Abstract: A computer-based system for generating a video edit decision list, which tabulates video editing events and video synchronization points corresponding to the video editing events. The invention accepts a sequence of video and audio manipulations produced by a digital video editing system, each manipulation effecting a particular video editing event, and generates, based on the manipulation sequence, a list of video editing events and corresponding synchronization points. The invention then conforms the list to a user-specified format selected from a plurality of video edit decision list format templates, provided by the system, which each specify a model for defining video editing events distinctly in that format, and then the video edit decision list is output in the user-specified format.

Abstract: A display system represents an audio track as a discrete waveform, wherein each sample in the waveform may take on one of a discrete range of possible values. The discrete waveform indicates the presence of sound energy above user-set thresholds. Audio data samples are smoothed and applied to one or more thresholding functions. The resulting discrete output is displayed by using graphics of either different size or different color. An editor using this display system in conjunction with a computerized editing system receives an indication of where sufficient sound levels occur on the audio track. This information may be used to locate breaks in sound, dialog and other sound effects, which simplifies audio editing and synchronization of audio with other media in a multimedia presentation. Similar thresholds may be applied to the results of frequency analysis to provide an indication of which frequencies are present in the audio's signal.

Abstract: The invention is a method for visually and audibly representing computer instructions for editing video which provides audio and/or visual information with such instructions for editing a video tape or film program. Audiovisual information is provided by storing with the identification of the source of each segment audiovisual representations of that segment. Typically, the instructions are stored on a computer and the audiovisual representations are digitized sequences of video images and sound, whereby an operator can request playback of the representations for any source segment.