage area 111, an original image data file 112 used for generating moving image information according to the present invention, a cut generation command storage area 113 created by generating moving image information according to the present invention, and a storage area 113 for storing a cut generation command used for generating moving image information according to the present invention. It includes an image data file area 114 of a cut created by image information generation.

When the user defines a cut using the editor 401 in FIG. 4 using the mouse l○3 on the original image displayed on the display 104, the arithmetic processing unit 101 uses the mouse l○3 to define a cut in the editor 401 shown in FIG. A cut generation command 403 is created and stored in the cut definition file 113. next,
After generating a cut from the original image using the cut definition command 403, the generated cut is stored in the cut image data file 114. At the same time, this is read out and the generated cut is reproduced and output on the display 104.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the types of programs stored in the disk device in FIG. 1 and their relationships.

A program storage area 111 in the disk 110 stores a plurality of programs starting from the job control program 201. The job control program 201 has the function of controlling the execution of each processing program, and the editor program 202 is a man-machine interface (interaction between the user and the computer) through which the user defines the cuts to be created by the method of the present invention. environment). The image display program 203 has a function of displaying an image on the display device 104 in response to a request from the editor program 202, and the command creation program 204 has a function of creating a cut generation command in response to the output of the editor program 202. have Furthermore, the moving image generation control program 205 has a function of controlling lower-level programs for creating cut data using the method of the present invention, and the command analysis program 205
6 has a function of analyzing a cut generation command, an image cutting program 207 has a function of cutting out a specified area of image data, and an image size conversion program 208 enlarges or reduces the size of the image. It has a function. Furthermore, the kernel unit 209 has a function of providing system calls used when each of the above programs accesses the file system 210. That is, it is an operating system (○S) that provides read/write operations to the file system 210, and this part is an existing function.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the overall process of generating moving image information, showing one embodiment of the present invention.

The detailed operation in Figure 3, the hardware configuration in Figure 1, and the
This will be explained with reference to the program configuration shown in the figure and the processing flow shown in FIG. 4, respectively.

First, in step 301, the user activates the moving image generation system according to the present invention. As a result, the arithmetic processing unit 101 transfers the job control program 201 to the disk device 1.
10 is read from the program storage area 111 and written onto the main storage device 102. Job control program 20
1 starts the editor program 202 to execute steps 302-304.

Next, in step 302, when an image to be an original image is selected by the moving image generation method of the present invention according to an instruction from the user, the image display program 203 reads the data from the original image data file area 112 and displays it on the display device. 104
displayed on the screen.

In step 303, the user defines a cut to be created for the editor program 202 using an input device such as the mouse 103. In FIG. 4, this corresponds to the processing in frame 401.

In step 304, the command creation program 204 is activated, and for all frames to be created based on the cut definition input by the user in step 303, positions to cut out from the original image are determined, and cut creation commands are created. In FIG. 4, it corresponds to the arrow 402 and the frame 403
Create a cut in the cut generation command.

When the processing in steps 302 to 304 is completed, the job control program 201 is transferred to the moving image generation control program 205.
Start the command creation program 2 in step 304.
The cut generation command 403 created by 04 is passed to the moving image generation control program 205. Step 30 after this
5 to 309 are moving image generation*J'li programs 205
controlled by

In step 305, the command analysis program 206 is activated to analyze the cut generation command 403 and obtain the number N of frames to be created.

Step 306 is a process for determining whether N frames have been created, and steps 307 to 309 are processes for determining whether N frames have been created.
@Executed repeatedly.

In steps 307 to 309, the cut generation command 40
The image cutting information for N images described in 3 is sequentially processed. The arrow 404 in FIG.
Corresponds to 7 to 309.

First, in step 307, the image cutting program 2
07 cuts out an area of the original image data defined by the numerical value in the cut generation command 403 corresponding to the frame to be currently created.

Next, in step 308, the image size conversion program 208 converts the image cut out in step 307 to a predetermined image size.

In step 309, the image data of a certain size created in step 308 is transferred to the cut image data file area 1.
14.

Step 3 controlled by the moving image generation control program 205
When the process from 06 to 309 has been repeated N times, the job control program 201 notifies the editor program 202 that the cut creation process has ended. In step 310, the editor program 2.2 inquires of the user whether or not to display the created cut. If display is instructed, in step 311 the image display program 203 continuously reads frame data from the cut image data file 114 and displays it on the screen of the display device 104. This displays the created cut, returns to the beginning, and moves on to the next image processing. If the user does not instruct display of a cut in step 310, the process immediately returns to step 302.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the moving image cut editor of the present invention.

A mouse cursor 120 whose display position moves according to the movement of the mouse 103 is displayed on the screen of the display device 104 . A moving image cut editor 401 controlled by the editor program 202 is also displayed.

The video cut editor 401 has three areas 501.5.
02,503.

The first display area 501 is an original image display area. In the original image display area 501, the original image selected by the user in step 302 is read out from the original image data file area 112 by the image display program 203 and displayed. When using a high-definition image with a large number of pixels as the original image, the image in the original image display area 501 is reduced and displayed, or the original image can be scrolled within the original image display area 501. Display only part of it.

The second display area 502 is a moving image display area. In this moving image display area 502, the image display program 203 continuously reads frame image data from the cut image data file area 114 and displays the cut executed in step 301 as a moving image.

The third display area 503 is a cut icon display area. Step 30 is displayed in the cut icon display area 503.
In step 3, icons for visualizing cuts defined by the user are displayed.

In the original image display area 501, an original image cutting frame 504 whose display position can be moved within the area by following the mouse cursor 120 is displayed. By determining the size of the original image cutting frame 504 and the display position within the original image display area 501, and clicking the button of the mouse 103.

The composition of the specified frame within the cut is specified. This composition is specified as an enlarged or reduced content of the area displayed within the original image cutting frame 504.

The cut icon display area 503 of this embodiment includes a cut start composition icon 505 and a cut end composition icon 50.
Multiple pairs with 6 are displayed.

These icon sets are displayed using the image display program 20.
3 shows the compositions of the first frame and last frame of the cut defined by the user, each reduced in size and displayed as an icon.

By moving the mouse cursor 120 over these icons and pressing the mouse button, instructions are given to change the definition of the cut represented by the icon or to display the cut in the video display area 502. Perform the following operations.

In addition, if the entire set of icons 505 and 506 cannot be displayed in the cut icon display area 503 because the user has defined multiple cuts, the display contents of the display area 503 can be scrolled and the user has defined multiple cuts. All cuts can be operated using icons.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of cut definition processing by the user.

The user executes the cut definition step 303 on the video cut editor 401.

First, in step 601, the composition of the start frame of the cut to be defined is specified. This is the original image cropping frame 504
This is done by clicking a button on the mouse 103 after determining the size and display position within the M image display area 501. At this point, the cut icon display area 5
03, a cut start composition icon 505 is displayed by the image display program 203.

In step 602, the composition of the end frame of the cut to be defined is specified using the same method as in step 601. At that point, a cut end composition icon 506 is displayed in the cut icon display area 503 by the image display program 203.

In step 602, the composition of the end frame of the cut to be defined is specified using the same method as in step 601. At that point, a cut end composition icon 506 is displayed in the cut icon display area 503 by the image display program 203.

FIGS. 7(a) to 7(d) are explanatory diagrams showing support functions (change of frame size, frame number designation, etc.) during cut definition in FIG. 6.

When changing the size of the g-image cutting frame 504, the size is set by moving its center point, as shown in FIG. 7(a). B! 1(a), the center point is the display position of the mouse cursor 120.

The center point does not mean strictly the center position of the cropped image, but rather the size of the original image cropping frame 504 is defined as the frame 504 in the figure.
When changing to a, the position of the mouse cursor 120 and frame 5
On the straight lines 700a to 700d connecting each vertex of 04,
These are the points where each vertex of the frame 504a falls.

In step 603, the number of frames within the cut to be defined is specified. This designation can be done by prompting the user to enter a numerical value from the keyboard, or by
As shown in b), this can be done by displaying the slide volume 701 on the screen of the display device 104 and moving the position of the mouse cursor 120. That is, the user moves the mouse cursor 120 onto the knob 702 of the slide volume 701, moves the mouse 103 horizontally while holding down the mouse button, and then moves the knob 702 to the desired numerical value position. By releasing the mouse button, a numerical value can be entered.

In step 604, items that need to be specified in order to define a cut are selected.

Note that for items that have not yet been selected in step 604, default values prepared in advance on the computer side are set. The default value is
For example, the frame position path (605) is a straight line connecting the start frame specified in step 601, and the frame position movement speed coefficient (606) and the frame size change speed coefficient (
607), the speed can be constant. Therefore, the processes in steps 605 to 607 are processes for changing already set values. Note that the frame position movement speed coefficient is the movement rate of the distance from the previous image position of the image frame to be sequentially cut out to the corresponding image position, and is the movement rate of the camera assuming that the image position is sequentially tracked and moved by the camera. is the speed coefficient. In addition, the frame size change speed coefficient is the rate at which the ratio of the cropping size of the corresponding image to the cropping size of the previous image changes. is the coefficient of change in velocity.

When the route specification for the position of the original image cutting frame 504 is selected in step 604, step 605 is executed. As an example of step 605, the user moves the mouse cursor 120 while holding down the button on the mouse 103,
There is a method in which the movement path is set as the path of the position of the original image cutting frame 504.

Note that the path of the position of the original image cutting frame 504 is the path followed by the center point, and in this embodiment, the center point is the display position of the mouse cursor 120.

Next, in step 604, when the movement speed coefficient designation of the display position of the original image cropping frame 504 is selected, step 604
6 is executed. As an example of step 606, the seventh
As shown in Figure (C), a graph 70 in which the horizontal axis is the frame number and the vertical axis is the moving speed coefficient of the original image cropping frame 504
3 is displayed and the user operates the mouse cursor 120 to change the shape of the graph.

Further, as another example, as shown in FIG. 7(d), there is a method in which the shape of the graph 704 is prepared as a pattern and the pattern is applied. In Figure (i), the movement speed is slow near the start and end frames of the cut, as shown by graph 704, and the movement speed is fast near the center of the cut. , it is also possible to partially change it.

Next, in step 604, when the change speed coefficient designation of the size of the original image cropping frame 504 is selected, step 607
is executed. Step 607 can be performed in the same manner as step 605 by setting the vertical axis of the graph in FIG. 7(C) as the frame size change speed coefficient, as in step 606.

Further, by doing as follows, steps 605 to 607 can be specified at once. That is, step 60
In the same way as specifying the composition of the start frame executed in step 1, multiple frames can be specified, and the frame number within the cut can be specified for each frame. In this case, the route between the specified frames is a straight line,
The change coefficients can be set as constant.

Furthermore, by processing with a spline function or the like to create a smooth curve and smoothing the changes between frames, the created cut will have smooth movement when played back.

When determining the composition of a plurality of frames, the user first specifies a frame number, and displays the original image cropping frame 504 of the size and display position at that frame number using the current setting values. The user can also decide the composition for that frame number by modifying the size and display position of the displayed frame.9 Note that the size and display position of the original image cropping frame 504 are calculated from the frame number. In the method, the command creation program 204 performs step 304.
I will explain this at the same time as I explain how to execute it.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a cut definition table in the present invention, in which (a) is an original image cutting frame pipe ring table, (b)
) is a route management table, (c) is a movement speed coefficient management table, (d) is a frame size change speed coefficient management table, (
e) is a data management table.

According to FIGS. 8(a) to 8(e), step 303 in FIG.
The following describes various cut definition tables that are generated when the user defines a cut and have values set therein. The coordinate system used in this embodiment is a coordinate system whose origin is the lower left corner point of the original image, and is in units of pixels of the original image.

In FIG. 8(a), 801 is an original image cutting frame ring table, 802 is a frame number, 803 is a center point coordinate value of each frame, 804 is a frame size, and 805 is a center point offset value. Frame numbers 802 are registered from 1 to the number of frames in the cut. The center point offset value is the offset coordinate value of the center point from the lower left corner of the original image cutting frame 504, normalized by the size of the frame 504. That is, when the coordinate values of the frame 504 are (X, Y), the following results.

a=(xc-X)/w; b=(yc-Y)/h...
...(1) To explain this in detail with reference to FIG. 11(C), if the frame 504 is the first cut out image A and the original image is 2, then FIG. 8(a)
), the coordinates of the center point of frame number 1, that is, the coordinates of the position of the X mark when calculated from the left corner of the original image (coordinates 0.0), are XC++yC+, and the frame size is w.
h, so the center point offset, that is, the deviation rate from the center when the left corner of the cropped image A is the coordinates X and Y, is the value obtained by subtracting X from XC divided by wl, and y
It is the value obtained by subtracting Y from C+ divided by .

The original image cutting frame ring table 801 is initialized when the number of frames is found in step 603 in FIG.
The result of 02 is written to the final entry. In addition, when the processing in steps 604 to 607 is performed by specifying the composition of a specific frame, it is written in the entry corresponding to the specified frame number.

In FIG. 8(b), 811 is the content of the route management table, 812 is the number of vertices, and 813 is the vertex coordinate value of the route (xp
, yp), 814 is the distance between the vertex entered next. The first entry in the route management table 811 is the coordinate value of the center point when the composition of the start frame is specified in step 601, and in this embodiment, it is the same coordinate value as the display position of the mouse cursor 120. Furthermore, the last entry is the coordinate value of the center point when the composition of the final frame is specified in step 602.

By specifying the route in step 605, the number of newly specified vertices is added to the number of vertices 812, the entry of the vertex coordinate value 813 is increased, and the distance between vertices 814 is recalculated and updated. .

In FIG. 8(c), 821 is the content of the moving speed coefficient management table, 822 is the frame number, and 823 is the corresponding moving speed coefficient V. Movement speed coefficient management table 82
1 is initialized when the number of frames is determined in step 6.3 of FIG. The value is written. The contents of the movement speed coefficient management table 821 are updated in step 606.

In FIG. 8(d), 831 is the content of the frame size change speed coefficient management table, 832 is the frame number, and 833 is the corresponding frame size change speed coefficient 2. The frame size change speed coefficient management table 831 is created at step 60 in FIG.
3, when the number of frames is known, and when the frame size is changed at a constant speed as a default, the same value is written in the frame size change speed coefficient 833.

The contents of the frame size change speed coefficient management table 831 are updated in step 607.

In FIG. 8(e), 841 is the content of the data management table, and 842 is the total route distance, which is the sum of the distance between vertices 814 of the route management table 811. Further, 843 is a moving speed parameter V, which is the sum of the moving speed coefficients 823 of the moving speed coefficient management table 821. Further, 844 is a frame size change rate parameter Z, which is the sum of the frame size change rate coefficient 833.

These cut definition tables 801 to 841 are required when creating the cut generation command 403 in step 304 in FIG. 3, as will be described later.

After the cut image data is created, the editor program 202 stores the cut generation command 403 in the cut definition file area 113.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of the cut generation command in the present invention.

In FIG. 9, 902 is the name of the original image, that is, the file name within the original image data file area 112.

903 is the number of frames in the cut, 904 is a frame image name header, and 905 is a frame image name start number. That is, when storing frame image data of a cut to be created in the cut image data file area 114, a serial number starting with the frame image name start number 905 is added to the frame image name header 904 and used as the file name. It turns out.

Reference numeral 906 indicates designation information (
(frame number), and is a numerical value based on a coordinate system whose origin is, for example, the lower left corner of the original image. Therefore, this frame number 906 is repeatedly designated as many times as the number of frames 903 (1 to N). 907 is the coordinate value (x, y) of the lower left corner of the region to be cut out, and 908 is the size (W, H) of the region to be cut out. These values 907,908
is calculated by the command creation program 204. In that case, the command creation program 204 uses the center point coordinate value 80 in the entry of the original image cropping frame management table 801.
3. Calculate the areas where the frame size 804 value is not written.

Next, returning to FIG. 4, once the cut of N frames is stored in the cut image data file 114, it can be immediately played back and displayed on the display screen for the user to confirm. In this case, it is also possible to change the order of the frames and display them continuously. For this purpose, the original image cutting frame management table 801 and the route information management table 811 stored in the cut definition file 113 are required.
, movement speed coefficient management table 821, frame size change speed coefficient management table 831, and data management table 8
41, the order of the frame numbers can be changed, the respective information can be read out, and the corresponding image can be taken out and displayed from the cut image data file 114 accordingly.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for processing the number of executions when generating a cut generation command according to the present invention, and FIG.
6, which is an auxiliary explanatory diagram of FIG. 0, is a process performed when the intermediate point coordinate value (that is, the center point coordinate value 803) of frames other than the start frame and end frame of the cut is not determined. And here, the center point coordinate value 803
, according to the contents of the route information management table 811 and the contents of the moving speed coefficient management table 821. If the midpoint coordinate value 803 of a frame other than the start frame and the end frame is calculated, the center point coordinate value can be calculated using Fig. 1O, assuming that the cut is separated by that frame. can.

In FIG. 12, the broken line p is the moving distance, and the solid line r is the remaining length of the polyline segment.

First, step 1001 shows the initialization process of variables r, m, and n, where r is the remaining length of the polyline segment, m is the corresponding number on the polyline segment, and n
is the frame counter value, that is, the frame number.

The next step 1002 shows an iterative process for determining the center point coordinate values 803 of all frames in the cut, and the same process is repeated until the frame number n becomes equal to the total number N of frames.

Also, in step 1003, the variable p (movement distance) is set to n.
The process of calculating and substituting the distance between the center point of the th frame and the center point of the (n-1)th frame, that is, the value obtained by multiplying the total distance by the movement speed coefficient / movement speed parameter p
The processing to do this is shown.

Further, step 1004 shows a process of determining that the center point of the nth frame is not on the (m+1)th polygonal line segment of the route. That is, it is determined whether the moving distance p in FIG. 12 is greater than the remaining length r of the polygonal line segment. Next, in step 1005, when it is determined in step 1004 that the line segment is not on the (m+1)th line segment, a process of subtracting the remaining length r of the (m+1)th line segment from the moving distance p is shown. . Step 1006 shows the process of proceeding to the next segment on the route. Next, in step 1007, a process is shown in which it is determined that the center point to be determined is not on the polygonal line segment.

That is, it is determined whether the moving distance p is larger than the inter-vertex distance dm of the route information management table 811, and if p is smaller than dm, the center point coordinates are calculated. Also,
If p is larger than dm, the length dm of the polyline segment is subtracted from the moving distance p in step 1008, and the process is repeated from step 1006.

In step 1007, if the center point to be determined is on the polyline segment, the remaining length r of the polyline segment is determined in step l009, and the center point coordinates (
Xn, Yn) are determined in step 1010.

If the center point to be determined in step l004 is on the polyline segment, the remaining length r of the polyline segment is calculated in step 1012, and
Find the center point coordinates at 010.

The center point coordinates Xn and Yn are determined in step 1012, respectively.
．． The difference in vertex coordinate values is multiplied by the value obtained by subtracting the remaining length r of the polyline segment obtained in step 1009 from the segment length dm and dividing by dm (ratio to the segment length). It is found by adding it to the value.

Next, in step 1011, the value of the frame counter n is increased by 1, and the process returns to step 1002.

Furthermore, the frame size 804 is calculated using the following formula.

Wn=Wn-, + (WN-W l ) z n /
ZHn=H,, +(HN-Hl) ・zn/Z・ ・
(2) To obtain the above equation (2), refer to the frame size change speed coefficient management table 831 and the data management table 841. That is, the change rate is calculated from the size change rate parameter Z and the size change rate coefficient Zn, and the width W of the final cropped image is determined.
The value obtained by subtracting the width W1 of the first cut-out image from N may be multiplied by this value and added to the width of the previous image. Find the height in the same way.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, for the center point offset 805, unlike the case of the frame size 804, a change coefficient is not set, so the value is calculated by linear interpolation using the values at the start frame and the end frame. demand.

Through the above processing, the original image cutting frame pipe ring table 801
Since numerical values will be written in all the entries, these numerical values are then referred to and the entries 907 and 908 of the cut generation command 403 are calculated as follows.

X=xc-(wXa); Y=yc-(hXb)W=w;
H=h ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ (3
) Here, (x cr V ” is the center point coordinate value 803 of the corresponding frame number, (w, h) is the frame size 804 of the corresponding frame number, (a, b) is the center point offset value of the corresponding frame number It is 805.

Various cut definition tables and cut generation commands 403 stored in the cut definition file area 113 are stored in the icon 5 displayed in the cut icon display area 503.
05,506, it is read by the editor program 202.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain moving images with rich expressiveness equivalent to those obtained by operating a camera using advanced technology, and also to adjust the cut composition and length during editing work. If something turns out to be inappropriate, you can freely re-create the cut and immediately check this, ensuring that you get a cut that suits the overall scenario and the quality of the piece you create by stitching the cuts together. It is possible to improve

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a computer system showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a hierarchical diagram of a computer program in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a moving image generation program showing an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the processing flow of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the video cut editor, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of cut definition processing by the user. , FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the support function at the time of cut definition in the present invention, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the cut definition table in the present invention, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of the cut generation command in the present invention, and FIG. The figure is a flowchart of the center point coordinate value calculation process performed when creating a cut generation command of the present invention, FIG. 11 is an auxiliary explanatory diagram of FIG. 4, and FIG. 12 is an auxiliary explanatory diagram of FIG. 101: Arithmetic processing unit, 1o2: Main storage device, 103:
Mouse, 104: Display device, 110: Disk device, 111. Program storage area, 112/Original image data file area, 113 Cut definition file area, 1
14. Cut image data file area, 120: Mouse cursor, 201: Job control program, 202/Editor program, 103: Image display program, 20
4: Command creation program, 205: Video generation control program, 206-Command analysis program, 2o7
: image cutting program, 208: image size conversion program, 209: kernel section, 210: file system, 401: moving image cut editor, 4o3: cut generation command, 501: original image display area, 502: moving image display area, 503 :Cut icon display area, 504:
Original image cropping frame, 505: Cut start composition icon, 5
06: Cut end #4 figure icon, 801: Original image cutting frame pipe ring table, 811: Route information management table,
821: Movement speed coefficient management table, 831: Frame size change speed coefficient management table, 8 Figure 8 (Part 2) (c) Figure (Part 1) (a) Figure (Part 1) al Figure (Part 2) (c) Figure (Part 3) (e) Figure (Part 1) Figure E (Part 2) cl (XCI +yC1)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Arranging a plurality of images forming moving image information,
In a method of electronically editing moving image information using a processing device, when an instruction is given to cut out multiple images from arbitrary different areas on the original image, the processing device cuts out the specified images. It is characterized by cutting out each image, enlarging or reducing each cut-out image to a predetermined size, using the processed images as frames, and generating moving image information by continuously joining a plurality of frames. A method for generating video information. 2. In the method for generating moving image information according to claim 1,
When the area to be cut out from the original image and the number of frames included in the video to be created are specified in order to create the first and last frames of the video to be created, the processing device performs the following steps:
A method for generating moving image information, characterized by sequentially determining cropping positions of consecutive frames based on the area and the number of frames, and performing a cropping process at each determined position to create moving image information. . 3. In the method for generating moving image information according to claim 2,
In order to create an arbitrary number of frames included in the video image to be created, the processing device identifies regions to be cut out from the original image and frame numbers indicating which frame of the video image each region corresponds to. A method of generating moving image information characterized by specifying. 4. In the method for generating moving image information according to claim 2,
When the cropping path between the first and last frame is specified, the processing device sets the position of an arbitrary point within the image cropping area on the original image based on the specified path, and continuously A method for generating moving image information, characterized by sequentially determining positions from which frames are cut out. 5. In the method for generating moving image information according to claim 2,
When the movement rate of each cut-out image between the first and last frames is specified, the processing device determines the position of an arbitrary point within the image cut-out area on the original image based on the specified movement rate. 1. A method of generating moving image information, the method comprising: setting and sequentially determining positions for cutting out consecutive frames. 6. The method for generating moving image information according to claim 2,
When the size change rate of each cropped image between the first and last frames is specified, the processing device calculates the size of the cropped area of each image on the original image based on the specified size change rate. 1. A method for generating moving image information, the method comprising: setting and sequentially determining the size of an area to be cut out for successive frames. 7. The method for generating moving image information according to claim 2,
The processing device positions the area from which the image is to be cut out so that when the size of the area from which the image is cut out is changed, a predetermined point on the original image is always displayed at a point on the moving image created by the change. A method of generating moving image information, the method comprising: setting. 8. The method for generating moving image information according to claim 1,
A method for generating moving image information, characterized in that, when the specified moving image information is generated, the processing device immediately reproduces the generated moving image information and continuously plays each frame. 9. The method for generating moving image information according to claim 8,
A method for generating moving image information, wherein the processing device changes the order of each frame when continuously reproducing the plurality of generated moving image information.