Methods and apparatuses for assisting the production of media works and the like

#The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for assisting users in the production of media works and the like from a plurality of recordings and other content assets.

#The entertainment industry has developed a new genre of movie/television entertainment called “Reality TV,” or “unscripted programming.” In this genre, untrained actors are placed in various settings with general direction and rules to guide their interactions, but without a specific script for actions or dialog. Beforehand, the production staff has a general idea of the storyline for the production, but the final storyline will depend upon the interactions that take place. Several video cameras are located within the settings and record the interactions among the actors for long periods of time. Various stimuli may be introduced into the settings by the production staff to provoke unpredictable interactions among the actors. After several settings have been videotaped for several hours over several days by several cameras, the production staff reviews hundreds to thousands of hours of videotape and constructs a final storyline for the TV production (i.e., media work).

#In a typical production, the raw video material is reviewed by several people, typically in the range of 10 to 50, each doing a specific task, such as logging, transcribing, scanning for story points, story writing, and setting creative directions. To review raw video material, each of the hundreds of videotapes is duplicated several times, and the duplicates are distributed among the production staff. The large number of tapes has, however, created several problems that hamper and delay the production, and that increase the need for additional staffing to manage the distribution of duplicate tapes. As a first problem, the duplication of the videotapes requires time and expensive duplicating equipment. This has created a significant bottleneck in getting the video material to the production staff. As a second problem, the task of duplicating tens to hundreds of tapes as quickly as possible often creates a haphazard work environment where the original tapes and duplicates can be misplaced, lost, mislabeled, mixed up, and/or stolen. As a third problem, the large volume of duplicate tapes complicates the tape management and distribution process, and often leads to the failure to distribute duplicate tapes to key staff production persons for transcription, logging, and storyline development. As a fourth problem, the large volume of video material has made it difficult for the production staff to communicate with one another and correctly identify important video scenes. This impedes the creativity and productivity of the producers and the storywriters. As a fifth problem, the large volume of original tapes makes it difficult to correlate and communicate all the production information (e.g., “shoot packet documentation”) associated with the original tapes. As a sixth problem, the production staff is essentially forced to work out of a central facility because of the need to have physical access to the duplicate tapes and associated documentation.

#FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary system according to the present invention.

#FIG. 2 shows an exemplary intake record used during an exemplary intake process according to the present invention.

#FIGS. 3A and 3B show exemplary media access records according to the present invention.

#The present invention provides several interconnected processes and systems that assist users in the production of media works from content recordings, which may comprise audio recordings, video recordings, photographs, artwork, production notes, and the like. The users of the production methods and systems are collectively referred to as the production staff, and include, but are not limited to, executives, directors, producers, storywriters, editors, assistants, and production staffers. A preferred embodiment 100 of a system according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. System 100 comprises a plurality of components 110-190 that may be interconnected by a digital-packet-based communications network 105. Communications network 105 may include local networks and the Internet. We briefly describe each of the components first, and then follow up with a more detailed description of their interactions with each other and with the users of the system. As explained below, while components 110-190 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as separate components coupled to communications network 105, various components may be combined together into respective groups.

#An intake unit 110 generates digital versions of audiotapes and videotapes, generally referred to herein as recordings, and places the digital version in a file-storage server 120 that is accessible over communications network 105. A media-library server 130 maintains a database of the stored digital versions of the recordings and enables users to associate various data files, such as logging, transcription, and production-note files, with each digital version. Media-library server 130 includes a digital version in its listing in response to the digital version being generated by intake unit 110. A plurality of access portals 150 provide browser-based navigation to the users of system 100 that enables them to search, listen, and view the digital versions, and to associate additional information and files with each digital version in the library listing.

#A notification processor 160 notifies a group of one or more users by e-mail when a digital version of a recording has been generated. The members of the group can be configured and changed by administrators of the system (i.e., users with special access privileges). Multiple groups can be created, and a user operating intake unit 110 can select which groups to notify depending upon the nature of the particular recording that the intake unit is processing. An e-mail server 170 connected to communications network 105 provides e-mail accounts to the users, stores the e-mail messages from notification processor 160, and allows the users to access their e-mail messages through the access portals 150. As another component of system 100, a transcription-logging processor 180 sends an electronic request to a user or outside vendor (both generically referred to herein as a transcribing party) to create a transcription file, log file, or combination transcription/log file for a recording when the corresponding digital version has been generated. Transcription-logging processor 180 receives in return a data file of the transcription and/or log, loads it into file-storage server 120 or the like, and causes the media-library server 130 to include the data file in its listing along with the digital version.