A METHOD TO CONVERT TWO-DIMENSIONAL MOTION PICTURES FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS

Abstract: Standard two-dimensional motion picture film or videotape (10) is processed to exhibit three-dimensional or depth characteristics (70). Separation of a single two-dimensional image (10) into diverse elements is accomplished by a computer (50) assisted human operated (35) system. Depth information is assigned to various elements by a combination of human decisions and computer (50) analyses. Resulting images of three-dimensional format (70, 75) are produced under computer (50) control.

Description: A METHOD TO CONVERT TWO DIMENSIONAL MOTION PICTURES FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS TECHNICAL FI LD The invention relates to a me hod For converting existing fi Im or videotape motion pictures to a form that can be used wi th three- dimensional systems For broadcast or exhibition. BACKGROUND ART Wi th the advent oF stereophoni c sound, var ious techniques were developed to convert or 're-process' existing mαnophonic programs for stereophonic broadcast or recording systems. These included modifying the equi I ization, phase or tonal qua I i ties of separate copies of the mαnophonic program for the l eft and right channel s. Whi l e true stereophonic or bi naura l effects may not have been SUBSTITUTE SHEET achieved, the effects were much improved over feeding the identical moπophonic signal to bath channels. Simi l ar ly, wi th the a lmost universa l use of co l or product ion, exhibi t ion and broadcast systems for mot ion p i cures and telev ision, systems have been deve loped to convert exist ing monochrome or black E- white materials to color programs. Such a system is descr ibed in app 1 icant Gεshwiπd's patent number 4,605,625, issued August 19, 1986. The resul ts αf these colorized products, whi le not a lways identica l to true co l or mo t i on pictures, are more suitable than black E- white For color systems. There have been a number αf systems for exhibition or display of left- and right-eye pai rs of binocul ar mo ion pictures. Ear l y systems reqired two complete l y redundant project ion or displ ay sy s terns ; e.g. two f i lm projectors or CRT tel evision displ ays, each routed to one eye via mirrors. Other systems require either ' comp 1 icated and expensive projection or disp lay sytems, or expensi e 'glasses' to del iver two separate images. For example: red- and green-t inted monochrome images are both projected or displ ayed to be v iewed through g l asses with l ef t and right lenses tinted either red or green; two ful 1-cαlor images are projected through mutua l l y perpendicular polarized f i l ers and vi ewed through glasses with lenses that are also polarized in the same manner; l eft and right images are disp l ayed on a l ernate odd and even f iel ds Cor frames] oF a standard [or high scan rate] te l ev is ion CRT and are v i ewed through 'g l asses' wi th shutters [ei ther rotat ing b l ades or f l ickering LCDs, For example] that al ternate the view αf left and right eyes in synchrony with the odd or even f ields αf the CRT. I Of the above systems, the second i s not at a l I usab l e wi th standard home te l ev i s ion recei vers, the thi rd requi res very expensive 'glasses' and may f I icker with standard home receivers, and the f i rst produces on l y strang l y t intεd monochrome images. Further, none of the systems may be broadcast over standard television for unimpeded viewing without special gl asses. Thus, unti l now, compatab le [i.e., viewabl e as two-d imens i ana I , without glasses] home reception of 3-D images was not possible. However, a new system, which takes advantage of di fferent ia l processing of left- and right-eye images in the human perceptual system, del ivers a composite image on a standard home television recei ver that can be v iewed as a norma l 2-D picture wi hout g l asses. Very inexpens ive g l asses, wi th one I ight and one dark l ens, accentuate the di fferent ia l process ing of the image, as iewed by each eye, to produce a 3-D depth effect. Pract ica l , i nexpens'i ve, compatab l e [wi th standard TV] 3-D te l ev ision may now became widespread. In addi ion to mater ia I s specifica l ly produced for the new system [or other 3-D systems] conversion αf standard 2-D programs to 3-D format would provide additiona l product to broadcast using the new compatabl e system [or for other 3-D projection systems]. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Appl icant Handal 's previous appl ication, number "479,679, fi led March 2B, 1983 and now abandoned, relates a process and apparatus for deriving l eft- and right-eye pairs of binocular images, F rom certain types αf two dimensiona l fi Im material s. In part icular, the ma eria l s must consist of separate foreground and background elements, such as cartoon animation eel I s and background art. By taking into account the paral lax between scenes as viewed by the l eft and right eyes, two images are prepared where foreground elements are shifted with respect to background elements by an amount that indicates their depth in the third dimension. Two- dimensional motion pictures that consist of a series of singl e composite images could not be converted to hree-dimensiona l format, by this technique, without first being separated into various background and foreground elements. Once corrmitted to two-dimensional motion pictures, the separation and depth information for various scene elements, in the third dimension, are lost. Thus, the separation of two-dimensional image sequences into individual image elements and the generation of three-dimensional depth information for each such image element are not simple or trivial tasks, and are the further subject of the instant invention. In accordance with the invention, standard two-dimensional motion picture f i Im or videotape may be converted or processed, for use with three-dimensional exhibition or transmission systems, so as to exhibit at least some three-dimensional or depth character¬ istics. Ξeperation αf a single 2-D image stream into diverse elements is accαmp 1 i shed by a computer assisted, human operated system. (If working from discrete 2-D f i 1m sub-components, such as animation elements, the separation step may be ommited.] Depth information is assigned to various elements fay a combination of human decisions and/or computer analyses and resul ting images αf three-dimensional format are produced under computer control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS A method for carrying out the invention is described in the accompanying drawings in which: < Figure 1 is a diagram i I lustratiπg the relationship of a 2-D source fi lm image, l eft and right image pai rs, and a composite 3-D image frame. Figure 2 is a schema ic diagram αf a system for carrying out an imp I imentation αf the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION An irrmense amount of standard, 2-D motion picure material exists in the form of fi lm and videotape. In addition, certain matεrial s ex ist in the form αf di screte 2-D image sub-componen s, such as animated ee l I and background paint ings. As the use of 3-D exhibi t ion and broadcast systems becomes more widespread, the conversion of existing 2-D programs to a Format that wi 1 I exhibit at l east some 3-D or depth effects, when used wi th 3-D systems, i s de s i red. Extract ing i ndi v i dua l image e l ements or 3-D depth informat ion from a 2-D f i lm frame, or synthes iz ing 3-D informat ion for those e l ements, ent i re l y by compute r equ i pped w i th a r t i f i c i a l inte l l igence, is not now pract ica l . Therefore, the emb o d i me n t α f the invent ion as described herein emp l oys a high degree of human i nteract i on w i th the computer . However . as a r t i f i c i a l intel 1 igence progresses, a pr εdomi nant I y or comp I ete I y automated system may become pract ica l and i s wi thin the intended scope αf the i nvent i on. Figure 1 shows a frame 20 of a standard 2-D f i lm or v i deo mot ion p i cture, cons i st i ng of a cross-hatched background p l ane 21 , a l arge whi te ci rc l e 22 in the mid-ground, and a sma I I b l ack square 23 in the foreground. I t is a 2-D representa ion of origina l 3-D scene 10 compr i s i ng e l ements 1 1 , 12 and 13, wh i ch i s not '-H:~: j :~_____,-T I avai lable for direct 3-D photography. After human identification of individual image elements and depth assignment, the computer generates, from frame 10, a pair αf coordinated left 30 and right 40 images with backgrounds 31 and 41, circles 32 and 42. and squares 33 and 43 respectively. Note that the relative positions of the square and circle are different in the left and right images; this situation is simi lar tα the paral lax that might result between left- and right-eye views if one were tα have viewed the original scene 10 directly. Three-dimensional format Frame 50 is generated by encoding the information in the left 30 and right 40 image pair, in a manner consistent wi h any one αf a number of existing 3-D systems. The specific operation of these various 3-D systems is not the subject of the instant invention. Alternately, the steps of generating and encoding 3-D information may be combined such that 3-D format Frame 50 may be processed directly from 2-D frame 20 without generating left 30 and right 40 image pairs. In either case, 3-D format frame 50 when viewed by human 60 through 3-D glasses 70 is perceived as 3-D scene 80, containing elements BI, 82 and 83, which has at least some of- the 3-D characteristics αf original 3-D scene 10. Various systems for the encoding, display, projection, recording, transmission or viewing of 3-D images exist, and new sysems may be developed. Specifical ly, various techniques For speci fying, encoding and viewing 3-D information may now, or come to, exist, w ich do not make use of paral lax offset and/or left and right image pai rs and/or viewing g l asses, or which embody new techniques or changes and imprαvments to current systems. Further, such systems may integrate information frommore than one 2-D source frame 20 into a single resultant 3-D frame 50. The specifics αf operation of such systems is not the subject of the instant invention, however, preparation of 2-D program material for such systems is. SUBSTiTUT The oFfsets shown for elements 31, 32 and 33 in left frame 30 and e l ements 41 , 42 and 43 i n r ight frame 40 are meant to be i I lustrative and do not necessari ly fα I low the correct rul es for image paral lax. In fact, depending upon where viewer attention is meant to be centered, different r les may apply. For example, one technique is to gi ve no para l l ax offset tα far background e l ements and to g i ve progress i ve l y more para l l ax offset to objects as th.ey get c l oser. Al ternate l y, attent ion may be centered in the mid-ground with no paral lax offset o mid-range objects, some paral lax offset to close-range objects and reverse paral lax offset tα far-range objects. The particular placement of objects and attent ion point in the 3-D scene is as much an art as a science and is cr i t ica l to the enjoyment of 3-D programs and, in any event, is not meant to be the subject αf this invention. Figure 2 shows a schemat ic αf a system tα imp l ement the instant invent ion. A 2-D F i lm or v ideo image 10 is input tα a v ideo moni tor 20 and to the scanning port ion 41 of frame buffer 40, V ideo mon i tor 20 is capab l e of di sp l aying ei ther the 2-D image being input 10 or the output from d i sp l ay port ion 42 of Frame buffer 40. Frame buffer 40 consists of an image scanner 41 which can convert the input image into digi ta l form to be stored in a port ion of Frame buffer memory sect ion 44, a di sp l ay sect ion 42 which creates a v ideo image from the contents of a port ion of memory section 44, and a computer interface section 43 which al lows the computer CPU 50 to read from and wri te tα the memory sect ion 44. Graphic input tablet 30 and sty lus 35 al low the human operator to input position information tα the computer 50 which can indicate the out l ine of indi v idua l image e l emen ts, choice of a speci f ic image element or part of an image el ement, depth speci fication, choice of one of a number of funct ions offered on a 'menu', or other information. An image cursor can be displayed on moni tor 20 s—-'*_'__sv_ i « i S_ by frame buffer 40 to visual ly indicate the location or status of the input from the tablet 30 and pen 35. Text and numeric information can also be input by the operator on keyboard 55. Computer CPU 50 is εquiped with software which al laws i t to interpret the corrmaπds and input from the human operator, and to process the digitized 2-D information input from 2-D frame 10 into digital 3-D frame information, based on said human commands and input. Said digital 3-D frame information is then output by output interface 60 [which may be simi I ar to frame buffer 40 or of some other design] to a videotape recorder 70 or to a fi Im recorder 75, capable αf recording 3-D Format frames. The system as described above operates as Fo I lows. A frame of the 2-D program is displayed on the video monitor far viewing by the human operator. With the tablet and stylus the operator out l imes various 2-D image areas tα indicate to the computer the boundaries αf various image elements to be separately processed. [Far materials, such as animation components, that already exist as separate elements, the previous stage of the process may be skipped.] Depth position information, in the third dimension, is determined For each image element, by a combination αf operator input and computer analysis. Left and right image pairs or a 3-D composite image is processed by the computer, from the 2-D input image, based on the computer software and operator instructions. Depending upon the particular 3-D system to be used, left- and right- image pairs may or may not be the final stage or an intermediate stage or bypassed entirely. Further, for some 3-D systems, information frommore than one 2-D source frame may be combined into one 3-D frame (or frame pair]. In any event, the final 3-D information is then col lected on a videotape or fi lm recorder. The process is then repeated for additional 2-D Frames. Each image element may be given a uniform depth designation which may cause the perception αf 'cardboard cut-out' characters. »v_»!_ 1 i S ϋ I ύ ΈX Al ternately, different portions of a single image element may be g iven di fferent depth des ignat ions wi th the computer interpo¬ lating depth coordinates over the entire element. For example, an image element positioned diagona l ly in a frame may have its right edge designated to be closer than its left edge. Al ternately, one feature of an image e l ement, say a person's nose in a c l ose-up, might be designated as being c l oser than the rest of the image e l ement. In such manner, the computer woul d be instructed tα interpolate and process depth informa ion aver the entire image el ement. Such processing of the image el ement, in accordance with varying depth information, may resul t in the stretching, skewing or other distortion αf the image element. Depth interpol ation may a l so be carried out over t i e, be ween frames. For examp l e, an image e l ement might be designated to be close in one frame and tα be far away in a later frame. The depth of the image element may be interpolated For the frames between the two designated frames. Further, the posit ion oF the image element in the two dimensions of the f i Im frame, and the shape of the out l ine separating the image- e I ement f rom the rest of the source image, may al so be interpolated over time, between frames. Linear and πon- I inear interpolation techniques are we I I known and may be rεadi ly app I i ed. I t is al so possible to add random noise to the depth information to el iminate the appearance of flat objects moving in space and to help achieve greater real ism. For a particular image el ement, depth position may be derived by the computer, alone or with operator input, by measuring the size of the image element in a frame. For example, once a person were out l ined, his overa l l height in the 2-D fi lm f rame migh be extracted by the computer as an indicat ion oF depth di stance. Using knowledge, or making assumptions, about the object's real s ize, and the character i st ics oF the camera and l ens, the v->_ ( - ' ■ i U j b JHEi distance αf the ob ect from the camera may be ca l cu l ated by app lying we 1 1 known princip l es αf perspective and opt ics. Al ternately, if overal l size cannot be easi ly ex racted by the computer, key points might be indicated by the operator for the computer tα measure. Comparing the change of s ize of an image e l ement in severa l f rames wi I I provide informat ion about the movement of the object in the third dimension. I t should be noted that horizontal paral lax offsets are, by far, more obvious, due to the fact that our eyes are separated in the horizonta l direct ion. However, vertica l of fset di f ferences between left- and right-eye views may also be appropriate. As various image e l ements are separated and assigned depth va l ues, a si tuat ion deve l ops where diverse objects exist in a 'three-dimensional space' within the computer. It should be noted that, in order to disp l ay a rea l is ic representat ion αf the ent ire scene, fαwardmost objects must obscure a l I or part of rearmost objects wi th which they overl ap [except in the case where a fowardmost object were transparent]. When generat ing left- and right-eye views. the pattern of overl ap αf image e l ements, and thus the pattern αf obscuring of image el ements wi l l , in general , be different. Further, for i age e 1 emen ts a have been assigned noπ-uπifαrm depth values [e.g., image elements that are not f l at or not in a p lane perpendicu l ar tα the thi rd dimension] the intersection between these image elements, for the purpose αf one obscuring the other, may be non-tri v ia l tα ca lculate. However, there are we 1 1 known techniques, that have been developed for computer image synthesis, that al law far the sorting, intersect ion and disp l ay of diverse, over l apping 3-D image e 1 emeπts. As image el ements are separated from background scenes or each other, holes may develop. The computer software wi I I compensate far this by f i l l ing in missing in format ion in one particular 2-D SUBSTITUTE SHEET frame wi th the equiva l ent part of the image e l ement From ear l ier or l ater f rames whenever possib l e. Al ternate ly, materia l to 'p l ug ho l es' may be created by the operator or by the computer f rom adjacent areas or may be newly synthesized. Further, as two image e l ements are separated from each other, the fowardmost αf the two may be mo v ed c l oser to the v i ewer; hence, i t may be appropr i ate to make it l arger. Thus, the increased s ize may cover the gaps in the rearmos el ement αf the two. As part of the process i ng to be performed απ the 2-D source image, indi v idua l image e l ements or composite images, addi t iona l ef fects may be programmed into the computer to heighten the sense of depth. For examp l e, shadows cast by one image e l ement an another e lement or the background may be ca l cul ated and inserted; far d i stant l andscape e l ements may be made hazy or b l u i sh tα indicate remoteness; di fferent image e l ements may be b l urred or sharpened to s imu l ate dep t h-o f - f i e I d ; or, the di stance between c l ose objects ma y be exagerated to emp has ize thei r separat i on. There are, of course, other technica l or art ist ic techniques that can be used to i ndi cate depth i n an i mage and wh i ch may a l so be i ncorporated i nto the image process i ng programs and wou l d therefore be par t of the i nvent i on as descr i bed here i n. Therefore, the above examp l es are i I l ustrat ive and shoul d not be construed as l imi t i ng the scope of the i nvent i on. A l ternate l y, depth info rma t i on may be i ntent i ona l l y d i storted for ef fect or for art ist ic purposes. Imprαvments may be made to the F i na l product by inc l ud ing new image e l ements that were not part of the or i g ina l 2-D source image. These cou l d i nc l ude 2-D image e l ements that are then ass igned depth va l ues, 3-D image e l ements created by 3-D photography and then entered i nto the computer as l ef t- and r ight- image pa i rs. For examp l e, or synthet ic 3-D computer generated graphics. I n part icu l ar, since computer generated image e l ements can be created wi th depth informat ion, they can be SU3STH -ri ! *= cμ p __T i eas i ly integrated into the overal I 3-D scene with vivid effect. For example, a 3-D laser blast cαu 1 d be created by computer image synthesis such that it would in turn αbsure and be obscured by other image elements in an appropriate manεr. and might even be created sα as tα appear to continue beyond the front of the screen into "viewer space'. Animated fi lm components usual ly have relatively few background paintings, which are kept sεparate from the animated characters in the foreground. For these, or for I ive 2-D f i Imεd scεπes, once the Foreground elεmεnts havε bεεπ separated from the background, the Flat 2-D backgrounds may be replaced by 3-D backgrounds. The 3-D backgrounds might consist oF computer generated graphics, in which case depth information for the various el ements oF the background would be avai I ab 1 ε at the time of the background creation. Alternately, 3-D backgrounds might be created using 3-D photography, in which casε depth informa ' tiαn for the background elements may be derived, by the computer, from the comparison of the left- and right-image pairs αf the 3-D background photographs and applying known image processing and pattern recognition techniques. Al ternate l y, depth information to create 3-D backgrounds may be specified otherwise by operator input and/or computer processing. Once depth information is avai lable for the various background elements, it may compared to depth information for the other i age e 1 ements with hich it is to bε comb i nεd in εach f ramε. Thus, thε 3-D background may itsel have some dep h and, in effect, be a 'set' within which other image el ements may be positioned in Front of, behind or intersecting various background elements for added real ism. It should be noted that, intendεd purpose and software algorithms aside, the design and operation of the 3-D conversion system described herein has many simi larities with the bl ack _- whi te footage cαlorizatiαπ system describεd in app 1 icant Geshwind's patent 4,605,625. They are both computer-aided systems which di sp l ay standard f i lm images to an operator, a l l ow the operator to input informat ion separat ing various image e l ements wi thin the f rame, a l l ow the operator to spec i fy attr ibutes (co l or i n one case, depth in the other] for the image e l ements, and cause the computer tα process new image frames from the or igina l , based on the operator input. Thus, the process ing of 2-D b l ack and whi te footage to add both co l or and depth i nformat i on wou l d be much more eff icient than imp l emεπt ing εach process separate ly. The scope αf the i ns tant i πvεnt i on i s thε convers i on or process i ng of 2-D prog ram ma er i a l for use w i th any 3-D exhibi tion or distribut ion system now in use or l ater dεve I opεd, but not the spec i f i c method of operat i on αf any part i cu l ar 3-D s y s t em . I t wi l l thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the proceed i ng descr i pt i on, are efficiently- attained and certain changes may be made in carrying out thε above method and i n the construct i on set for th. According l y, i t is intended that a l I matter conta ined in the above description or shown in the accompanying figures sha I I be interpreted as i I lustrative and not in a I imitiπg sense. Now that the invention has been described, what is cl aimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: SUBSTIT U i ;ΞT

Claims: 1. A method consisting of the steps of: a. inputing a frame of a two-d imens i απa \ image into a computer; b. specifying at least two individual image elements in the two-dimensional image; c. separating the two-dimensional image into said image elements; d. specifying three-dimensional information For at least one αf said image elements; e. processing at least one of said image elements to incorporate said hree-dimensional information and create at lεast one processed image element; f. generating at least one procεssεd ϊmagε rame comprising at least one of said processed image elements. 2. A methαd as in cl aim 1 wherein said step f resul ts in the generation of a left and right pair of processed image frames. 3. A method as in claim 2 comprising thε additional step of: g, combining said left and right image pair into a sing l e processed image. 4. A method as in claim 2 comprising the additional step of: g. encoding said l eft and right processed image pai r For v iewing, by coloring each oF said pair different colors. 5. A method as in claim 2 comprising thε additional step αf: g. encoding said l eft and r ight processed image pa i r for viewing, by passing each of said pair through mutual ly perpendicularly polarized fi l ters. A mεthod as in claim 2 comprising the additional stεp αf: g. εncoding said l eft and r ight processed image pa i r for viewing, by displaying each of said pair al ternatεly .on a v idεo d i sp 1 ay. 7. As method as in c l aim 1 , wherein said step f resu l ts in a processed image frame such that, when viewed through glasses with one dark and one I ight lens, 3-d imεns i ana I effects are perceived. 8. A method as in claim 1 comprising the additional step of: g. recording said processed image frame. 9. A mεthod as in claim 7 comprising the additional step oF: g. recording said processed image Framε. 10. A mεthod as in c l aim 1 wherein said steps are appl ied to ! JO T"! I-ΓΓ™ ' •--■— - 1 B- successive frames in a motion picture sequεπce. 11. A method as in claim 2 wherein said steps are app I i ed to 5 successive frames in a motion picture sequence. 12. A method as in claim 7 wherein said steps are appl ied to succεssivε frames in a motion picture sequence. 10 13. A product produced by the mεthod describεd in claim 10. 15 14. A product producεd by the method describεd in claim 11. 15. A product produced by the method described in claim 12. 0 16. A method as in c l a im 1 where i n at l east one of sa i d processed imagε ε l εmεπts prαducεd in stεp e is a shadow e I εmeπt . 5 17. A methαd as in claim 1 wherein at least one of said image elements in step ε is processed to include additional two- dimensional image information not contained in the original unprocessed two-dimensional image. 30 IB. A mεthod as in cl aim 17 wherein said addi t iona l two- dimensional image information is derived from another image. 35 SUBSTi " 'JCC 1 19. A method as in claim 1 wherein said processed image elements in step F are combined wi th at l east one addi t iona l 3-D image e l ement not der i ved f rom the source image to create said processed image frame. 5 20. A me thαd as in c l aim 19 wherein said addi t iona l 3-D image element is derived from a 3-D photograph. 10 21. A method as in c l aim 19 wherein said addi tiona l 3-D image element is derived From a computer genεrated 3-D image. 15 22. A method as in c l a im 1 wherein said three-dimens iona l information for at least one of said image elεmεnts in step d is specified only at certain points and is i nterpα I at i ve I y derived for other points on said imagε εlement. 0 23. A me hod as in c l aim 10 wherεiπ said t h r εe-d i men s i ona I information for at least one of said image el ements in step d is speci f iεd on ly for certain frames and is empora l l y interpolated for frames between said certain Frames. 5 24. A method as in c l a im 10 wherein said spec i F i ca i on oF at least one oF said image elεments in step b is speci Fied only for certain frames and is temporal ly interpolated far frames 0 between said certain frames. 25. A method as in claim 1 wherein random noise is added to the threε-d imεns i ona I information speicifiεd in step d. 5 UL_>-D iil Ulc srfc T 1 B- 1 26. A method as in claim 1 whεrεin at lεast some of said three- dimensional information specified in step d is derived from the measurement of at least one aspect αf an image element. 5 27. A method as in claim 10 wherein at least some of said three- dimensional information specified in step d is derived from the measurement of the change of at l east one aspect of an 10 image element in success ivε frames. 28. A me thod as in c laim 1 whεrεiπ said two-d imens i ona I image frame is a black and white image frame, said image elements 15 are bl ack and whi te imagε e l ements, and said process ing includes the process of adding color tα at least one αf said black and whi e image elements. 20 29. A me thod as in cl aim 2B wherεin said stεps are appl ied tα successive frames in a motion picture sequence. 30. A product produced by the mεthod αf claim 29. 25 31. An apparatus for convert ing a two- imensiona l image frame into a three-d imens i ona l image f rame compr i s i ng, i n comb i πat i on: 30 a. a mεans for scanning said two-dimensional image f rame into a computer; b. a mεaπs for spεcifying individual image elεmεπts in said 35 frame; SUBSTITUTE ^ T I c. a means far separat ing said frame into said indi v idua l e I emε n t s ; d. a means for speci fying three-dimens iona l informat ion for each αf said indiv idua l image e l ements; e. a means for process ing said indiv idua l imagε e l ements to create processed image e l mεnts; f . a mεans for crεat iπg said thrεe-d imens i ona I image frame compr i s i ng at l eas t one of sa i d processed image e I erne π t s ; g. a means for αutput ing sa i d h rεe-d imεπs i απa I imagε rame . 32. An apparatus for converting a two-dimensiona l image sequence into a three-di ens iona I image sequence and produc i ng a t hree-d imεns i ona l image record i ng compr i s i ng, i n comb i na t i on : a. a means far scanning sa id sequence into a computer; b. a means for speci fying indi v idua l image el ements in said sequence; c. a means f o r sepa ra t i ng sa i d sequence i n to sa i d indi v idua l image e l ements; d. a means for speci fying ree-dimensiona l informat ion For said indi v idua l image * e I emen t s; e. a means For processing said indi v idua l image α l emeπts to • i i -rr I f create processed image elements; f. a means for combining said procεssed image elements into a processed image sequence; g. a means for output ing said t h reε-d imεns i ona I image sequence; h. a means for recording said three-dimens iona l image sequence. 33. A method consisting αf the steps αf: a. inputing Frames αf a two-dimensional imagε sεquence into a computer; b. specifying at least two individual image elemεπts in thε two-dimensional image sequence; c. separating the two-dimensional images into said image εI ments; d. specifying hree-dimensional information far at least one of said image elements; e. processing at least one of said image el ements tα incorporate said threε-d imens i ona I information and create at least one procεssεd image εlement; f . generat i ng a sεquence of processed image f rames comprising at least one αf said processed image elements said gεπεrat ion to be αf such a nature sα as tα εxhibi t h reε- d imens i ona I depth characteristics when v i ewed through glasses with αnε I ight and onε dark lens. SUB ET 34. A method as in claim 29 comprising the additiona l step: transmission of said threε-d imens i ana I image sequence. 35 A method as in claim 33 comprising the additional step: 10 transmission of said threε-d imens i ona I image sequence. 36. As method as in claim 33 wherein said two-dimensiona l imagε sequεnce is a b l ack and whi te imagε sεquencε, said imagε 15 ε l εmεnts are b l ack and whi te image e l εmεnts, and sa id processing includes the process of adding color to at least one αf said black and white image el ements. 20 37. A product produced by the method αf claim 36, 38. A method consisting of the steps of: 25 a. inputiπg frames of a two-dimensional image sequence into a computer, each of sa id rames consist ing of at l east two individual image elements; b. speci fying threε-d imens i ona I information for at least 30 αnε of said imagε εlεmεn s; c. process iπg at l east one αf said image ε l ements tα incorporate sa id t h ree- i mεns i ona 1 informat ion and create at least one processed image elεment; 5 w ϋ :i ; 11 O i £. < »__.>- s d. generating a sequence of processed image frames compris ing at l east one αf said processed image eI emeπts . 39. A mεthαd as in claim 38 wherein said indiv idua l image elemεnts in step a are derived from sub-components of an an imated f i lm. 40. A product produced by the method described in claim 38. 41. A method according tα claim 1 and subs tan ial ly as described herein with reference tα the accompanying Figures. 42. Apparatus for carrying out thε mεthod of c l a im 1 , substantial ly as dεscrϊbed herein with reference to the accompanying f igures. 43. A method accord i ng to c l a im 10 and substant i a l l y as dεscribεd herein with rεfereπcε to thε accompanying f igures. 44. Apparatus far carryi ng out the method o c l a im 10, substant ial l y as descr ibed herein with refεrencε to the accompanying f igures. UBSTITUTE HEET

Inventors: GESHWIND DAVID, HANDAL ANTHONY H, GESHWIND, DAVID, HANDAL, ANTHONY, H.
Applicants: GESHWIND DAVID, HANDAL ANTHONY H, GESHWIND, DAVID, HANDAL, ANTHONY, H.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3, G06T15, G06T17, H04L29, H04N13