Character-based automated shot summarization
OwnerFrank Elmo Weberinventor
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Abstract
Methods, devices, systems and tools are presented that allow the summarization of text, audio, and audiovisual presentations, such as movies, into less lengthy forms. High-content media files are shortened in a manner that preserves important details, by splitting the files into segments, rating the segments, and reassembling preferred segments into a final abridged piece. Summarization of media can be customized by user selection of criteria, and opens new possibilities for delivering entertainment, news, and information in the form of dense, information-rich content that can be viewed by means of broadcast or cable distribution, “on-demand” distribution, internet and cell phone digital video streaming, or can be downloaded onto an iPod™ and other portable video playback devices.
Claims16
A method for summarizing an audiovisual presentation, comprising:
- a) providing an audiovisual presentation having a first temporal length,
- i) a plurality of shot segments, each shot segment comprising a segment component;
- ii) a plurality of secondary segments selected from the group comprising a dialogue segment, a non-dialogue segment, a non-dialogue segment with music segment, and an audience reaction segment;
- b) rating each shot segment by automatically determining a shot segment significance value for each shot segment, the method comprising:
- determining at least two segment component significance values for at least one segment component characteristic including determining whether the segment component is a noun, pronoun, reference to a story character, a frequency of occurrence of the segment component, a match of the segment component to a predetermined database of segment components;
- and combining the at least two segment component significance values to determine the shot segment significance value;
- c) determining the secondary significance value of one or more of the secondary segments wherein the secondary significance value weights the significance value of the shot segment;
- d) receiving a user generated time significance value threshold;
- e) using the significance value threshold to select the shot segment if the weighted shot segment significance value exceeds the significance value threshold, and delete the shot segment if the shot segment significance value is below the significance value threshold;
- f) combining each shot segment with the weighted shot segment significance value exceeding the significance value threshold into a summarized version of the audiovisual presentation;
- and
- g) providing the summarized version of the audiovisual presentation, the audiovisual presentation having a second temporal length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.