System, method, and computer readable medium for creating a video clip

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for creating a video clip comprises receiving still image files by a first module, creating a copy of a still image from the still image files with reduced dimensions by the first module, creating a new still image from a selected area of the still image, storing the new still image and the copy of the still image with a unified file name, ordering the stored images, creating an audio file by at least one of a second module and a third module, creating a timeline, by the first module, related to the ordered images and the created audio, and rendering the timeline into the video clip by a fourth module.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving both a user-defined sequence for a plurality of still images and at least one of the plurality of still images, and   information regarding the plurality of still images including a number of the still images and identifiers for the still images;   receiving information from which a desired length of a rendered video may be determined; and   automatically defining parameters for the rendered video based on the user-defined sequence for the still images and the desired length of the rendered video.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information from which the desired length of the rendered video may be determined comprises one of an audio file and text for text-to-speech generation of an audio track. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 based on the defined parameters, automatically generating the rendered video from the plurality of still images and audio.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the audio comprises one of an audio file and audio generated by text-to-speech processing of user-defined text. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining a duration of audio corresponding to the user-defined text; and   using the determined duration as the desired length of the rendered video.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 when automatically defining parameters for the rendered video, defining parameters for at least one of panning and zooming portions of one or more of the still images.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the parameters for the rendered video comprise at least one transition identifier and associated transition timing for transitioning within the rendered video from a first of the still images to a second of the still images. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the defined parameters for the rendered video includes a timeline. 
     
     
         9 . A system, comprising:
 storage configured to receive and to store both a user-defined sequence for a plurality of still images and at least one of the plurality of still images, and   information regarding the plurality of still images including a number of the still images and identifiers for the still images,   wherein the server is further configured to receive and to store information from which a desired length of a rendered video may be determined; and   a processor configured to automatically define parameters for the rendered video based on the user-defined sequence for the still images and the desired length of the rendered video.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the information from which the desired length of the rendered video may be determined comprises one of an audio file and text for text-to-speech generation of an audio track. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a rendering server configured to automatically generating the rendered video from the plurality of still images and audio based on the defined parameters.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the audio comprises one of an audio file and audio generated by text-to-speech processing of user-defined text. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the rendering server is configured to:
 determine a duration of audio corresponding to the user-defined text, and use the determined duration as the desired length of the rendered video.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured, when automatically defining parameters for the rendered video, to define parameters for at least one of panning and zooming portions of one or more of the still images. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the defined parameters for the rendered video comprise at least one transition identifier and associated transition timing for transitioning within the rendered video from a first of the still images to a second of the still images. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the defined parameters for the rendered video includes a timeline. 
     
     
         17 . A method, comprising:
 receiving at a first data processing system from a second data processing system both a user-defined sequence for a plurality of still images and user-defined text for audio to be generated by text-to-speech processing of the user-defined text, wherein each of the first and second data processing systems comprise at least one of a server and a module executing within a computer; and   in response to receiving the user-defined sequence and the user-defined text, automatically generating in the first data processing system a timing sequence for a rendered video, the timing sequence corresponding to a duration of audio for the rendered video generated by text-to-speech processing of the user-defined text and defining transitions within the rendered video among the plurality of still images.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 transmitting the timing sequence from the first data processing system to the second data processing system for use by the second data processing system in generating a video based on the timing sequence, wherein the plurality of images are stored at the second data processing system.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 defining, within the timing sequence, periods for at least one of panning and zooming portions of one or more of the still images.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 generating audio in the first data processing system by text-to-speech processing of user-defined text; and   transmitting an audio file for the generated audio from the first data processing system to the second data processing system together with the timing sequence.