Analog/digital video and audio picture composition apparatus and method for video composition

Apparatus for composing image source material stored on at least one image storage medium, said source material being composed of a sequence of stored fields representing a time sequential visual image, sequences of said fields being associated to form a visual segment, said apparatus comprising:

• an active pictorial display means for providing a temporal pictorial presentation of a selected segment, designated the current segment;
• a plurality of passive pictorial display means, each for providing a visual presentation of a selected field of a sequence of fields forming said visual segment, each said selected field thereby labeling one said visual segment;
• said passive pictorial display means being arranged in a plurality of ordered arrays, each said ordered array providing a visual presentation of a temporal snapshot representation of a plurality of related visual segments;
• a plurality of storage memories;
• operator control means;
• and
• a composing control means operative with said medium and said operator control means, said composing control means comprising:
• means responsive to said operator control means for repeatedly selecting among said sequences of fields for editing said sequences, a last selected sequence being the segment designated the current segment;
• means for repetitively providing said active display means with electrical signals from said at least one storage medium pictorially representing said current segment in a repeating display;
• means for selectively supplying each said passive display means with electrical data signals representing a selected one of a sequence of labeling fields;
• means for associating with each said current segment at least one current label field;
• means for maintaining a record of the sequence of current segments;
• wherein said active display means and said passive display means comprise a plurality of display window on a monitor screen;
• and
• means for displaying said active display and said passive display windows substantially concurrently on the monitor screen.