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Program ancillary data producing device, picture program editing device and picture program producing device

Program ancillary data producing device, picture program editing device and picture program producing device description/claims

This invention relates to a program ancillary data producing device, used for producing ancillary information data relevant to each scene of a picture program, a picture program editing device and a picture program producing device. More particularly, it relates to a program ancillary data producing device, a picture program editing device, a picture program producing device, a method for displaying a program ancillary data producing picture and a recording medium, in an ancillary information data producing system of the type interlinked with a picture program.

The majority of currently practiced projects employ a technique of having part of needed resources or services furnished by sponsor business operators. For example, in producing a television program, the projects make use of a scheme of having the apparel or clothes of performers, accessories, sets in a studio, small articles or location sites, furnished from the sponsor business operators. Meanwhile, in picture programs, such as television programs, variegated information pertinent to a picture program, as program ancillary data, is scheduled to broadcast or distributed simultaneously with acoustic data or picture data, such that there is a promising prospect for realization of variegated services employing the program ancillary data.

For example, not only an interpolating type service in which the viewer refers to a singer's profile as he or she enjoys a song program, but also an interactive service in which the viewer places an order for a commodity appearing on a display picture, as he or she enjoys the picture program, is felt to be promising.

Meanwhile, in order for these services to be attractive for the audience, it is essential that abundant information be furnished as program ancillary data, and that the furnished information may readily be accessible.

However, if program ancillary data is to be completed, that is input, within a limited time allowance, a considerable load is necessarily imposed on the producer of the picture program. Thus, such device or method that is able to enable efficient preparation of program ancillary data is thought to be desirable.

In view of the above-described status of the art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a program ancillary data producing device, a picture program editing device and a picture program producing device, according to which a picture program producer is able to prepare program ancillary data efficiently in such a manner as to permit the audience to access the needed information extremely readily. It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a program ancillary data producing device, a picture program editing device, a picture program producing device, a method for displaying a program ancillary data producing picture and a recording medium, in an ancillary information data producing system of the type interlinked with a picture program.

For accomplishing these objects, the following means are proposed. It should be noted that a program ancillary data producing system comprised of summation of the favorable effects derived from the respective means may be constructed by judicious combination of the following means. Of course, a more comprehensive system may be constructed by integration with the picture data producing system. Turning to the recording medium, judicious combination of the following respective means gives a recording medium which can be employed in a manner conforming to the combination used.

By exploiting the sponsorship-related data, stored in accordance with the teaching of a co-pending patent application of the present Assignee, directed to a sponsorship transaction support system (system which implements the sponsorship transaction between a client for the sponsorship and the sponsor business operator over a network), the operating efficiency may be improved further.

The respective functional units, constituting the following means, may be implemented as hardware or as software.

As first means, the present invention proposes a device for producing program ancillary data relevant to each scene of a picture program to be recorded, including a display control unit for demonstrating on a display picture an input form having, as an input item, the information pertinent to a scene as an object of preparation, and a program ancillary data generating unit for correlating the information specifying a relevant scene with the information as entered through the input form.

With use of this program ancillary data generating unit, program ancillary data associated with a scene to be input may be produced simply on inputting the information required for the input form. This enables anyone to create program ancillary data including preset items readily efficiently. This also minimizes the individual difference in the sequence or content of input items from one operator to another and is meritorious in achieving operation distribution.

Since the information specifying the relevant scene is annexed to the produced program ancillary data, the program ancillary data can readily be correlated with a picture program at the time of editing or second use.

The input form may be based on each of the imaged objects or effect sounds, or on each scene. In the latter case, the information relevant to plural imaged objects or effect sounds appearing in the same scene may be input collectively.

However, in the case of a device used on an imaging site, there is imposed a limitation on the time available for an inputting operation, and hence the input items in the input form are desirably the necessary minimum. For example, such a form may be used in which only the names of the business operators furnishing commodities or services are entered, while no specified information on the commodities or services is entered. Conversely, such a form may also be used in which only typical classifications or appellations of the commodities or services are used as input items. By employing this sort of form, program ancillary data may be input in a shorter time. In this case, the necessary information has, of course, to be added to the program ancillary data produced on the imaging site in e.g., an editing room.

Meanwhile, the names of the business operators or specified information on the commodities or services to be input may be limited to those pertinent to the sponsor business operators furnishing the commodities or services for the picture program. By limiting the input items to those relevant to the sponsor commodities or services, it is possible to create such program ancillary data which has collected the commodities or services that permit on-line transactions

The ‘picture program’ here includes programs, such as television programs, motion picture programs and so forth. The picture program may be transmitted over a transmission path or circulated in the form of recording mediums. Meanwhile, the transmission path may be cabled or wireless, while the transmission system may be in the broadcast form or in the interactive transmission (distribution) form.

The ‘information relevant to a scene’ encompasses not only the information pertinent to commodities or services that are in the form of a so-called imaged object, but also the information concerning commodities or services used in effect sounds (theme songs, inserted songs and BGM), information on time and imaging site and the information concerning individuals, such as performers and photographers. Meanwhile, the information concerning the imaging site may include the GPS (global positioning system) information.

Meanwhile, the GPS information may be furnished from a GPS receiver enclosed within or connected to a program ancillary data producing device, or it may be furnished as the ancillary information to the image pickup data through an image pickup camera, in which case the GPS receiver may be built in or mounted externally of the camera. Alternatively, it may be furnished by manual input, or recording data of the GPS receiver may be furnished separately, such as with a recording medium.

Meanwhile, the information concerning commodities or services includes, for example, brand names (codes), category names of the commodities (codes), names of the commodities or services (codes), producer's names (codes), names of the suppliers of the commodities or services (codes), contact destinations (URL or e-mail) and remunerations.

The ‘information specifying a relevant scene’ may, for example, be a scene number, a shot number, a take number, a UMID (unique material identifier), or a reel number (roll/tape number). If general, if the picture unit is reduced excessively, the operating load is excessively increased. Thus, in case of a manual input, scene numbers or time codes are possibly used. However, in view of uniqueness, the code information, such as UMID, is desirably input. In light of uniqueness, the code information, such as UMID, is desirably entered. However, global uniqueness is desirable.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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