Patent Publication Number: US-2007118800-A1

Title: Systems and methods for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/714,976 filed on Sep. 7, 2005 for “Dynamic Content Capture, Collection, Authoring, Presentation and Production,” which is herein incorporated by reference; the present application also incorporates by reference U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/437,207 filed on May 19, 2006 for “Systems and Methods for Web Server Based Media Production,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. __/______ Attorney Docket # PA3410US filed on Sep. 7, 2006 for “Systems and Methods for Organizing Media Based on Associated Metadata.” 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to digital content tools, and more particularly to systems and methods for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      Existing tools for organizing and presenting digital content such as Windows™ or Maclntosh™ file system tools, browser history tools, and favorites/bookmark tools, are typically complex and require a significant level of user expertise. Tools for authoring final media output such as slideshows, digital video disks (“DVDs”), or print page layouts require a high degree of artistic talent to produce aesthetically pleasing results. Additionally, most tools work with a limited variety of data formats and are often limited to working with data formats established by the manufacturer or developer of the particular tool. Finally, few tools (if any) encompass a single user interface that works across the entire process of digital content capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production. There is therefore a need for systems and methods for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Systems and methods for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content are provided. An exemplary method comprises capturing one or more items of digital content with a user interface, collecting the captured one or more items of digital content with the user interface, authoring the collected one or more items of digital content with the user interface, and presenting the authored one or more items of digital content with the user interface. A further method comprises producing one or more items of presented digital content with the user interface.  
      An exemplary system for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content comprises a user interface configured with a capture component to automatically capture digital content, a collection component to automatically collect the captured digital content, an authoring component to author the collected digital content, and a presentation component to present the authored digital content. Another system further comprises the user interface configured with a production component to produce the presented digital content.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary user interface application for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content;  
       FIG. 2  is an exemplary screen shot of a user interface for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content, showing the capture and collection features;  
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary screen shot of a user interface for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content, showing the authoring and presentation features;  
       FIG. 4  is an exemplary screen shot of a user interface for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content, showing the presentation and production features; and  
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      Systems and methods for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content are provided. According to one embodiment, a web-browser plug-in application in the form of a user interface automatically captures and collects digital content as the digital content is viewed by a user. The user interface includes features for the user to author some or all of the collected digital content. A further embodiment of the user interface automatically formats the digital content for previewing in a variety of production formats, including as a web page, webshow, DVD and/or printbook. The user interface then allows the user to save the presentation and/or to produce the presentation at a production facility.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary user interface application  105  for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content. According to one embodiment, the user interface application  105  resides on a computing device  100 . The computing device  100  shown in  FIG. 1  has a computing application or operating system  135 , with the user interface application  105  associated as a plug-in application. In an alternative embodiment, the user interface application  105  may operate as a standalone application either on the computing device  100  or on a network server. Additionally, the user interface application  105  may be implemented using dynamic HTML techniques, or as an Active-X control or other type of software application extension.  
      In one embodiment, the user interface application  165  comprises a capture component  110 , a collection component  115 , an authoring component  120 , a presentation component  125  and a production component  130 . The capture component  110  is configured to automatically capture digital content in real time while a user is viewing and/or listening to the digital content on a computing device  100 . Digital content may include audio, video, audiovisual, pictorial, photographic, image forms, text files, web pages, and all variations and combinations thereof. A collection component  115  automatically collects captured digital content as an overlapping display of icons or thumbnails in a collection band on the user interface. In further embodiments, the collection component  115  allows the user to save collected digital content in one or more folders that reside on the computing device  100  or on a network server.  
      An authoring component  120  on the user interface application  105  allows a user to select specific parts of collected digital content for presentation, and may include additional functions if desired. For example, the authoring component  120  may allow a user to select a specific image or text section from a single page of collected digital content to form part of a presentation. The authoring component  120  may also allow the user to add imported digital content to a page of collected digital content for presentation.  
      User interface application  105  includes a presentation component  125  which allows a user to view authored digital content as icons or thumbnails in a presentation band on the user interface  105 . Presentation component  125  may also format the digital content in the presentation band for previewing by the user in a variety of production formats, including as a web page, webshow, DVD and/or printbook. The presentation component  125  may also automatically add aesthetic embellishments to the digital content based on the selected production format. The user may preview the production formatted digital content in a window adjacent to the user interface. Additionally, the presentation component  125  allows the user to save the production formatted digital content in one or more folders that reside on the computing device  100  or on a network server.  
      A production component  130  is included with the user interface application  105  for allowing a user to seamlessly produce production formatted digital content at a production facility. For example, the user interface may include “print,” “buy,” or “ship,” printbook or DVD selections.  
      Although the exemplary user interface application  105  is described as being comprised of various components (the capture component  110 , collection component  115 , authoring component  120 , presentation component  125 , and production component  130 ), fewer or more components may comprise the user interface application and still fall within the scope of various embodiments.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary screen shot  200  of a user interface for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content is shown, showing the capture and collection features of various embodiments. The exemplary screen shot  200  includes a capture selection  205 , and capture controls selections  210 . The capture controls selections include a parent folder selection  215 , a new folder selection  220 , delete selection  225 , stop capture selection  230 , start capture selection  235 , and close capture controls selection  240 . Also shown in  FIG. 2  is a collection band  245  that includes one or more thumbnails or icons  250 , and a window  255 .  
      In the exemplary screen shot  200 , when a user activates capture selection  205 , capture controls selections  210  and collection band  245  automatically appear next to or near window  255 . User activation of start capture selection  235  results in capture component  110  ( FIG. 1 ) automatically capturing a copy of each screen of digital content viewed by the user in window  255 . A copy of each screen of digital content viewed by the user is automatically collected as a thumbnail or icon  250  by collection component  115  ( FIG. 1 ). The collected thumbnails  250  are displayed in collection band  245 . Collection band  245  is a scrollable collection of thumbnails  250  appearing in a chosen order, for example, the order they are captured or viewed by the user. It will readily be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that other types of files may be imported into collection band  245  and represented by thumbnails, icons or other images and remain with the scope of embodiments claimed herein.  
      According to one embodiment, thumbnails  250  in collection band  245  are displayed in an overlapping fashion, similar to the way index cards may be maintained in an index card file. The amount or degree of overlap may be determined as a function of the number of thumbnails  250  in the collection band  245 . For example, a large number of thumbnails  250  in the collection band  245  may be displayed as significantly overlapping, where only a small part of each thumbnail  250  is displayed. Each particular thumbnail  250  in collection band  245  may be animated in order to expand or spread it relative to the other thumbnails for easy user viewing and/or recognition when the user moves a mouse or other cursor means over the particular thumbnail  250 . The particular thumbnail  250  may also be displayed in a larger fashion in window  255 .  
      In an exemplary user interface, when a user right clicks on a thumbnail  250  in collection band  245 , a pop-up menu will be displayed that offers selections such as display cached item, display current item, delete item, and/or new folder. Alternatively, the thumbnails  250  may be saved in various folders by activating parent folder selection  215 , and/or new folder selection  220 . When activated, new folder selection  220  automatically inserts a new folder in the collection band  245 . When a user double clicks on the folder in the collection band  245 , the user will automatically navigate down a hierarchy of folders. Conversely, when the user double clicks on parent folder selection  215 , the user will automatically navigate up the hierarchy of folders. Additionally, when a user selects a particular folder of thumbnails  250 , the thumbnails  250  may be displayed as a set of thumbnails  250  in collection band  245 .  
      A user of an exemplary user interface may elect to delete a thumbnail  250  from a collection band  245  by clicking on the thumbnail  250  and activating delete selection  225 . Additionally, the user may wish to terminate capture of digital content and the collection of corresponding thumbnails  250  in collection band  245  by activating stop capture selection  230 . A user may activate start capture selection  235  a second time or may activate close capture controls selections  240  to terminate capture of digital content and to close collection band  245 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , an exemplary screen shot  300  of a user interface for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content is shown, showing the authoring and presentation features of certain embodiments. The exemplary screen shot  300  includes present selection  305 , highlighted thumbnail  250 , presentation band  310 , grab page selection  315 , grab text selection  320 , grab images selection  325 , browser selection  330 , digital content for presentation  335  (in presentation band  310 ), and window  255 .  
      According to one embodiment, when a user activates present selection  305 , presentation component  125  ( FIG. 1 ) triggers display of presentation band  310 . When the user activates browser selection  330  on the presentation band  310 , digital content corresponding to a highlighted thumbnail  250  is displayed in window  255 . Additionally, activation of browser selection  330  triggers authoring component  120  ( FIG. 1 ) to display grab page selection  315 , grab text selection  320 , and grab images selection  325 .  
      Grab page selection  315  allows a user to select an entire page of digital content as displayed in widow  255 . The entire page of digital content automatically may appear as digital content for presentation  335  in presentation band  310  in the order it was selected, for example, or can be dragged by the user to another location in the presentation band  310 . Grab text selection  320  allows a user to select specific text or parts of text from a page of digital content displayed in window  255 . The selected text automatically appears as digital content for presentation  335  in presentation band  310 . Grab images selection  325  allows a user to select a specific image or parts of an image from a page of digital content displayed in window  255 . The selected image or images automatically appears as digital content for presentation  335  in presentation band  310 . In a further embodiment, authoring component  120  may display additional selections in presentation band  310 , such as add music, for adding music to a presentation.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary screen shot  400  of a user interface for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content is shown, showing the presentation and production features of some embodiments. The exemplary screen shot  400  includes present selection  305 , presentation band  310 , preview page selection  405 , add text selection  410 , share page selection  415 , save selection  420 , web page selection  425 , webshow selection  430 , DVD selection  435 , printbook selection  440 , digital content for presentation  335 , and window  255 .  
      According to one embodiment, when a user activates present selection  305 , presentation component  125  ( FIG. 1 ) triggers display of presentation band  310 . When the user activates web page selection  425  on the presentation band  310 , the presentation component  125  formats the digital content in the presentation band  310  for previewing in a web page production format, as shown in window  255 . When the user activates webshow selection  430 , the presentation component  125  formats the digital content for previewing in a webshow production format, such as a sequence of animated slides, where the user may stop, pause, fast forward, and/or reverse the webshow. The user may also be given the option of forwarding the webshow to a network server, allowing others to preview the webshow. Similarly, when the user activates DVD selection  435  or printbook selection  440 , the presentation component  125  will format the digital content in the presentation band  310  for previewing in a DVD production format or a printbook production format.  
      Activation of web page selection  425  in one embodiment triggers presentation component  125  ( FIG. 1 ) to display preview page selection  405  and share page selection  415 . Preview page selection  405  allows a user to preview a highlighted or selected item of digital content for presentation  335  as a page of digital content in widow  255 . Share page selection  415  allows a user to email a particular page of digital content as displayed in window  255  to another user.  
      Save selection  420  allows a user to save a presentation to a folder on a computing device  100  ( FIG. 1 ) or on a network server. Alternatively, or in addition to saving a presentation on the computing device  100  or on the network server, production component  130  ( FIG. 1 ) may be configured to allow the user to produce production formatted digital content at a production facility. For example, the user interface may include “print,” “buy,” or “ship,” printbook or DVD selections, resulting in the production formatted digital content being delivered to the user.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a flow diagram of an exemplary process for dynamically integrated capture, collection, authoring, presentation and production of digital content is shown.  
      At step  500 , digital content is captured. According to one embodiment, digital content is captured in real time while a user is viewing the digital content on a computing device  100  ( FIG. 1 ).  
      At step  505 , captured digital content is collected. In an exemplary embodiment, captured digital content is collected as thumbnails or icons in a collection band  245  ( FIG. 2 ).  
      At step  510 , collected digital content is authored. According to one embodiment, specific images or text sections on a single page of collected digital content are selected by a user of a user interface to form part of a presentation.  
      At step  515 , authored digital content is presented. In an exemplary embodiment, a presentation component  125  ( FIG. 1 ) formats authored digital content in a production format for previewing by a user.  
      At step  520 , the presented digital content is produced. According to one embodiment, a production component  130  ( FIG. 1 ) is configured to allow a user of a user interface to produce production formatted digital content at a production facility.  
      While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.