Method and system for creating a commemorative presentation

#The present invention relates in general to computer systems for creating commemorative presentations, with an illustrative embodiment being described in the context of commemorative videos for use in the death care industry.

#Throughout history and across cultural divisions, a variety of different ceremonies and memorials have been used to commemorate the death of a loved one. Indeed, ceremonies and memorials have become integral for helping the living cope with the death and for commemorating the loved one for future generations. For instance, traditional western ceremonies typically involve a funeral home visitation, a burial, and a wake, with the grave site being marked by a headstone. In the case of cremation, ashes are often placed in a sealed urn. For many historically significant individuals, their deaths are sometimes commemorated with a memorial, such as a statue, which is often dedicated years after that individual's death.

#While traditional ceremonies and memorials are without a doubt important, they do have several shortcomings. For instance, visitors have traditionally been required to be physically located at the ceremony or the memorial to view or reflect on the individual. If you are not physically present at the ceremony or the memorial, you cannot share in the achievements and memories associated with the individual. In the case of many ceremonies, the duration is limited to the actual time of the ceremony. Any reflection after the ceremony is limited to the memories of those who actually attended. A further shortcoming is the relatively limited scope of the commemoration. Visitations typically involves a eulogy and memories shared between the participants. Outside the spoken words of the visitors, however, little or no other memories are shared. In the case of traditional memorials, including headstones, urns, statues and the like, memories and messages are usually limited only to a few words etched in stone or on a plaque.

#While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart for creating and displaying a commemorative video;

#FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system for creating and displaying commemorative videos;

#While the following detailed description illustrate specific applications of the present invention in the context of the death care industry, it is contemplated that the concepts and ideas described herein have equal utility and uses in other applications.

#FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate examples of the invention in which a deceased person is commemorated at a funeral service and afterwards. At step (10), a plurality of images related to the deceased people are compiled. This step (10) will often involve the customer (36), who in many cases will be a relative of loved one of the deceased, gathering images related to the deceased person. The images can take a variety of forms, including photographic still images, video images, drawings or paintings, documents, and the like. If the images are not in a digital format, it is preferred that they be converted to digital files using techniques known in the art. For instance, it is contemplated that the funeral home (34) would include a workstation with digital scanner where the customer could scan images into a digital format. Alternatively, the customer (36) could scan the images at home or other location. Typically, the images are submitted to the funeral home (34) or the server (32). The submission can be by physically delivering (e.g. hand deliver, mail, etc.) the images or by electronic submission via peer-to-peer or network connections (A), over the Internet (30) via Internet connections (B), or a combination of both.

#At step (12), configuration data is created relating to the display of the images. The configuration data defines at least in part how the submitted images will be displayed in a commemorative video. The configuration data will preferably include one or more configuration templates that may be modified to customize the commemorative video based on a customer's (36) preferences. For instance, the customer (36) may select a variety of different video display options through an appropriate user interface. The configuration data can be specific to one or more images and/or apply globally to the entire video. As such, the type of configuration data being created can vary substantially based on the variety of options and type of commemorative video. In one embodiment, the video comprises a sequential display of the compiled images. In such case, the configuration data (44) can include the sequence of images to be displaying in the video. The configuration data (44) can also include the time period between image transitions in the video. For instance, each image could have a user defined display time. The configuration data (44) can also include the type of transition of the images (e.g. fading, blinds, box, checkerboard, cover, uncover, wipe, cut, dissolved, random bars, split, strips, and other transition techniques known in the slideshow art). In some cases, the configuration data (44) can include panning and zooming parameters for the images. The configuration data (44) may also include user-specified frames for the images, and background music, colors, patterns and animations. The configuration data (44) may also include introductory and ending screens (e.g. featuring text and graphics that may or may not include images) and appropriate credits. The configuration data (44) may also include text or notes to accompany or describe the images, the deceased person, or tributes to the deceased person. The configuration data (44) may also include links to other sources of data, whether within or external to the datastore (40). For instance, the links could include data relating to organizations to which the deceased may have been affiliated. So, for example, if the deceased was a fire fighter, the corresponding configuration data (44) may include links to images or other data relating to the fire department which may be included in the video.