GB2425370A

GB2425370A - Video arts clock has dial stored as a video file for playback on a display screen

Info

Publication number: GB2425370A
Application number: GB0507810A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Craig Whyte
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-04-19
Filing date: 2005-04-19
Publication date: 2006-10-25
Also published as: GB0507810D0

Abstract

A video arts clock is based on the grandfather clock design and utilises the performance of human subjects as the minute and hour hands of the clock's analogue display. The movement of the human performers in front of a chroma-colour background may be recorded onto film or digital media. The recording is then edited and may be stored on the hard drive of a computer as a video file, eg .AVI or MPEG. The file can be looped and played back to a display device or uploaded as a live streaming video on the Internet. The display screen may be installed within a cabinet. An additional screen may be installed below the clock screen for featuring films which exhibit all forms of creative media.

Description

L 2425370

UK PATENT DESCRIPTION

TITLE: THE HUMAN CLOCK BACKGROUND: This invention is a time telling device that is based on the traditional Grandfather Clock Design.

The Human Clock is a digital media arts clock featuring a conventional round clock design but with real human subjects performing the functions of the clock dials (see fig 1.1).

STATENT OF INVENTION

The Human Clock is an invention for a clock design and a time telling device. It features a clock face with real people as the clock dials (see fig 3.1, 3.2), a pendulum screen (see fig 1.2, 1.3), which plays audio/visual chimes every hour and every quarter of an hour.

DVMTTAGES

The Human Clock will serve as a time telling device, will help promote creativity in the visual arts sector and provide a platform for education and the arts to showcase community based media. 2...

UK PATENT SPECIFICATION

The Human Clock This invention relates to a time telling device such as the traditional Grandfather Clock (see fig 1).

It features a clock face with real people as the clock dials, a pendulum screen which plays audio/visual chimes every hour and every quarter of an hour.

Based on conventional round clock hand dials, this invention displays real people performing the same functions as that of an hour hand and minute hand.

Instead of mechanical components to drive the clock dials, digital film is used to capture human performers to move across a marked trajectory line from A to B (see fig 4) The trajectory line is marked with 60 equal steps and each step represents a 1 minute = 60 seconds.

The performer moves one step at a time every 30 seconds to a minute, as long as there is enough film footage to edit each step into a minute for a minute hand character or 12 minutes for an hour hand character. Once the performer moves from A to B and completes the 60 steps along the trajectory. The Film footage is then transferred to a digital editing computer and the two ends of the shot frame are stretched out to join together forming a circle (see fig 7).

The film is edited to get the performer in place at the right step as the right time until all 60 steps have been edited.

Minute Hand Character = 1 minute per step Hour Hand Character = 12 minutes per step The two edited clock dials, the minute hand character and the hour hand character, are then superimposed together using chroma keying technology (see fig 3).

Performers are filmed on a chroma-screen stage so that in a post production the chroma-screen colour can be removed to be replaced with a different background (see fig 4 and fig 3.3) (See fig 3) The completed clock shows a tall character representing the minute hand (see fig 3.1) who at each minute moves a step forwards. The shorter character represents the hour hand (see fig 3.2) and moves one step every 12 minutes until all 60 steps are completed and so the films are looped. 3.

The Clock film is stored as a video file, either AVI or MPEG, and is downloaded into a computer's hard drive. The computer then acts as a video player and plays the clock video file from its hard drive via editing programs, MPEG/AVI/DVD software, to a display unit which can be a large television, monitor, plasma screen, a video projector device or uploaded as a live streaming video on the internet.

The hard drive needs to have at least 120 Gigabytes of space to store 24 hours of MPEG 2 video files or 350 Gigabytes to store 24 hours of AVI video.

The pendulum screen is based below the clock screen and can feature 24 hours of film. These films portray an audio/visual sequence of chimes ranging from anything to hand bell ringers ringing bells to a cow mooing. The primary chimes occur on the hour every hour and quarterly chimes every 15 minutes starting from the hour. The chime films can also feature in the clock face. (See fig 1.2 and 1.3) Ii-.

Claims

Claims 1. A clock which displays people as clock dials, whose

actions/performance are recorded on to film/digital film, manipulated and edited to form a 24 hour time line which can be looped.
2. A clock which displays people as clock dials according to claim 1 has a pendulum screen at its base which features hourly chimes, half hour chimes, quarter hour chimes and films that exhibit all forms of creative media.
3. A clock which displays people as clock dials according to claim 2 features chimes every hour and every quarter of an hour.
4. A clock which displays people as clock dials according to claim 3 can also feature stop frame animated/computer animated characters or objects as the clock dials
5. A clock which displays people as clock dials according to claim 1, can be created using motion control technology whereby the performer is filmed in-front of a chroma-colour background, transferred to a digital edit suite and motion manipulated to rotate a full 360 degree trajectory.