Patent ID: 8089564

Claim:
A method to produce in an area of restricted size in a realistic manner while minimizing subject perspective distortion a recording of an individual that produces the illusion that the individual is located in a larger area, comprising the steps of (a) providing a studio booth including (i) an interior with a front wall, a rear wall, side walls extending between said front wall and rear wall, a floor, and a ceiling, (ii) an audio and video system to detect and generate audio-visual signals comprising a recording of at least one performance conducted in said booth, said system including a high definition digital camera mounted at said front wall and producing at least 1080 lines of horizontal resolution, (iii) a chroma key screen extending over at least a portion of said rear wall to produce background light that is, along with the performance conducted in the booth, detected by said digital camera, (iv) a transmitter to send said audio-visual signals to a selected location remote from said booth, (v) a computer system to generate backdrop signals representing a scenic backdrop and to integrate said audio-visual signals and said backdrop signals to produce a recorded performance, said computer system initially transmitting said recording in a resolution less than said 1080 lines of horizontal resolution and then at a later time transmitting said recording in a resolution of at least 1080 lines of horizontal resolution, booth having a footprint fitting within a rectangular area having a greatest side dimension of ten feet; (b) selecting a lens system for said digital camera with a horizontal field of view that minimizes subject perspective distortion of an individual performing in said interior of said booth; (c) defining, to minimize subject perspective distortion, a minimum distance that an individual stands away from said camera when said individual is in the interior of said booth to conduct a performance; (d) selecting a scenic backdrop (i) to minimize subject-background correlation distortion, (ii) depicting an area larger than said interior of said studio booth; (e) conducting a live performance in said booth by the individual in said interior and no closer to said camera than said minimum distance and generating with said computer system a recording of the performance comprising audio visual signals of said live performance integrated with backdrop signals of said selected scenic backdrop selected in step (d), said recording minimizing subject perspective distortion and consequently making the individual appear realistically to have made the recording in an area larger than said interior of said booth; and, (f) transmitting to said selected remote location with said transmitter said recording produced in step (b).