Proxy-Based Audio Level Control for Nonlinear Editing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Proxy-based nonlinear editing systems face difficulties in efficiently managing audio levels across video clips, particularly in correcting abrupt differences and eliminating spurious sound spikes, due to high data density and limitations in graphical display of audio data within web browsers.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates a low-resolution proxy file and an audio summary file, with a web user interface displaying a graphic representation of audio levels, allowing for easy identification and adjustment of audio spikes, and enabling simultaneous display and control of audio graphs across multiple clips to maintain uniform audio levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a low-resolution proxy file is generated for editing, then the ease of operation and computational requirements are improved, but the audio level precision and ability to detect spurious sound spikes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The audio data is segmented into individual video frames, with each frame analyzed separately to determine its maximum audio level. This segmentation allows the system to process audio information at a manageable granularity level, balancing the low-resolution nature of proxy files with the need for precise audio level detection. By analyzing each frame independently, the system can identify spurious sound spikes even in compressed proxy audio data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of audio levels for each video frame during the proxy generation or pre-processing stage. By determining the maximum audio level for each frame in advance, the system prepares audio level information that can be directly used during editing without requiring high-resolution audio data, thus maintaining ease of operation while preserving measurement precision for audio level control.
2Ease of operation
If graphical display of audio data is implemented in web browser, then the ease of operation is improved, but the data density and display complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential audio level information (maximum audio level per frame) from the complex audio data stream. By taking out just the maximum audio level for each frame rather than displaying the complete audio waveform, the system creates a simplified graphical representation that is easy to interpret in web browsers while avoiding the complexity of rendering dense, high-resolution audio data.
Solution Approach 2:
The graphical display shows audio level information with varying levels of detail at different locations. Frames with spurious sound spikes are highlighted or marked differently from normal frames, providing local quality enhancement where needed. This allows the display to remain simple overall while providing enhanced detail at specific points where audio anomalies occur, balancing ease of operation with informative display.
3Manufacturing precision
If audio level adjustments are made manually by scrolling through clips, then the manufacturing precision of audio levels is improved, but the loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides visual feedback in the form of a graphical display showing the maximum audio level for each video frame. This feedback mechanism allows editors to quickly identify frames with spurious sound spikes or abnormal audio levels without manually scrolling through clips. The graphical representation provides immediate visual information about audio level anomalies, enabling rapid detection and correction while maintaining precision in audio level balancing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary identification of audio level anomalies during the proxy generation or pre-processing stage by analyzing maximum audio levels for each frame. This preliminary action creates a ready-to-use graphical summary that shows where audio problems exist before the editor begins work, eliminating the need to scroll through clips sequentially and significantly reducing the time required for audio level correction while maintaining precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A proxy-based, nonlinear editing system and method with improved audio level controls is provided. The system includes a proxy file generator, an audio summary file generator that assigns a single audio level for each proxy file video frame, a web user interface having a visual display, and a digital controller. Whenever a proxy file selected for display on the visual display, the digital processor simultaneously provides a graph of the associated audio summary file. The digital processor serially connects, on the same axes, the audio graphs of proxy files being assembled into an edited product, marks the location of audio “spikes”, and provides the web user interface with controls for adjusting the audio level of all or a portion of the audio graphs.