Patent Publication Number: US-10783319-B2

Title: Methods and systems of creation and review of media annotations

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to multimedia, and more particularly, to a method and system to create and review annotations to a media file. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     People create annotations and comments to a media file for many purposes. For example, an instructor annotates on a student&#39;s performance video to improve that student&#39;s skills. A family member comments on a family photo, which will be shared with another family member. Usually, a person can only annotate on one media file at one time. When there are multiple files, the person has to make annotations or comments to each file one by one. Furthermore, the person&#39;s option of making annotations is limited, that is, the person can make only one type of annotation at a time. For example, after choosing to make audio comments, the person no longer makes other types of annotations, such as video annotations, text annotations, or drawing annotations. Moreover, the creator may take some actions or make commands to control or manipulate the media file while making annotations such as pause a video to make elaborate annotations to a scene, fast forward to skip irrelevant materials, or zoom in a picture for a closer display. It is rather difficult for the viewer to comprehend the commentator&#39;s annotations when the creator&#39;s commands are not captured or synchronized to the original media file. In addition, as media files are large in size, it generally requires significant processing time and memory resources to create annotations to a media file. There is also a risk that the annotation created by one device cannot be reviewed due to device or operating system incompatibility. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Various embodiments of the present invention provide a system and a method that facilitate creation and review of annotations to a media file. Various embodiments of the present invention allow users to create various types of annotations to various types of media files. Users of various embodiments of the present invention may create audio, video, drawing, text or other types of annotations to one or more media files. By way of example, the media file or combinations thereof may be a photo, a movie, or an audio recording. Additionally, according to various embodiments, annotations to media files are created in such a way that the creator&#39;s commands or actions to the media files accompanying annotating are also captured, which facilitates later review of the annotations. The reviewer reviews annotations just in the way that the annotations are created by the creator. 
     Additionally, various embodiments allow creators to select how the annotations as well as the command are stored, and allow reviewers to select how the annotations should be presented. Creators may choose to store annotations and commands separately. In one embodiment, annotations are stored as annotation media files and commands are stored as command files. Alternatively, creators may choose to store the original media files, the annotations, and the commands in one place. In one embodiment, a media file is created that composites the original media files, the annotations, and the commands. Reviewers may review the annotations by playing the created files to review to annotations using systems and methods provided in various embodiments. 
     Furthermore, various embodiments allow multiple people to create annotations simultaneously or one-by-one at different times. Reviewers will be able to review all the annotations from all the creators. 
     Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached hereto. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader&#39;s understanding of the invention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary media annotation creation and review system according to one embodiment of the present invention implemented in an example environment. 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of creating annotations to media files in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of reviewing annotations in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of creating storing annotations in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary media annotation creation and review system in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a computing system that can be used in conjunction with some embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     These figures are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It should be understood that the invention can be practiced with modification and alteration, and that the invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward systems and methods for creation and review of media annotations. Through various embodiments of the present invention, creators can create different types of annotations to one or more media files of different types. Creators have different options for storing the annotations. Annotations are created in such a way that annotator&#39;s commands in making the annotations are also captured. Multiple people may create annotations simultaneously and reviewers may review the annotations live. Alternatively, multiple people may create annotations sequentially and reviewers may review all the annotations created. 
     Before describing the invention in further detail, it may be useful to describe a few example environments in which various embodiments of the present invention can be implemented. One such example is that of illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example media annotation creation and review system  101  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, and implemented in an environment comprising various computing devices connected to it via a communication medium  102 . In various embodiments, the communication medium may be a wired system, such as a coaxial cable system, a fiber optic cable system, an Ethernet cable system, or other similar communication medium. Alternatively, the communication medium may be a wireless network system, such as a wireless personal area network, a wireless local area network, a cellular network, or other similar communication medium. As shown, computing devices such as a PDA  104  (e.g., Windows Mobile® device), a desktop computer  105 , a laptop computer  106 , and a smartphone  107  (e.g., iPhone®), through their respective network connections  103 , can either interact directly or indirectly with media annotation creation and review system  101  to create and review media annotations. The various computing devices ( 104 ,  105 ,  106 , and  107 ) and the media annotation creation and review system  101  described herein may be implemented using the example computer system illustrated in  FIG. 6 . 
     The present invention, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader&#39;s understanding of the invention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of creating annotations to media files in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. The method allows a user to create annotations to one or more media files at the same time. The annotations include many types of comments or illustrations, such as video comments, audio comments, drawings, texts, etc. At operation  201 , the method displays the media files that a user will annotate. At operation  202 , the method records the user&#39;s annotations as well as the accompanying commands, if any. The commands include (i) actions that the user takes in making annotations, such as play, pause, skip, step, change media files, or other controls; (ii) actions related to drawing on the media file using tools such as freehand lines, straight lines, multiple lines with angles calculated, circles, rectangles, text boxes, or other drawing tools; or (iii) actions related to transforming the media files such as zooming, panning, rotating, filtering, or other transformations. At operation  203 , the method stores the recorded annotations together with commands. In one embodiment, the method stores the recorded annotations as an annotation media file. In various embodiments, the method stores the recorded commands as another file. In one embodiment, the method processes the recorded commands into a plurality of macro steps and stores the recorded commands as a macro. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 2 , in various embodiments, the method may resize the media files. In some embodiments, the method provides clipping tools. A user may select a portion of the media files (e.g., a frame, a certain time period) to make annotations. In one embodiment, the method provides down-convert tools: a user may also lower the media file quality at operation  201  to account for network/hardware limitations, and later composite the commands using the original, higher-quality media file. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of reviewing annotations in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. The method displays the original media files, and the annotations as well as executes the commands accompanying the annotations. Various embodiments replicate how the annotations are created. Annotations are presented to the reviewers as if the creator annotates the media files in front of the reviewers. At operation  301 , the method displays the original media files. At operation  302 , the method processes the recorded commands and displays the recorded annotations. In one embodiment, the method displays the recorded annotations and the original media files according to a reference time. In various embodiments, the method processes the command file comprising a set of steps associated with the commands accompanying making the annotations. The method processes each step sequentially. In processing each step, the method determines a corresponding command and the time point at which the creator makes the command to the original media files. When there are multiple original media files, the method determines which file or which files out of the original files that the command corresponds to and executes the command accordingly. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 3 , in further embodiments, when processing the steps of a command file, the method determines the annotation corresponding to the time point and displays the original media files along with the annotations at each time point. In one embodiment, the command file is a macro, and the method processes each macro step sequentially to present the original media files together with the annotations. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of creating and storing annotations in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. The method creates a media file that composites the original media files, the annotations, and the commands, if any. A reviewer can simply review the annotations as well as the original media files by playing the composite media file. At operation  401 , the method obtains the original media files, the annotations, and the commands. In one embodiment, the method obtains a command file to obtain the commands. In various embodiments, the method obtains an annotation media file to obtain the annotations. In various embodiments, the method obtains the original media files by locating the media files and retrieving it accordingly. The original media files can be either stored locally, uploaded from elsewhere, or downloaded from a remote site or URL. In further embodiments, the method collects the metadata of all the media files obtained including the original media files and the annotation media files. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 4 , at operation  402 , the method composites the original media files, the annotations, and the commands into one media file. In various embodiments, this compositing can occur on any of the creator or reviewer devices or on a central server. In various embodiments, the method processes the commands by executing the steps in the command file sequentially. The method determines a time unit for processing each step, creates a fraction of the composite media file for that time unit, and updates the output media file with the created fraction. In processing each step, the method determines the command and the corresponding original media files that the command is made to by the annotation creator. The method applies the command to the corresponding original media files. The method creates a fraction of the composite media file for that time unit by updating the states of the original media files. In one embodiment, the time unit is the frame rate of the composite media file. In another embodiment, the time unit is variable to account for hardware limitations at the time of recording of the commands. 
     In various embodiments, the method determines which players should be used to play or display the original media files, how the original media files should be displayed (e.g., the relevant location, the color scheme), what fraction of the original media files should be displayed for that time unit, whether appropriate resizing and transformations are needed, and other similar information used for play and display. When the annotations include text, pictures, drawings, or other illustrative types of comments, the method makes corresponding illustrative comments on the fraction of the original media file or media files. For example, the method draws lines, freehand, circles, rectangles, angles, and writes texts, etc. After processing the command for that time unit, the method appends the fraction of the composite media file to those fractions that have already been created. In one embodiment, the method uses an encoder and a decoder to create the composite media file. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary media annotation creation and review system in accordance with an embodiment of the methods and systems described herein. More particularly,  FIG. 5  depicts the interactions between an annotation creator  501 , an annotation creator  502 , and a reviewer  503  when making annotations collectively in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, the annotation creator  501  annotates the original media files, and the annotation creator  502  annotates on top of the annotations created by the annotation creator  501 . The reviewer  503  reviews the annotations created by both the annotation creator  501  and the annotation creator  502 . 
     Upon creating a set of annotations to the original media files, the annotation creator  501  may choose to create a composite media file  504 , in which the original media files, the annotations created by the annotation creator  501  as well as the commands during the process of creation are combined. The composite media file  504  may be sent to the annotation creator  502  for making additional annotations. In various embodiments, the composite media file  504  is shared between the creator  501  and the creator  502  via emails, text messages, SMS/MMS texts, chats, streaming, peer-to-peer, or other communication means. In various embodiments, the creator  501  uploads the composite media file to a server, creates a link to the uploaded composite media file  504 , and shares the link with the creator  502  via emails, text messages, SMSs, chats, or other communication means. The annotation creator  502  creates additional annotations to the composite media file  504  and create a composite media file  505 , in which the composite file  504 , the annotations created by the annotation creator  502  as well as the commands of the creator  502  are combined. The composite media file  505  may be shared between the annotation creator  502  and the reviewer  503  by various communication means. The reviewer  503 , when reviewing the composite media file  505 , is presented with the annotations from both creator  501  and creator  502 . 
     Still referring to  FIG. 5 , upon creating a set of annotations to the original media files, the annotation creator  501  may choose to share the recorded annotations and commands with the annotation creator  502 . In various embodiments, the annotation creator  501  may create a first command file  506 , which records the commands; and an annotation media file, which records the annotations. The annotation creator  501  shares the first command file  506  via various communication means described above. In various embodiments, the annotation creator  501  may also share the annotation media file together with the first command file  506 . The annotation creator  502  then makes annotations to the original media files in addition to the annotations created by the annotation creator  501  by executing first the command file  506  and the annotation media file shared by the annotation creator  501 . 
     In various embodiments, the annotation creator  502  may record the commands as a second command file  507  and creates another annotation media file to record the annotations. The reviewer  503  reviews the annotations from both the annotation creator  501  and creator  502  by playing the original media files, the first command file  506  and the second command file  507 , as well as the annotation media files created respectively by the annotation creator  501  and the creator  502 . In various embodiments, the annotation creator  502  may record the commands by updating the first command file  506 , in which case, the command file  507  comprises the commands from both the annotation creator  501  and the annotation creator  502 . The annotation creator  502  may update the annotation media file created by the annotation creator  501  or create a separate annotation media file. The reviewer  503  reviews the annotations from both the annotation creator  501  and creator  502  by playing the original media files, the second command file  507 , as well as the annotation media files. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 5 , various embodiments support making collective annotations simultaneously among multiple creators. The annotation creator  501  may choose to host a live session of making annotations, and the annotation creator  502  and the reviewer may participate in the live session. All the annotations are broadcast to all the participants live. When the annotation creator  501  makes annotations, any accompanying command is recorded and processed into a set of command steps  508 , which are broadcast to all the participants of the live session. The participants, such as the annotation creator  502 , can also make annotations when the creator  501  is making annotations. The reviewer  503 , as a participant, may review the annotations live by processing the set of command steps  508 . In various embodiments, the annotation media file created by the creator  501  when making annotations is also shared with all the participants during the live session. 
     The terms “a set of” and “the set of” may be used herein to describe the quantity of various objects is one or more. 
     As used herein, the term “system” might describe a given unit of functionality that can be performed in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. As used herein, a system might be implemented utilizing any form of hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more processors, controllers, ASICs, PLAs, PALs, CPLDs, FPGAs, logical components, software routines or other mechanisms might be implemented to make up a system. In implementation, the various systems described herein might be implemented as discrete systems or the functions and features described can be shared in part or in total among one or more systems. In other words, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this description, the various features and functionality described herein may be implemented in any given application and can be implemented in one or more separate or shared systems in various combinations and permutations. Even though various features or elements of functionality may be individually described or claimed as separate systems, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that these features and functionality can be shared among one or more common software and hardware elements, and such description shall not require or imply that separate hardware or software components are used to implement such features or functionality. 
     Where components or systems of the invention are implemented in whole or in part using software, in one embodiment, these software elements can be implemented to operate with a computing or processing system capable of carrying out the functionality described with respect thereto. One such example-computing system is shown in  FIG. 6 . Various embodiments are described in terms of this example-computing system  600 . After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement the invention using other computing systems or architectures. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , computing system  600  may represent, for example, computing or processing capabilities found within desktop, laptop and notebook computers; hand-held computing devices (PDA&#39;s, smart phones, cell phones, palmtops, etc.); mainframes, supercomputers, workstations or servers; or any other type of special-purpose or general-purpose computing devices as may be desirable or appropriate for a given application or environment. Computing system  600  might also represent computing capabilities embedded within or otherwise available to a given device. For example, a computing system might be found in other electronic devices such as, for example, digital cameras, navigation systems, cellular telephones, portable computing devices, modems, routers, WAPs, terminals and other electronic devices that might include some form of processing capability. 
     Computing system  600  might include, for example, one or more processors, controllers, control systems, or other processing devices, such as a processor  604 . Processor  604  might be implemented using a general-purpose or special-purpose processing engine such as, for example, a microprocessor, controller, or other control logic. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 6 , processor  604  is connected to a bus  603 , although any communication medium can be used to facilitate interaction with other components of computing system  600  or to communicate externally. 
     Computing system  600  might also include one or more memory systems, simply referred to herein as main memory  608 . For example, preferably random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory might be used for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor  604 . Main memory  608  might also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor  604 . Computing system  600  might likewise include a read only memory (“ROM”) or other static storage device coupled to bus  603  for storing static information and instructions for processor  604 . 
     The computing system  600  might also include one or more various forms of information storage mechanism  610 , which might include, for example, a media drive  612  and a storage unit interface  620 . The media drive  612  might include a drive or other mechanism to support fixed or removable storage media  614 . For example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a CD or DVD drive (R or RW), or other removable or fixed media drive might be provided. Accordingly, storage media  614  might include, for example, a hard disk, a floppy disk, magnetic tape, cartridge, optical disk, a CD or DVD, or other fixed or removable medium that is read by, written to or accessed by media drive  612 . As these examples illustrate, the storage media  614  can include a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software or data. 
     In alternative embodiments, information storage mechanism  610  might include other similar instrumentalities for allowing computer programs or other instructions or data to be loaded into computing system  600 . Such instrumentalities might include, for example, a fixed or removable storage unit  622  and an interface  620 . Examples of such storage units  622  and interfaces  620  can include a program cartridge and cartridge interface, a removable memory (for example, a flash memory or other removable memory system) and memory slot, a PCMCIA slot and card, and other fixed or removable storage units  622  and interfaces  620  that allow software and data to be transferred from the storage unit  622  to computing system  600 . 
     Computing system  600  might also include a communications interface  624 . Communications interface  624  might be used to allow software and data to be transferred between computing system  600  and external devices. Examples of communications interface  624  might include a modem or softmodem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet, network interface card, WiMedia, IEEE 802.XX or other interface), a communications port (such as for example, a USB port, IR port, RS232 port Bluetooth® interface, or other port), or other communications interface. Software and data transferred via communications interface  624  might typically be carried on signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic (which includes optical) or other signals capable of being exchanged by a given communications interface  624 . These signals might be provided to communications interface  624  via a channel  628 . This channel  628  might carry signals and might be implemented using a wired or wireless communication medium. Some examples of a channel might include a phone line, a cellular link, an RF link, an optical link, a network interface, a local or wide area network, and other wired or wireless communications channels. 
     In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as, for example, memory  608 , storage unit  620 , media  614 , and signals on channel  628 . These and other various forms of computer program media or computer usable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processing device for execution. Such instructions embodied on the medium, are generally referred to as “computer program code” or a “computer program product” (which may be grouped in the form of computer programs or other groupings). When executed, such instructions might enable the computing system  600  to perform features or functions of the present invention as discussed herein. 
     While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the invention, which is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that can be included in the invention. The invention is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Indeed, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioning and configurations can be implemented to implement the desired features of the present invention. Also, a multitude of different constituent system names other than those depicted herein can be applied to the various partitions. Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions and method claims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise. 
     Although the invention is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead can be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the invention, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. 
     Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like; the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more” or the like; and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future. 
     The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may be absent. The use of the term “system” does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the system are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of a system, whether control logic or other components, can be combined in a single package or separately maintained and can further be distributed in multiple groupings or packages or across multiple locations. 
     Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives can be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.