PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10162506-B2
Application Number: US-201414335636-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Systems and methods for selecting portions of media for a preview

Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to selecting individual tracks within a time-based media for a preview. In certain embodiments, a playhead spans the tracks that a user desires to include in the preview. In one such implementation, the user may adjust the position of handles on the playhead such that the playhead vertically spans the desired tracks. Playback using the playhead may play a preview of those tracks vertically spanned by the playhead.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system, comprising:
 a memory storing instructions to execute a media-editing program to edit time-based media; 
 a display configured to display a graphical user interface of the media-editing program; 
 a user input device configured to adjust the graphical user interface based on user input; and 
 a processor configured to control the media-editing program, wherein the graphical user interface comprises:
 a visual depiction of a plurality of tracks for a time-based media; and 
 an adjustable playhead vertically spanning at least one of the plurality of tracks, wherein an adjustment, via the user input device, to the adjustable playhead is configured to change which of the at least one of the plurality of tracks is vertically spanned by the adjustable playhead, wherein the adjustment enables one or more tracks of the plurality of tracks to not be spanned by the adjustable playhead; and 
 
 wherein the processor is configured to play a preview of only the at least one of the plurality of tracks spanned by the adjustable playhead. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the time-based media is a video. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical user interface comprises a timeline displayed above the visual depiction, below the visual depiction, or a combination thereof; and wherein the processor is configured to begin the preview at a position in time determined by a position of the adjustable playhead relative to the timeline. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustable playhead comprises a first handle disposed on a first end of the adjustable playhead and a second handle disposed on a second end of the adjustable playhead, and wherein the adjustable playhead is configured to be adjusted by changing a vertical position of the first handle, the second handle, or both. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein a first track of the plurality of tracks is not vertically spanned by the adjustable playhead, and wherein the processor is configured to change the visual depiction of the first track. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustable playhead vertically spans at least two of the plurality of tracks, and wherein the processor is configured to receive a user input to replace the adjustable playhead with a second adjustable playhead and a third adjustable playhead that together vertically span the at least two of the plurality of tracks. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to receive a second user input to replace the second adjustable playhead and the third adjustable playhead with a fourth adjustable playhead that vertically spans the at least two of the plurality of tracks. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to receive a user input to save the at least one of the plurality of tracks as a preset. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user input device configured to adjust the graphical user interface based on user input is a touchscreen display, a keyboard, a mouse, a button, or a trackpad. 
     
     
       10. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising executable code comprising instructions to:
 display a visual depiction of a plurality of tracks for a video on an electronic device; 
 display a timeline above the visual depiction, below the visual depiction, or a combination thereof; 
 display an adjustable playhead vertically spanning at least one of the plurality of tracks, wherein the adjustable playhead comprises a first handle on a first end of the adjustable playhead and a second handle on a second end of the adjustable playhead; 
 receive, via a user input device, a user adjustment of the adjustable playhead, wherein the user adjustment comprises adjusting a vertical position of the first handle, the second handle or both to change the at least one of the plurality of tracks vertically spanned by the adjustable playhead; and 
 play a preview of the at least one of the plurality of tracks vertically spanned by the adjustable playhead, wherein the preview begins at a position in time determined by a position of the adjustable playhead relative to the timeline. 
 
     
     
       11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein a track of the plurality of tracks is not vertically spanned by the adjustable playhead, and wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions to remove the track from the visual depiction. 
     
     
       12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions to receive a user input to add the track to the visual depiction. 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the adjustable playhead vertically spans at least two of the plurality of tracks, and wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions configured to receive a user input to replace the adjustable playhead with a second adjustable playhead and a third adjustable playhead that together vertically span the at least two of the plurality of tracks. 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 10 , comprising instructions configured to receive a user input to edit the at least one of the plurality of tracks vertically spanned by the adjustable playhead. 
     
     
       15. A method, comprising:
 displaying a plurality of tracks for a time-based media on an electronic device; 
 displaying an adjustable playhead spanning at least one of the plurality of tracks; 
 receiving, via a user input device, a user adjustment of the adjustable playhead, wherein the user adjustment changes which of the at least one of the plurality of tracks is spanned by the adjustable playhead; and 
 playing a preview of only the at least one of the plurality of tracks spanned by the adjustable playhead. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of tracks comprises a video track, an audio track, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the adjustable playhead comprises a first handle at a first end of the playhead and a second handle at a second end of the playhead, and wherein the user adjustment comprises adjusting a vertical position of the first handle, the second handle, or both. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 15 , wherein a track of the plurality of tracks is not spanned by the adjustable playhead, and wherein the method comprises changing the display of the track. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the adjustable playhead spans at least two of the plurality of tracks, and wherein the method comprises receiving a user input to replace the adjustable playhead with a second adjustable playhead and a third adjustable playhead that together span the at least two of the plurality of tracks. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 15 , comprising receiving a user input to edit the at least one of the plurality of tracks spanned by the adjustable playhead. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 15 , comprising receiving a user input to save the at least one of the plurality of tracks as a preset. 
     
     
       22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising executable code comprising instructions configured to:
 display a plurality of tracks for a time-based media in a graphical user interface on an electronic device; 
 display a first adjustable playhead spanning at least two of the plurality of tracks; 
 receive, via a user input device, a first user input to replace the first adjustable playhead with a second adjustable playhead and a third adjustable playhead that together span the at least two of the plurality of tracks; 
 receive, via the user input device, a second user input to replace the second adjustable playhead and the third adjustable playhead with a fourth adjustable playhead that spans the at least two of the plurality of tracks; 
 receive, via the user input device, a user adjustment of the first, second, third, or fourth adjustable playhead, wherein the user adjustment changes the at least two of the plurality of tracks spanned by the first adjustable playhead, the fourth adjustable playhead, or a combination of the second adjustable playhead and the third adjustable playhead; and 
 play a preview of the at least two of the plurality of tracks spanned by the first adjustable playhead, the fourth adjustable playhead, or the combination of the second adjustable playhead and the third adjustable playhead. 
 
     
     
       23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein the time-based media comprises a video, an audio clip, a slide show, an image, a presentation, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth adjustable playheads comprises a first handle disposed on a first end of the adjustable playhead and a second handle disposed on a second end of the adjustable playhead, and wherein the user adjustment comprises adjusting a vertical position of the first handle, the second handle, or both. 
     
     
       25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 22 , comprising instructions configured to receive a third user input to edit the at least two of the plurality of tracks. 
     
     
       26. A system, comprising:
 a memory storing instructions to execute a media-editing program to edit time-based media; 
 a display configured to display a graphical user interface of the media-editing program; 
 a user input device configured to adjust the graphical user interface based on user input, wherein the user input is configured to adjust a vertical span of a first playhead, a second playhead, or both; and 
 a processor configured to control the media-editing program, wherein the graphical user interface comprises:
 a visual depiction of a plurality of tracks for a time-based media; 
 the first playhead vertically spanning a first track of the plurality of tracks but not a second track of the plurality of tracks, wherein the first track and the second track are not adjacent in the visual depiction; and 
 the second playhead vertically spanning the second track of the plurality of tracks; and 
 
 wherein the processor is configured to play a preview of the first track and the second track. 
 
     
     
       27. The system of  claim 26 , wherein the first playhead and the second playhead are configured to be adjusted to change the first track and the second track vertically spanned by the first playhead and the second playhead respectively. 
     
     
       28. The system of  claim 27 , wherein both the first playhead and the second playhead have a first handle on a first end of the playhead and a second handle on a second end of the playhead, and adjusting the first playhead or the second playhead comprises adjusting a vertical position of the first handle, the second handle, or both. 
     
     
       29. The system of  claim 26 , wherein a third track of the plurality of tracks is not vertically spanned by the first playhead or the second playhead, and wherein the processor is configured to change the display of the third track. 
     
     
       30. The system of  claim 26 , wherein the processor is configured to receive a user input to edit the first track and the second track.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to editing and producing time-based media. Specifically, the embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for selecting portions of time-based media to play in a preview. 
     This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
     In application programs for editing and producing time-based media, the user interface may present a visual depiction of the different tracks of graphics, text, video, and sound that will be included in the media. For example, in a video editing program, the user interface may present the different tracks for video, graphics, and text that will be overlaid as a single image and the different tracks for sound. The user interface may also include a variety of menus, radio buttons, checkboxes, and the like to control and edit the different tracks. 
     The media-application may also include a preview mode, which allows a user to view or listen to a preview of the media in its current state. In particular, the user can utilize the preview mode to evaluate recent changes made to the media without making the changes permanent (i.e., saving the changes). Accordingly, the preview mode reduces the complexity of the editing process, as the user does not have to create several copies of the media with various changes to evaluate different editing decisions. Further, if a significant amount of time is necessary to compile the media file, then eliminating the need for the user to create several copies of the media may reduce the time required for the editing process. 
     In certain situations, the user may want to preview only a portion of the tracks. For instance, the user may want to preview only one video track and one audio track to ensure that the two tracks are properly synchronized. In another example, the user may wish to only view video tracks to determine if certain aspects of the videos (e.g., white or color balance, exposure, etc.) are consistent throughout the compiled video. However, the media-editing application may limit how a user selects which portions of a media to include in a preview. For instance, the application may take an “all or nothing” approach, in which all tracks of a particular type of track are either included, or not. Other media-editing applications may involve individually selecting the tracks to include in or exclude from the preview using menus within the user interface. Further, some media-editing applications may not allow users to select only a portion of the media to include in a preview. 
     SUMMARY 
     A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
     This disclosure relates to application programs for editing and producing media that include a preview mode, which allows users to quickly evaluate any edits to a media without making any permanent changes to the media file. At times, it may be desirable to preview only a portion of the media (e.g., only preview the audio tracks for a video). The present embodiments disclosed herein relate to selecting a portion of a media to preview using a media-editing application. Specifically, the embodiments include an adjustable playhead used in applications for editing time-based media. The configuration of the adjustable playhead determines which portions of the time-based media are included in a preview of the time-based media. In particular, only the portions of the time-based media spanned by the adjustable playhead are included in a preview. Adjusting the configuration of the playhead may be comfortable to users because a playhead may be a familiar feature within a user interface for the application program. Thus, selecting the desired portions of the time-based media may be less complicated than navigating menus, which may be minimized or removed from the user interface, to accomplish the same task. Further, by using the adjustable playhead, the user may control the portions of the media included in the preview at multiple levels of granularity. 
     The embodiments also include generating multiple playheads and rejoining playheads within a media-editing application. As will be appreciated, certain media-editing applications may restrict the spatial arrangement or depiction of the various components of a time-based media. For example, the media-editing application may present the different tracks of a time-based media in a particular order that the user is unable to alter. In another instance, the user may arrange the user interface to present the components of the time-based media in a particular manner that he or she does not wish to change. In such situations, the user may generate multiple playheads to select portions of the time-based media that are not adjacent to one another within the user interface. The user may also rejoin playheads as desired. 
     Further, the user may also perform other control and editing actions on the portions of the time-based media spanned by the adjustable playhead. For example, the user may edit the selected portions of the time-based media as a group or may save the selected portions as a preset for later reference. As mentioned above, performing such actions using the adjustable playhead may be easier than navigating menus to accomplish the same task. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic device that may use the techniques disclosed herein, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a handheld device, such as an iPhone® by Apple Inc., in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a tablet device, such as an iPad® by Apple Inc., in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a notebook computer, such as a MacBook Pro® by Apple Inc., in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a screen of a video-editing application, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIGS. 6A-6D  illustrate examples of a preview generated by the video-editing application of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates generating two playheads in the video-editing application of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates rejoining the two playheads of  FIG. 7 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates rejoining the two playheads of  FIG. 7 , in accordance with another embodiment; and 
         FIG. 10  illustrates performing actions in the video-editing application of  FIG. 5  using a playhead, in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Further, the terms “application program,” “application,” and “program” are intended to encompass any processor-executable instructions (e.g., an operating system, a web application, etc.). 
     This disclosure is generally directed towards previewing a portion of a time-based media within a media-editing application. In a certain embodiment, the configuration of a playhead within the media-editing application determines which portions of the time-based media are included in a preview of the media. A user may change the configuration of the playhead and, subsequently, the portions of the media included in the preview, as desired. The media-editing application may also support multiple playheads as necessary based on the depiction and spatial arrangement of the components of the time-based media. Further, the media editing application may allow the user to perform other actions (e.g., save, edit, etc.) on the portions of the time-based media designated by the playhead for preview mode. 
     Turning first to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device  10  may include, among other things, a display  12 , input structures  14 , input/output (I/O) ports  16 , one or more processor(s)  18 , memory  20 , nonvolatile storage  22 , a network interface  24 , and a power source  26 . The various functional blocks shown in  FIG. 1  may include hardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (including computer code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium) or a combination of both hardware and software elements. It should be noted that  FIG. 1  is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in the electronic device  10 . Indeed, the various depicted components (e.g., the processor(s)  18 ) may be separate components, components of a single contained module (e.g., a system-on-a-chip device), or may be incorporated wholly or partially within any of the other elements within the electronic device  10 . The components depicted in  FIG. 1  may be embodied wholly or in part as machine-readable instructions (e.g., software or firmware), hardware, or any combination thereof. 
     By way of example, the electronic device  10  may represent a block diagram of the handheld device depicted in  FIG. 2 , the tablet computing device depicted in  FIG. 3 , the notebook computer depicted in  FIG. 4 , or similar devices, such as desktop computers, televisions, and so forth. In the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 , the display  12  may be any suitable electronic display used to display image data (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display). In some examples, the display  12  may represent one of the input structures  14 , enabling users to interact with a user interface of the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, the electronic display  12  may be a MultiTouch™ display that can detect multiple touches at once. Other input structures  14  of the electronic device  10  may include buttons, keyboards, mice, trackpads, and the like. The I/O ports  16  may enable electronic device  10  to interface with various other electronic devices. 
     The processor(s)  18  and/or other data processing circuitry may execute instructions and/or operate on data stored in the memory  20  and/or nonvolatile storage  22 . The memory  20  and the nonvolatile storage  22  may be any suitable articles of manufacture that include tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media to store the instructions or data, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drives, and optical discs. By way of example, a computer program product containing the instructions may include an operating system (e.g., OS X® or iOS by Apple Inc.) or an application program (e.g., Aperture®, Final Cut Pro X®, Logic Pro X®, or iMovie® by Apple Inc.) or a suite of such application programs (e.g., Final Cut Studio® by Apple Inc.). 
     The network interface  24  may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as a Bluetooth network, for a local area network (LAN), such as an 802.11x Wi-Fi network, and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as a 4G or LTE cellular network. The power source  26  of the electronic device  10  may be any suitable source of energy, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and/or an alternating current (AC) power converter. 
     As mentioned above, the electronic device  10  may take the form of a computer or other type of electronic device. Such computers may include computers that are generally portable (such as laptop, notebook, and tablet computers) as well as computers that are generally used in one place (such as conventional desktop computers, workstations and/or servers).  FIG. 2  depicts a front view of a handheld device  10 A, which represents one embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  10 A may represent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personal data organizer, a handheld game platform, or any combination of such devices. By way of example, the handheld device  10 A may be a model of an iPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     The handheld device  10 A may include an enclosure  28  to protect interior components from physical damage and to shield them from electromagnetic interference. The enclosure  28  may surround the display  12 , which may display a graphical user interface (GUI)  30  having an array of icons  32 . By way of example, one of the icons  32  may launch a video editing application (e.g., Final Cut Pro X® or iMovie® by Apple Inc.), an image editing application (e.g., Aperture® by Apple Inc.), or a music editing application (e.g., Logic Pro X® by Apple Inc.). User input structures  14 , in combination with the display  12 , may allow a user to control the handheld device  10 A. For example, the input structures  14  may activate or deactivate the handheld device  10 A, navigate a user interface to a home screen, navigate a user interface to a user-configurable application screen, activate a voice-recognition feature, provide volume control, and toggle between vibrate and ring modes. Touchscreen features of the display  12  of the handheld device  10 A may provide a simplified approach to controlling video editing, or other, application programs executing on the device. The handheld device  10 A may include I/O ports  16  that open through the enclosure  28 . These I/O ports  16  may include, for example, an audio jack and/or a Lightning® port from Apple Inc. to connect to external devices. The electronic device  10  may also be a tablet device  10 B, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . For example, the tablet device  10 B may be a model of an iPad® available from Apple Inc. 
     In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  may take the form of a computer, such as a model of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc. By way of example, the electronic device  10 , taking the form of a notebook computer  10 C, is illustrated in  FIG. 4  in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The depicted computer  10 C may include a display  12 , input structures  14 , I/O ports  16 , and a housing  28 . In one embodiment, the input structures  14  (e.g., a keyboard and/or touchpad) may be used to interact with the computer  10 C, such as to start, control, or operate a GUI or applications (e.g., Final Cut Pro X®, Aperture®, or Logic Pro X® by Apple Inc.) running on the computer  10 C. 
     With the preceding in mind, a variety of computer program products, such as applications or operating systems executing on an electronic device  10 , may use or implement the techniques discussed below to enhance the user experience on the electronic device  10 . Indeed, any suitable computer program product that provides for the editing and production of a time-based media may employ some or all of the techniques discussed below. For example, an electronic device  10  may store and run a video editing application (e.g., Final Cut Pro X® from Apple Inc.) or other suitable application configured to implement the present embodiments. The application may be stored as one or more executable routines (which may encode and implement the actions described below) in memory and/or storage ( FIG. 1 ). These routines, when executed, may cause control codes and logic as discussed herein to be implemented and may cause screens as discussed herein to be displayed on a screen of the electronic device or in communication with the electronic device. While the following examples are provided in the context of a video editing application, the present approaches are suitable for use in other applications (e.g., an animation production application, a music editing application, and so forth) where time-based media may be created, edited, and produced. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 5 , the GUI  30  of a video editing application  34  displays a timeline  36 , the various tracks  38  that constitute a video, and a variety of menus  40 . As will be appreciated, a user may determine the state of a track  38  at a particular point in time based on the timeline  36 . The timeline  36  may be displayed above the tracks  38 , as depicted in  FIG. 5 . Alternately or additionally, the timeline  36  may below the tracks  38 . 
     Each of the tracks  38  represents a particular portion of the video. For example, the tracks  38  may include the various tracks of video, graphics, and text that will be overlaid as a single image and the various tracks of sound in a finished movie. Oftentimes, there are separate tracks  38  for each video roll (e.g., a main interview vs. a cutaway, or standard definition video vs. high definition video), each audio roll (e.g., dialogue vs. sound effects) and each presentation of an image (e.g. graphics vs. a network or program logo, or text vs. captions). 
     The GUI  30  includes a visual depiction  42  of each track  38  through time, as shown in  FIG. 5 . For example, for a video track  38 , the GUI  30  may depict each frame of the video track  38  over time, and for an audio track  38 , the GUI  30  may display a histogram of the audio frequency over time. The individual visual depiction  42  of each track  38  may be marked using a label  44  and may also include various indicia  46  which describe the state of the respective track  38 . For example, the indicia  44  may include the volume level for an audio track  38  or the opacity of a video track  38 . 
     In certain embodiments, the GUI  30  may “minimize” the visual depiction  42  of a particular track  38  based on user input, such that only the label  44  of the track  38  is visible. For example, a triangle  48  may be located near the label  44  of the track  38  that, when selected (e.g., clicked), may prompt the GUI  30  to minimize the track  38 . As will be appreciated, selecting the triangle  48  again may restore the visual depiction  42  of the track  38 . Alternately or additionally, a user may select the visual depiction  42  or the label  44  (e.g., right click) to generate a menu of options that include minimizing or restoring a track  38 . 
     Further, in certain embodiments, the GUI  30  may resize the visual depiction  42  of a particular track  38  based on user input. For example, the user may hover an input structure  14  (e.g., a mouse) over the border of the visual depiction  42  to generate a cursor (e.g., an arrow) to resize the visual depiction  42 . The cursor may also be generated by selecting (e.g., double clicking) a resize icon included in the visual depiction  42 . Alternately or additionally, a user may select the visual depiction  42  (e.g., right click) to generate a menu of options that includes resizing the visual depiction  42 . 
     As mentioned above, the GUI  30  includes a variety of menus  40  which may be used to edit the tracks  38 , generate the final video file, and control the items displayed in the GUI  30 , among other things. For instance, the GUI  30  includes a file menu  50 , an edit menu  52 , a tools menu  54 , a window menu  56 , a help menu  58 , a drawing tools menu  60 , and a tracks menu  62 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     The video editing application  34  has a preview or playback mode, which plays the most recent state of the video. As such, the preview mode allows the user to evaluate any changes to the video without making any permanent changes to the video. As will be appreciated, the GUI  30  includes a playhead  64  displayed on top of the tracks  38 . The position of the playhead  64  relative to the timeline  36  indicates the point in time at which a preview of the video begins. Further, the user may change the position of the playhead  64  relative to the timeline  36  in order to change the starting point of the preview. 
     Although the video editing application  34  may play all tracks  38  in a preview by default, at times, it may be desirable to only preview certain tracks  38 . For instance, a user may wish to view and listen to exactly one video track  42  and one audio track  42  to ensure that the tracks  42  are properly synchronized. 
     To indicate which tracks  38  should be included in the preview, the user may adjust the configuration of the playhead  64  to vertically span the desired tracks  38 . As depicted in  FIG. 5 , the playhead  64  may have a handle  66 A (e.g., circles, arrows, etc.) one end of the playhead  64  and a handle  66 B at the other end of the playhead  64 . To adjust the configuration of the playhead  64 , the user can select and reposition the handles  66 A and  66 B (e.g., click and drag the handle) such that the playhead  64  vertically spans the tracks  38  the user wishes to include the preview. For example, in  FIG. 6A , the playhead  64  spans all of the tracks  38 , such that all of the tracks  38  are included in the corresponding preview  68 , while in  FIG. 6B  the playhead  64  only spans the visual tracks  38 , such that no audio is included in the corresponding preview  68 . In another instance, as shown in  FIG. 6C , the playhead  64  spans only the audio tracks  38 , such that no video is included in the corresponding preview  68 , while in another example shown in  FIG. 6D , the playhead  64  includes a custom selection of the tracks  38  that are included in the corresponding preview  68 . 
     Turning back to  FIG. 5 , in certain embodiments, the GUI  30  may not make any changes to the visual depiction  42  of the tracks  38  not included in the preview, relying solely on the playhead  64  to indicate which tracks  38  are included in the preview. In other embodiments, the GUI  30  may change the visual depiction  42  (e.g., graying or fading out the visual depiction) or may add an icon to the indicia  46  to indicate that the corresponding track  38  is not included in the preview. In still other embodiments, any tracks  38  not included in the preview may automatically be minimized as described above. 
     Allowing the user to select certain tracks  38  using the playhead  64  mitigates effectively “hiding” a track  38  from the preview by editing the track  38  or adding an overlay. Further, as will be appreciated, the playhead  64  is usually present within the GUI  30 . As such, using the ever-present playhead  64  to select the desired tracks  38  may be less complicated than navigating the menus  40 , which may be minimized or removed from the GUI  30 , to accomplish the same task. Further, using the playhead  64  may allow the user to control the tracks  38  included in the preview at multiple levels of granularity (e.g., all visual tracks, all text tracks, a custom selection of tracks, etc). Accordingly, the playhead  64  may allow the user a greater freedom of operation in preview mode than other video-editing applications, which may restrict the user to including or excluding all tracks  38  of a particular type of track  38 , as mentioned above. 
     As will be appreciated, certain embodiments of the video-editing application  34  may restrict the spatial arrangement of the visual depiction  42  of the tracks  38 . For example, the GUI  30  may present the tracks  38  in a particular order that the user is unable to alter. In another instance, the user may arrange the GUI  30  to present the visual depiction  42  of the tracks  38  in a particular manner that he or she does not wish to change. However, at times, the user may wish to include in the preview tracks  38  that are not adjacent to one another in the GUI  30 . 
     To include the non-adjacent tracks  38  in the preview, the user may create multiple playheads  64 . In particular, the user may select a portion of the playhead  64  (e.g., double tapping the middle of the playhead  64 ), prompting the GUI  30  to generate two playheads,  64 A and  64 B, that together vertically span the same tracks  38  as the previous playhead  64 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . The user may then adjust the configuration of the playheads  64  as described above to select the desired tracks for the preview. 
     To rejoin the playheads  64 A and  64 B, the user may drag one playhead  64  (e.g., playhead  64 B) on top of the other playhead  64  (e.g., playhead  64 A) using an input structure  14 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . This action prompts the GUI  30  to generate a single playhead  64  that vertically spans the same tracks  38  as the playheads  64 A and  64 B, as well as any intervening tracks  38  not originally selected by the playheads  64 A and  64 B. In other embodiments, the user may drag a handle  66 A or  66 B on one of the playheads  64  (e.g., the handle  66 A on playhead  64 B) on top of a handle  66 A or  66 B on the other playhead  64  (e.g., the handle  66 B on playhead  64 A), as shown in  FIG. 9 , to rejoin two playheads  64 . 
     The configuration of the playhead  64  may be used by the video editing application  34  for other control and editing actions besides selecting the tracks  38  to include in a preview. For example, a user may save the tracks  38  vertically spanned by the playhead  64  as a group for later reference. To save the tracks  38  as a group, the user may select the playhead  64  (e.g., click and hold, right click, etc.), prompting the user interface to present a menu that includes an option to save the tracks  38 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . In another example, the user may select the playhead  64  (e.g., double tap, right click) to generate a menu that includes an option to edit the tracks  38 , as depicted in  FIG. 10 . Alternately or additionally, the user may edit the tracks  38  vertically spanned by the playhead  64  using the menus  40 . 
     The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20140718
Publication Date: 20181225
Grant Date: 20181225
Priority Date: 20140718
Inventors: MEEHAN, KENNETH C.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04N21/8549", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B27/34", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0484", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N21/8547", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B27/34", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N21/8547", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B27/031", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N21/8549", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04847", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B27/031", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0488", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0484", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B27/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04847", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0488", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04847", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N21/8549", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N21/8547", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0488", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0484", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B27/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 55074600