Overlay of avatar onto live environment for recording a video

Abstract

Systems and methods enable a user of a mobile device to overlay or integrate a puppet or avatar on or into a live environment data feed provided by an input device such as a camera of the mobile device. In one embodiment, a method includes: creating a puppet; activating at least one input device that provides data from a live environment; controlling motions of the puppet; presenting an overlay of the puppet onto the live environment; and recording a video that integrates the motions of the puppet with the data from the live environment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 creating, by at least one processor of a mobile device, a puppet;   activating, by the at least one processor, at least one input device that provides data from a live environment;   controlling, based on input from a user interface of the mobile device, motions of the puppet;   presenting, on a display of the mobile device, an overlay of the puppet onto the live environment; and   recording, by the at least one processor, a video that integrates the motions of the puppet with the data from the live environment.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is a touch interface, and the method further comprising playing back the recorded video on the display of the mobile device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one input device includes a microphone to record voice data of a person and the motions of the puppet include movement of a mouth of the puppet, the method further comprising synchronizing the voice data with movement of the mouth during the recording of the video. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the user interface is a touch interface, and the mouth of the puppet is activated by a person using the touch interface prior to recording the voice data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is a touch interface, and the controlling the motions of the puppet comprises changing a position of the puppet in the display in response to physical interaction of a person with the touch interface. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is a touch interface, and during the recording, visual indicators are presented on the display, the visual indicators corresponding to portions of the touch interface that, when touched, cause a motion of the puppet. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one input device comprises a camera of the mobile device, and the data from the live environment includes image data captured by the camera during the recording. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one input device further comprises a microphone of the mobile device, and the data from the live environment includes sound data recorded by the microphone. 
     
     
         9 . A system, comprising:
 a display;   a touch interface;   at least one input device;   at least one processor; and   memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to:
 activate the at least one input device to provide data from a live environment; 
 control, based on user input via the touch interface, motions of a graphical image on the display; 
 present, on the display, an overlay of the graphical image onto the live environment; and 
 record a digital file that integrates data for the motions of the graphical image with the data from the live environment. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one input device comprises a camera and a microphone integrated into a mobile device. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the graphical image is a puppet, and the instructions further instruct the at least one processor to create the puppet by receiving selections from a user of at least one component of the puppet. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one component comprises a body part of the puppet. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions further instruct the at least one processor to send the digital file to a social network server. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the display is part of a mobile device, and the at least one input device comprises a sensor to provide data regarding motion of the mobile device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein motion of the graphical image during the recording corresponds at least in part to movement of the mobile device as determined based on the data from the sensor. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed, cause a mobile device to:
 activate, by at least one processor, at least one input device that provides data from a live environment;   control, based on input received via a touch interface, motions of a puppet;   present, on a display, an overlay of the puppet onto the live environment; and   record, by the at least one processor, a video that integrates the motions of the puppet with the data from the live environment.   
     
     
         17 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the mobile device to create, prior to the recording, the puppet based on body parts selected by a user using the touch interface. 
     
     
         18 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the mobile device to convert touch information received from the touch interface to coordinate data. 
     
     
         19 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one input device comprises a camera, and the data from the live environment includes image data captured by the camera. 
     
     
         20 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the at least one input device further comprises a microphone, and the data from the live environment further includes sound data recorded by the microphone.