Application of speed effects to a video presentation

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method of specifying speed effects for playing a video clip. The method defines a set of speed effects for the video clip. It then displays in real-time a presentation of the video clip that accounts for the set of speed effects defined for the video clip. This method represents the playback speed of a video clip in terms of a graph that is part of a graphical user interface (“GUI”). This graph is defined along two axes, with one axis representing the playback time, and the other axis representing the content-time (i.e., the time within the video clip). A user can select and adjust the graph at different instances in time in order to change the playback speed of the video clip at these instances. Some embodiments use a deformable line bar superimposed on a rectangle that represents the video clip to represent playback speed.

1 - 32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that when executed by at least one processing unit provides a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI comprising:
 a display area for displaying a video presentation; and   a selectable graph for representing a playback-time at multiple points in a video clip in relation to a content-time at the multiple points in the video clip, wherein a playback speed effect is specified by selecting and modifying the selectable graph.   
     
     
         34 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 33 , wherein the GUI further comprises a set of controls for allowing a user to modify the selectable graph by selecting a portion of the graph and performing a drag operation. 
     
     
         35 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 33 , wherein the selectable graph is defined along at least:
 a playback-time axis that represents time during a playback; and   a content-time axis that represents time within the video presentation.   
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 33 , wherein the selectable graph comprises a line bar that includes a curve. 
     
     
         37 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein a slope of a portion of the curve determines a playback speed of a corresponding portion of a content clip. 
     
     
         38 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 37 , wherein a negative slope of a portion of the curve determines that the corresponding portion of the content clip is playing backward. 
     
     
         39 . A method for specifying playback speed effects for playing a video clip, the method comprising:
 receiving a set of playback speed effects for the video clip through a set of modifications of a selectable graph that is displayed on a display device, wherein the selectable graph represents a playback-time at multiple points in the video clip in relation to a content-time at the multiple points in the video clip, wherein the set of modifications comprises a set of click-and-drag operations; and   altering a playback of a presentation of the video clip to account for the set of playback speed effects defined for the video clip.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the set of playback speed effects comprises speeding up a portion of the playback. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the set of playback speed effects specifies a plurality of playback speeds for a plurality of intervals of the video clip. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 39  further comprising converting the click-and-drag operation into a set of playback speed effect definitions. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein receiving the click-and-drag operation comprises monitoring the location of a cursor controlled by an electronic input device and the status of buttons of the electronic input device. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein receiving the click-and-drag operation comprises receiving a selection, from the electronic input device, of a portion of the graph that appears at a first location within a window containing the graph and receiving an input from the electronic input device commanding a movement of the selected portion to a second location within the window. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 39  further comprising adjusting a curvature of a portion of the graph. 
     
     
         46 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for specifying playback speed effects for playing a video clip, said computer program for execution by at least one processing unit, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
 receiving a set of playback speed effects for the video clip through a set of modifications of a selectable graph that is displayed on a display device, wherein the selectable graph represents a playback-time at multiple points in the video clip in relation to a content-time at the multiple points in the video clip, wherein the set of modifications comprises a set of click-and-drag operations; and   altering a playback of a presentation of the video clip to account for the set of playback speed effects defined for the video clip.   
     
     
         47 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 46 , wherein the set of instructions for altering a playback of the presentation comprises a set of instructions for slowing down the playback when a slope of the graph decreases. 
     
     
         48 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 46 , wherein the set of instructions for altering a playback of the presentation comprises a set of instructions for speeding up the playback when a slope of the graph increases. 
     
     
         49 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 46 , wherein the set of instructions for altering a playback of the presentation comprises a set of instructions for playing the video clip in reverse when a slope of the graph is negative. 
     
     
         50 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 46 , wherein the set of click and drag operations changes a curvature of the graph. 
     
     
         51 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 46 , wherein the computer program further comprises a set of instructions for altering a curvature of the graph. 
     
     
         52 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 46 , wherein the computer program further comprises a set of instructions for smoothing a curvature of the graph. 
     
     
         53 . A method for specifying playback speed effects for playing a video clip, the method comprising:
 receiving a set of playback speed effects for the video clip through a selectable graph that is displayed on a display device, said graph correlating playback times of the video clip with content times of the video clip;   indicating a first portion of said graph that represents forward playback with a first set of markers of a first color;   indicating a second portion of said graph that represents backward playback with a second set of markers of a second color, wherein said second color is different from said first color; and   displaying a presentation of the video clip that accounts for the set of playback speed effects defined for the video clip.   
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein said graph comprises a first axis and a second axis, and wherein said first set of markers and said second set of markers are displayed along said first axis. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein said first axis represents a playback-time of the video clip and said second axis represents a content-time of said video clip, any two markers in said first set of markers that are adjacent to each other represent a same content-time interval between the two adjacent markers, a first pair of adjacent markers is a first distance apart from each other, a second pair of adjacent markers is a second distance apart from each other, and said first distance is not equal to said second distance. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein any two markers in said second set of markers that are adjacent to each other represent a same negative content-time interval between the two adjacent markers, a first pair of adjacent markers is a first distance apart from each other, a second pair of adjacent markers is a second distance apart from each other, and said first distance is not equal to said second distance. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein said same negative content-time interval is equal in magnitude to said same content-time interval. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein said graph comprises a line bar, said method further comprising:
 indicating said first portion of the graph with a positive slope of said line bar; and   indicating said second portion of the graph with a negative slope of said line bar.   
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 58 , wherein said first set of markers and said second set of markers are displayed below said line bar.