A METHOD FOR CAPTURING AND EDITING PICTURES SO AS TO OBTAIN A VIRTUAL DEPTH EFFECT

Abstract: The present invention refers to a specific method, especially developed for use by persons dealing with the production of video or movies, with a view to provide the production of pictures to be viewed with obtention of a virtual depth effect, which comprises: a) capturing either objects or persons simultaneously, by using two identical cameras, disposed on the same base and spaced apart from each other by about 20 cm; and b) editing the two pictures captured by the two cameras on the same monitor or television screen in an inverted manner, that is to say, the picture captured by the right-side camera should appear on the left side of the camera, and the picture captured by the left-side camera should appear on the right side of the camera, both pictures being a little spaced apart from each other.

Description: Specification of the Patent of Invention for: "A METHOD FOR CAPTURING AND EDITING PICTURES SO AS TO OBTAIN A VIRTUAL DEPTH EFFECT" FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention refers to a specific method, especially developed for use by persons dealing with the pro¬ duction of either video or movies, for the purpose of provid¬ ing the production of pictures to be viewed with obtention of a virtual depth effect. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The systems of capturing and editing pictures devel¬ oped and used so far are systems which capture a picture through a lens, said picture being then edited in a direct way, that is to say, without any treatment other than the tratitional retouches and/or insertion and/or cuts of picture and sound (if any) details captured by the equipment. These systems, however, are only useful for captur¬ ing simple pictures of objects and people, which can be viewed only on a two-dimentional plane. The inventor of the present invention has developed and filed a patent application for a method of producing drawings for a virtual depth effect, through which people can view drawings made on a sheet of paper or any other two- dimensional plane as if such drawings were on a three- dimentional plane, that is to say, a person sees the drawings in three dimentions (3D). The method of creating these drawings follows a series of given specific characteristics developed by the inventor. On the basis of this knowledge, one has thought in transferring said method to the scope of capturing, editing and projecting pictures, by using the same means currently available in this area. After numberless attempts in vain, one has come to the conclusion that, in this case, it was not a mere transpo¬ sition from the drawing technique to the technique of captur¬ ing and editing pictures, in order to obtain the virtual depth effect. Just editing two pictures side-by-side was not enough. In this case, however, a further skillful making was necessary to produce pictures to be viewed with the obtention of the virtual depth effect. OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a method which can be effectively used for captur¬ ing, editing and projecting pictures to be viewed with a vir¬ tual depth effect. This objective is achieved through the following methodological sequence of capturing and editing pictures: a) capturing either objects or persons simultane¬ ously by using two identical cameras disposed upon the same base, with a distance of about 20cm between the centers of their lens; b) editing the two pictures captured by the two cameras on the same monitor or television screen in an inverted manner, that is to say, the picture captured by the right-side camera should appear on the left side of the screen, and the picture captured by the left-side camera should appear on the right side of the screen, both pictures being a little spaced apart from each other. While capturing the pictures, the objects or persons may be either standing still or in motion. The virtual depth effect (3D) is then obtained, af¬ ter the pictures are edited on the screen, through a little adjustment of focus (i.e. "a little squinting") by the viewer. The observation of the pictures captured and edited in accordance with the method of the present invention can be carried out by any person, without the need of eyeglasses or other auxiliary devices. Even people using correcting lenses (either eyeglesses or contact lenses) can have the feeling of three-dimensionality of the projected pictures with a very good viewing of the pictures, without having to take off their correcting lenses.

Claims: CLAIMS 1- A method for capturing and editing pictures so as to obtain a virtual depth effect, characterized in that it comprises: a) capturing objects or persons simultaneously, by using two identical cameras, disposed on the same base and spaced apart from each other by approximately 20 cm; and b) editing the two pictures captured by the two cameras on the same monitor or television screen in an inverted manner, the picture captured by the right-side camera appearing on the left side of the camera, and the picture captured by the left¬ side camera appearing on the right side of the camera, both pictures being a little spaced-apart from each other. 2- A method in accordance with claim 1, character- ized in that the objects or persons captured by the cameras are either standing still or in motion.

Inventors: ARAUJO DE SOUSA MAURICIO, ARAUJO DE SOUSA, MAURICIO
Applicants: ARAUJO DE SOUSA MAURICIO, ARAUJO DE SOUSA, MAURICIO
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H04N13
IPC codes: G06T1, G09F19, H04N13, H04N15