Abstract:
A system for producing virtual camera motion in a motion picture medium in which an array of cameras is deployed along a preselected path with each camera focused on a common scene. Each camera is triggered simultaneously to record a still image of the common scene, and the images are transferred from the cameras in a preselected order along the path onto a sequence of frames in the motion picture medium such as motion picture film or video tape. Because each frame shows the common scene from a different viewpoint, placing the frames in sequence gives the illusion that one camera has moved around a frozen scene (i.e., virtual camera motion). In another embodiment, a two-dimensional array of video cameras is employed. Each camera synchronously captures a series of images in rapid succession over time. The resulting array of images can be combined in any order to create motion pictures having a combination of virtual camera motion and time-sequence images.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of the applicant&#39;s U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/909,233, entitled “System For Producing Time-Independent Virtual Camera Movement In Motion Pictures And Other Media,” filed on Aug. 11, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,251 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/362,653 filed on Dec. 21, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,323, issued on Aug. 19, 1997. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of cinematography. More specifically, the present invention discloses a system for producing motion picture scenes that embody time-independent virtual camera movement. An array of specialized modular cameras simultaneously records photographic images of a scene and the resulting photographic images are placed in a motion picture medium and viewed in succession, conveying the illusion that a single camera has moved around a scene frozen in time. 
     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 
     Presently, film directors wishing to convey a sense of time passing for the viewer of a scene while time appears stopped for the subject of the same scene, such as might be required in films with science-fiction themes, often find it desirable to freeze the action in the scene while recording the scene with a moving motion picture camera. Scenes so recorded convey the sense of time passing for the viewer, as is naturally inferred from the camera movement, while time appears stopped for the subject. 
     Freezing the scene artificially is generally done by making models of any subjects within the scene that would otherwise be in fluid motion and directing actors in the scene to freeze. This method of freezing a scene is obviously limited in scope by a number of factors, particularly if the scene is intended to contain dramatic action. Such factors include the model-maker&#39;s ability to portray objects such as fluid properties in motion and the actors&#39; ability to pose without moving. This method is further limited if the scene is documentary in nature, if it involves extensive use of fluids, pyrotechnics, smoke, airborne objects, or other dynamic properties, or if one of the actors is a young child or an animal. In these latter cases, freezing the action artificially is often impossible. 
     Another, simpler, method of creating the illusion that time has stopped in a motion picture scene is the freeze-frame. The freeze-frame is an effect achieved by repeating a single frame of camera negative over a series of adjacent frames of a projection print. The resulting composite motion picture image contains absolutely no motion. The freeze-frame is used by some film directors to stop time, usually at a time in the motion picture after the viewer has become accustomed to the general motion and passage of time. By stopping time, the director allows the viewer to reflect on the events that lead up to the stopped moment, as well as the specific drama of that particular moment in time. The freeze-frame, however, is incapable of capturing camera movement, and therefore fails to convey the illusion that time has stopped for the subject of the motion picture but not for the viewer. 
     Although subjects have been photographed simultaneously throughout this century for the purpose of recording photographs in three dimensions (i.e., stereo photography), the prior art does not teach or suggest methods of simultaneous photography for the purpose of creating special time-stopping effects in otherwise conventional motion picture scenes. Nor does the prior art teach or suggest a system for producing virtual camera movement from a sequence of simultaneous still photographs. 
     Multiphotographic systems for producing three-dimensional images have been used in the past in a wide variety of other fields, including the following: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Inventor 
                 Patent No. 
                 Issue Date 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Clay 
                 3,225,651 
                 Dec. 28, 1965 
               
               
                   
                 Glenn, Jr. 
                 3,482,913 
                 Dec. 9, 1969 
               
               
                   
                 Glenn, Jr. 
                 3,508,920 
                 Apr. 28, 1970 
               
               
                   
                 Glenn, Jr. 
                 3,518,929 
                 July 7, 1970 
               
               
                   
                 Matsunaga et al. 
                 3,682,064 
                 Aug. 8, 1972 
               
               
                   
                 Lo et al. 
                 4,037,950 
                 July 26,1977 
               
               
                   
                 Iwane 
                 4,062,045 
                 Dec. 6, 1977 
               
               
                   
                 Collender 
                 4,158,487 
                 June 19, 1979 
               
               
                   
                 Morioka 
                 4,239,359 
                 Dec. 16, 1980 
               
               
                   
                 Brooks 
                 4,333,715 
                 June 8, 1982 
               
               
                   
                 Montes 
                 5,004,335 
                 Apr. 2, 1991 
               
               
                   
                 Montes 
                 5,013,147 
                 May 7, 1991 
               
               
                   
                 Hoppenstein 
                 5,049,987 
                 Sep. 17, 1991 
               
               
                   
                 Hattori 
                 5,223,925 
                 June 29, 1993 
               
               
                   
                 Montes 
                 5,237,353 
                 Aug. 17, 1993 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Clay, U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,651, discloses a method and apparatus for reproducing a panoramic scene as a three-dimensional image. A plurality of cameras are arranged so that their axes are slightly divergent, with each adjacent pair of cameras producing adjacent stereoscopic images. The images are projected on a special screen consisting of a number of horizontally adjacent viewing cells. The view appears to the audience as a three-dimensional panorama without the use by the audience of special glasses or other assistance. 
     Glenn, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,482,913, discloses a method for composing and enlarging three-dimensional pictures using a number of projectors each of which is independently adjustable in position and in illumination to provide a high-quality three-dimensional picture. 
     Glenn, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,920, discloses a method for printing high-resolution three-dimensional pictures by producing half-tone pictures in which the width of the half-tone dots is equal to the width of the picture elements and the length of the half-tone dots is several times their width. 
     Glenn, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,929, discloses a camera for producing three-dimensional pictures having a plurality of camera units  11  with a common film spool shaft  21  and shutter drive  40 . Each camera unit  11  has its own film guide  19 , supply  27 , take-up  22  spools, and shutter  16 . 
     Matsunaga et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,064, disclose an apparatus for stereographically photographing a scene using a plurality of cameras placed at diverse vantage points relative to the scene. The apparatus includes means for setting the shutter speed for each camera and for either synchronizing or delaying the starting time of the shutter for each camera. 
     Lo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,950, disclose a method and apparatus to determine and coordinate the variables that bear on the quality of a stereoscopic picture, such as the size of the picture, the distance between adjacent camera vantage points, the camera focal length and the distance from the camera to an element or object in the scene which is to lie in the plane of the picture. 
     Iwane, U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,045, describes a system for producing three-dimensional television images in which a plurality of television cameras are arranged side-by-side in a straight line or arc, and the pictures obtained from the cameras are connected to form an angular division distribution pattern from which a three-dimensional image is produced. 
     Collender, U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,487, shows a method and apparatus to display both stationary and moving stereoscopic pictures without the need for the observers to use viewing aids. 
     Morioka, U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,359, discloses a method by which an image of an object is projected on a mass to enable the mass to be sculpted into a replica of the original object. 
     Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,715, discloses a display structure that can present either two-dimensional or three-dimensional images to a viewer by sequentially activating particular lamps or electrodes to illuminate certain images while leaving unactivated images unobservable. The effect of three-dimensional motion is achieved by sequentially illuminating layers of images in varying positions. 
     Montes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,335, shows an apparatus for projecting moving three-dimensional pictures in which the projecting surface emits each photon in a direction determined by the incidence of that photon on the surface. The images for projection are obtained by a series of motion-picture cameras placed adjacent to each other along a straight line. 
     Montes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,147, discloses an optical system for three-dimensional reproduction of images in which the images are obtained as described above for Pat. No. 5,004,335 and the images are displayed by projection on a screen consisting of one layer having vertical cylindrical lenses and a second layer having horizontal cylindrical lenses. 
     Hoppenstein, U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,987, discloses an apparatus for dividing a visual image into separate image strips, transmitting the separate strip images as a composite image, and recreating the visual image as a three-dimensional image by use of a lenticular lens. 
     Hattori, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,925, shows an autostereoscopic system that consists of a series of television cameras arranged horizontally that send their images to similarly arranged image output screens that project inverted parallax images through a series of lenses consisting of a first convex lens and then a large Fresnel convex lens. 
     Montes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,353, discloses a system for taking, reproducing, and projecting three-dimensional still or moving pictures in which the pictures are taken by groups of two cameras arranged so that their lenses are at right angles and have a semitransparent plate disposed therebetween at a 45-degree angle. The pictures obtained from these groups of cameras are arranged on a single piece of film, which can then be copied or projected, the projection necessitating the use of one-third as many projection lenses as cameras. 
     In addition to the multiphotographic systems for producing three-dimensional images discussed above, prior art exists in the field of image processing for electronically simulating the pan, tilt, rotation, and zoom characteristics of a conventional camera using a single image. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,363 of Kuban et al. discloses a omniview motionless camera surveillance system that uses a wide angle lens to capture a circular image of an entire field of view in the memory of the device. High speed electronic circuitry can then be employed to view and manipulate a region of interest within the image. The device can accomplish the functions of pan, tilt, rotation, and zoom throughout the field of view without the need for any mechanical mechanisms to move the camera. 
     SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM 
     None of the prior art references uncovered in the search show a system for freezing a scene in a moving picture while providing the illusion that the camera is moving in space three dimensionally around the frozen image. The present invention solves this problem by deploying an array of cameras along a preselected path, with each camera focused on a common scene. The cameras simultaneously record a plurality of still images of the scene, and the images thus recorded are transferred in a preselected order to a sequence of frames in a motion picture medium, such as motion picture film or video tape. Because each frame shows the common scene from a different viewpoint, placing the frames in sequence gives the illusion that one camera has moved around a frozen scene (i.e., virtual camera motion). The direction of motion depends on the preselected path chosen, which may be a straight line or any type of curve over which the array of cameras can be deployed. 
     Although multiple simultaneous synchronous motion picture cameras are found in the prior art for the purpose of recording three-dimensional motion pictures, none of the prior art references provide a system for combining virtual camera motion (as described above) with motion picture images showing time progression of the scene. A second embodiment of the present invention employs a two-dimensional array of video cameras, each of which synchronously captures a series of images in rapid succession over time. The resulting array of images can be combined in any order to create motion pictures having any desired combination of virtual camera motion and time-sequence images. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a system for recording virtual camera movement with respect to a subject at a fixed instant in time. The system uses an array of specialized modular cameras capable of simultaneously recording a number of photographic images of a scene from a number of laterally disposed positions. The system thus produces a series of still photographs that, when viewed in rapid succession as a motion picture, convey the illusion of lateral camera movement with respect to the recorded scene, while the subject of the recorded scene appears stopped in time. 
     In one embodiment, the system is formed of a number of still cameras designed to couple with one another so as to provide a continuous light-tight path for a length of photographic film to pass through the entire assemblage of cameras across each camera&#39;s focal plane. The system further has a shutter system capable of exposing the film inside all of the cameras simultaneously, light-tight connections for the film to pass to and from film magazines at each end of the assemblage of cameras, a system for advancing the film through the assemblage of cameras from one magazine to another, and a mechanism for moving the entire assemblage in any desired direction during the simultaneous exposure event. Alternatively, an array of video still cameras can be used. The images obtained are subsequently sequentially arranged in a preselected order onto a sequence of frames on motion picture film or video tape. When the motion picture medium is viewed, it appears as though the scene has frozen in time, while the camera appears to move around the frozen subject or scene. In another embodiment, an array of video cameras is used. Each camera in the array synchronously captures a series of images in rapid succession over time. The resulting array of images can be combined and sequenced in any order to create motion pictures having a combination of virtual camera motion and time-sequence images. 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide a system that is able to freeze a scene in a motion picture yet provide the illusion of camera movement with respect to the frozen scene. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a system that is capable of combining virtual camera motion with motion picture images showing time progression of the scene. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for freezing a scene in a motion picture in which the images comprising the frozen scene embody a blur caused by the movement of the cameras while recording the frozen scene. The motion blur smooths the transition from frame to frame when the motion picture image is reconstituted for viewing by the human eye. 
     These and other advantages, features, and objects of the present invention will be more readily understood in view of the following detailed description and the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention can be more readily understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a lateral array of cameras of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one of the cameras of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the present invention showing the lateral array of cameras and the film magazines and shutter trigger. 
     FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of a camera of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the camera of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the camera of FIG.  5 . 
     FIGS.  7 ( a ) and  7 ( b ) are cross-sectional views of a series of cameras of the present invention in straight ( a ) and curved ( b ) configurations. 
     FIGS.  8 ( a ) and ( b ) show the series of images produced by the cameras of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates how the images produced by the cameras of the present invention are transferred to a strip of motion picture film. 
     FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the steps taken to produce the virtual camera movement of the present invention. 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the series of cameras of the present invention. 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of one camera of the second embodiment of the present invention showing the lens angles. 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of one camera of the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the receptacle for the cameras of the second embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning to FIG. 1, an array of cameras  10  of the present invention is seen focused on a common scene  12 . A scene  12  as used in this description is not limited to a single point or object but comprehends an entire view or area. The cameras  10  are deployed as desired to achieve a certain effect along a preselected path, for example, a straight line, a concave arcuate path, or a convex arcuate path. As discussed in more detail below, the shape of the path chosen is limited only by the necessity to maintain a light-tight connection between adjacent cameras  10 . As with many methods of recording motion pictures, the present invention can be implemented with both photographic film and videotape. Both means of recording motion pictures (photographic film or videotape) are based on the principle of recording and reconstituting multiple frames of still image information in rapid succession continuously over time. Therefore, references to photographic film and motion picture medium are used herein to refer to motion pictures recorded with both photographic emulsion and video recording and storing means, although distinctions between film and videotape are made throughout to indicate the preferred method. Accordingly, it should be evident that either still cameras, video cameras, or motion picture cameras can be used in the array of cameras  10  of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a single camera  10  of one embodiment of the present invention. The camera  10  is a simple box camera for obtaining still photographs. Light  28  enters the lens  24  and exposes the film  20  at the focal plane  26 . A shutter  22  is used to control access of the light  28  to the film  20 . It is to be understood that other types of cameras can be used in the present invention, as will be evident to those skilled in the art, for example, motion picture cameras or video cameras, and that the present invention is not meant to be limited to the description of the embodiment shown in FIG.  2 . 
     Illustrated in FIG. 3 is an overview of an array of cameras  10  in accordance with the present invention. A series of cameras  10 , C 1  to C N , are arrayed side-by-side. The number C N  of cameras  10  can be varied to suit the needs of the effect one desires to obtain. The cameras  10  are flexibly connected such that a single strip of film  20  passes through all the cameras  10 , as can be better appreciated by viewing FIGS.  7 ( a ) and  7 ( b ), and as is discussed in more detail below. The film  20  is stored in a first film magazine  30  at one end of the array of cameras  10  and taken up by a second film magazine  32  at the other end of the array of cameras  10 . The take-up mechanism  34  can be any conventional mechanism used for taking up film, such as a hand-cranked or machine-driven reel. A shutter release  36  simultaneously controls the shutters  22  for all the cameras  10  in the array. In the preferred embodiment, the shutter release  36  is a mechanical spring-loaded pneumatic cylinder using a variable aperture exhaust port to retard the speed of the cocked spring pulling the shutter. 
     The entire array of cameras  10  of the present invention can be moved in any desired direction, for example, laterally as shown by arrow  38 , in order to record motion during the simultaneous exposure event. In addition, the flexible array may be attached to a track to maintain the proper optical axis orientation of each module as the array is pushed or pulled to introduce motion blur along a tracking path that is nonlinear and noncircular. The motion blur helps smooth the transition from frame to frame when the motion picture image is reconstituted for viewing by the human eye. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show a single camera  10  of the present invention. The array of cameras  10  is held tightly together by the tension cables  40 , which run through the entire array parallel to and in the same plane as the shutter  22 . The shutter  22  is located in a shutter guide  42 . The top of the shutter guide  44  serves both to hold the shutter  22  in the shutter guide  42  and to guide the flexible tension cables  40  that hold each camera  10  in place in the array. The lens holder  46 , while fulfilling its primary role of supporting the lens  24 , also acts to guide and secure the tension cables  40  to the camera body. The body  48  of the camera  10  is fitted onto a base  49  having the focal plane  26  therein. A film guide  50  placed between the body  48  and the focal plane  26  holds the film  20  in the correct position against the focal plane  26 . The top of the shutter guide  44  and the shutter guide  42  each contain an aperture  52 ,  54  directing the light path  28  from the lens  24  to the focal plane  26 . 
     Simultaneity of the shutter  22  release for each camera  10  is achieved in the preferred embodiment by means of a PTFE-coated strip of semi-rigid opaque black film having identical shutter openings  23  cut at intervals equal to the distance between the equidistant lenses of the cameras. This shutter strip  22  travels freely along a path parallel to the film path inside the cameras  10 , passing through each camera  10  through the shutter guide  42  on a plane between the camera&#39;s lens  24  and aperture  54 . The simultaneous exposure event occurs when the shutter strip  22  is pulled a distance less than the distance between two shutter openings  23  (provided this movement starts and stops with the shutter openings  23  out of alignment with the camera apertures  54 ), so that exactly one shutter opening  23  passes in front of each aperture  54  during the event being recorded. This results in a simultaneous and identical time-length exposure of the film  20  inside each of the cameras  10  in the array. The shutter strip  22  could be pulled by, for example, a spring-loaded pneumatic cylinder  36  as discussed above and illustrated in FIG.  3 . It should be understood that other systems of shutters providing simultaneity will be evident to those skilled in the art. After each simultaneous exposure event, the film  20  contained inside the array of cameras  10  is advanced into the second magazine  32 , pulling a fresh strip of unexposed film  20  out of the first magazine  30  and into the array of cameras  10 , which are then ready for the next simultaneous exposure event. 
     The light-tight coupling between cameras  10  comprises a telescoping, double-overlapping light-tight connection, as shown in FIGS.  6  and  7 ( a ) and  7 ( b ). At one side of the camera  10  are found two flanges  60  and  61  on either side of the film  20  that are inserted in corresponding spaces  62  and  63  on an adjacent camera  10  as shown in FIG.  7 ( a ). The size of spaces  62  and  63  is exaggerated in the figures for ease of viewing. Space  63  is formed by two flanges  64  and  65 . Flange  61  has at its outermost edge an outward-protruding lip  67 . Flange  65  has at its outermost edge an inward-protruding lip  66 . When two cameras  10  are situated adjacently as shown in FIG.  7 ( a ), the outward-protruding lip  67  fits into space  63  over flange  65  and the inward-protruding lip  66 , forming a light-tight connection beneath the path of the film  20 . Another light-tight connection is formed by the insertion of flange  60  into space  62  above the path of the film  20 . A further light-tight flexible joint is formed on the shutter plane around the shutter strip  22  by the juxtaposition of flanges  70 ,  71 ,  72 , and  73 . 
     A further advantage of the light-tight connections described above for the preferred embodiment of the present invention is their ability to remain light-tight when the array of cameras  10  is deployed on an arc or circle as described above in FIG.  1  and as shown in more detail FIG.  7 ( b ). FIG.  7 ( a ) shows the array deployed on a straight line, whereas FIG.  7 ( b ) illustrates the changes that occur when the array of cameras  10  is curved on an arc. As the shutter  22  moves a distance A (as shown by arrows  74 ), the outward-protruding lip  67  moves a distance B (as shown by arrows  75 ) until it abuts the inward-protruding lip  66 , at which point further telescoping of the connection is prevented. The overlapping lips  66  and  67  maintain the light-tight integrity of the connection during the deployment of the cameras  10  on an arc. 
     FIGS.  8 ( a ) and  8 ( b ) illustrate the images recorded by a straight-line array of cameras  10 . The cameras  10  ( 80  through  84 ) are positioned to record a common scene  12 . The dotted lines show the light path  28  seen by each camera  10 . During a simultaneous recording event, each camera  10  records an image on the strip of film  20 , as shown by images  80  through  84  in FIG.  8 ( b ). As a result of the placement of each camera  10  ( 80  through  84 ), the perspective of each image  80  through  84  recorded shifts so that when the frames  80  through  84  are viewed in succession in, for instance, a motion picture, the viewer has the impression that a single motion picture camera is moving around the scene  12  while the scene  12  remains frozen in time. 
     The process that moves the images recorded by the cameras  10  of the system of the present invention from the film  20  to a motion picture medium, either motion picture film or videotape, is illustrated in FIG. 9. A series of negatives are recorded on the film  20 . During the process that moves the negatives from the film  20  to the final motion picture medium, each negative is rotated 90 degrees as shown in FIG.  9  and placed in the order desired on a motion picture or video medium  90  that will eventually be part of a motion picture. The process can be performed by optically transferring and rotating the film negatives in the conventional manner. Alternatively, the process can be performed as illustrated in FIG.  10 . An original camera negative  1002  is digitized onto a photo compact disk  1004  (CD). The CD  1004  is then accessed by use of a computer workstation  1006 , where the digitized images  1002  are rotated or otherwise manipulated and then assembled to achieve the effect of virtual camera motion. Finally, the assembled images are recorded to motion picture film or videotape  1008 . A system currently available for performing the process described above is the Kodak Cineon digital film system of the Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. 
     It should be noted that other digital storage mediums, such as magnetic or optical disks, could be used to store images in place of photo compact disks. Random access devices, such as magnetic or optical disks, provide great flexibility for the user in selecting, combining, and editing images. Random access devices also facilitate creation of multimedia applications incorporating image sequences. Interactive computer applications often use image sequences in a non-linear manner, unlike conventional motion pictures or videotape. 
     The present system is capable of recording a series of simultaneous exposure events over time, in addition to recording a single simultaneous exposure event. Specifically, the method, when utilized in rapid succession, records forward-in-time sequences of images that embody a recordation of the advance of time within the scene, as well as lateral-in-space sequences of images that embody a recordation of lateral virtual camera movement. The time base of the lateral virtual camera movement is independent of the time base of the scene itself. Such a time-series of images would present the effect, when selected and sequenced into a motion picture or video medium as described in more detail below, of showing advancing time in the scene in addition to lateral virtual camera motion. 
     A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 11 through 14. The apparatus of the second embodiment employs an array of video cameras  1100  as shown in FIG. 11 capable of recording a plurality of photographic images of a scene from a plurality of positions simultaneously and synchronously in rapid succession over time. Compared with the first embodiment, the user can choose any sequence of images desired from the array of recorded images. This provides the user with complete flexibility to combine images from any of the cameras in the array  1100 , including sequences recorded along a path within the camera array at a fixed point in time, as in the first embodiment. For example, the user can select a sequence of fixed-in-time images from a single row or column of individual cameras or any other desired pattern available within the array shown in FIG.  11 . The user can also select forward-in-time sequences of images from selected cameras, or backward-in-time sequences, or any other combination of fixed-in-time and time-sequence images. This embodiment allows user-controllable virtual camera movement with the respect to the scene as time advances. 
     Each individual video camera  1102 , illustrated in FIG. 12, captures an extremely wide field of view, as shown by arrows  1200 , that is recorded digitally and that can be electronically zoomed, panned, and tilted, or otherwise edited as desired after recordation. To form the array of video cameras, each individual camera  1102  is mounted in a receptacle  1400  as shown in FIG. 14 having a plurality of holes  1402  cut therein to receive the cameras  1102 . Each hole  1402  has a tongue  1404  extending toward its center that matches a corresponding groove  1302  cut into the casing  1300  of each video camera  1102 , as can be seen in FIG.  13 . The tongue-and-groove arrangement both secures the cameras  1102  and aligns them all at the same predetermined degree as a benchmark for the image recorded from each camera  1102 . The receptacle  1400  is formed of a flexible material that can be bent into a desired shape depending on the effect to be achieved, for example, an arc as shown in FIG.  11 . 
     This flexibility enables the system of the second embodiment of the present invention to generate virtual camera movement in nearly any direction rather than simply along a linear path as described above for the preferred embodiment. Here again, the entire array of images can be stored on a random access storage device to simplify selection, editing and sequencing by the user. 
     The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present invention. Other arrangements or embodiments, not precisely set forth, could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention and as set forth in the following claims.