Method and apparatus for defining a storyline based on path probabilities

A method comprising:

• for a plurality of identified frames of a video comprising a first frame and at least one second frame subsequent to the first frame, identifying, by at least one processor of a computing device, regions of the first frame that have been viewed and regions of the second frame that have been viewed, wherein a respective region of the first and second frames comprises a portion of a respective frame located at a spatial position within the respective frame;
• determining transition probabilities with the at least one processor of the computing device by determining, for each of at least one first-frame region of one or more regions of the first frame, a transition probability of transitioning from a respective first-frame region of the first frame to each of at least one second-frame region of a plurality of regions of the second frame, wherein a respective transition probability represents a probability that a viewer viewing the respective first-frame region of the first frame would subsequently view a respective second-frame region of the second frame;
• based on the transition probabilities, determining, by the at least one processor of the computing device, path probabilities comprising a path probability for each of at least one of a plurality of paths through at least the first and second frames of the video, wherein a respective path extends through a region from each of at least the first and second frames, wherein the path probability of the respective path defines a likelihood of the viewer viewing the regions of the first and second frames through which the respective path extends;
• and
• defining, by the at least one processor of the computing device, a storyline to be one of the plurality of paths based on at least one of the path probabilities.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code stored therein, the computer-readable program code configured, upon execution, to:

• identify, for a plurality of identified frames of a video comprising a first frame and at least one second frame subsequent to the first frame, regions of the first frame that have been viewed and regions of the second frame that have been viewed, wherein a respective region of the first and second frames comprises a portion of a respective frame located at a spatial position within the respective frame;
• determine transition probabilities by determining, for each of at least one first-frame region of one or more regions of the first frame, a transition probability of transitioning from a respective first-frame region of the first frame to each of at least one second-frame region of a plurality of regions of the second frame, wherein a respective transition probability represents a probability that a viewer viewing the respective first-frame region of the first frame would subsequently view a respective second-frame region of the second frame;
• based on the transition probabilities, determine path probabilities comprising a path probability for each of at least one of a plurality of paths through at least the first and second frames of the video, wherein a respective path extends through a region from each of at least the first and second frames, wherein the path probability of the respective path defines a likelihood of the viewer viewing the regions of the first and second frames through which the respective path extends;
• and
• define a storyline to be one of the plurality of paths based on at least one of the path probabilities.