PopcornOpenVideoAPI
Defining an Enhanced API for Video
Abstract
The HTML5 specification introduces the <audio> and <video> media elements, and with them the opportunity to dramatically change the way we integrate media on the web. The current HTML5 media API provides ways to play and get limited information about audio and video, but gives no way to programatically access or create such media.
Authors
Other Contributors
- Brett Gaylor (EyeSteelFilm/Mozilla Foundation,twitter: @remixmanifesto)
Status
This is a work in progress.
Lighthouse bug tracking page: Popcorn Lighthouse Account
Web Made Movies on Drumbeat: webmademovies
XML Grammar
We are trying to derived the best possible structure for all of the information needed to be stored about the video. We also do not want to repeat information, here is what we identified would be repeating data (we called this the manifest):
Source - ID - Name of Work - Copyright Holder - License (free form text) - License (machine readable URL)
Person - URLs?? (twitter, facebook, flickr) and a Type - Personal Info - name (fullname) - ID - Title (job description) - Salutation - Role
Place - Geotag (single) - Type (building) - URLs, type - Name - ID
Object - ID - Name - URLS, Type
Here is what we cam up with for tags:
Text -(for times when you want really fine control over placement of the text) - x, y postion - target div where it's going to get put - class - font (css) -- class, css transitions (state and state and duration) - effects - space separated
Subtitles -Always at the bottom
Lower-Third Text (need a name) - would need a default duration, but user configurable, and overridable - in="x" - Show - Defaults (3 seconds) - Person's Salutation + Name\n Title - lower thirds Subtitle - text to display - in="x" and out="y" - position in lower area Transctipt - original language - language its in - name of person who is talking - imported from external file Credits -<credit role="…" person="…"> -<credit role="…" person="…">
Attribution - Name of Work, Copyright holder, License, License URL - in="x" and out="x" - lower third - <attribution title="The Mona Lisa" by="Leonardo" license="> - each
Caption - (x,y) and (width,height) - class (background, colour, etc.) - text - display:none until we show it - in="x" and out="y" - a <div> we put on the page - <caption in="36" out="56 person="shaver">
Thought Bubble - cloud with dots above the head
Speech Bubble - straight lines like youtube
Pointer - rectangle with arrow pointing to something
Picture - specify a div for where to put the image - img src
Data/Content - something to load from external and show - in="x" and out="y" - src="…." - target div to put it in
Audio - src - in="x" and out="y"
Change - id of new div where to put it - new size -- have it adopt the size of the div it is going into
Map - in="x" and out="y" (if blank stay untill something replaces it) - maybe specify map backend (google, open street map, bing) - target div to put it in - placeId linked back to <place>
Examples
We are using a short video in order to build a demo showing of the above grammar. The structure of the demo will be based on this wireframe
Here is the data that will be used to describe the video. Of course the data uses the xml grammar described above.
<manifest> <person id="celine" url="http://www.celinecelines.com/," name="Celine" salutation="Miss." > <url type="homepage" source="http://www.celinecelines.com/" description="Celine's Homepage" /> <url type="twitter" source="http://twitter.com/celinecelines" description="Celine's Twitter /> </person> <person id="brian" name="brian" > <url type="twitter" source="http://twitter.com/bchirls" description="Brian's twitter" /> </person> <person id="mona" name="Mona" > <url type="homepage" source="http://monakasra.com/" description="Mona's Homepage"/> </person> <person id="dave" name="Dave" > <url type="twitter" source="http://twitter.com/academicdave" description="Dave's twitter" /> </person> <person id="noah" name="Noah" > <url type="twitter" source="http://twitter.com/noahworkman" description="Noah's Twitter Feed" /> </person> <place id="1" type="building" geotag="http://maps.google.ca/maps/place?cid=7207111453545228773&q=austin+convention+center&hl=en&cd=2&ei=dLQPTO6yOJzmNOCykZsD&dtab=0&sll=30.267153,-97.743061&sspn=0.583554,1.454315&ie=UTF8&ll=31.012925,-99.195557&spn=0,0&z=9&iwloc=B" name=""> <place id="2" type="city" geotag="http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sao+paulo&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=27.954218,93.076172&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=S%C3%A3o+Paulo,+Brazil&z=9" url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo" name="Sao Paulo"> </manifest>
<timeline> <attribution id="3" in="00:00:36" nameOfWork="A Shared Culture" copyrightHolder="Jesse Dylan" license="CC-BY-NC" licenseUrl="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/"> <subtitles> <subtitle in="00:00:05:00" out="00:00:07:00" effect="none" text="Hello! My name is Celines Celine"> <subtitle in="00:00:07:00" out="00:00:09:00" effect="none" text="And I help the Internet be easier"> <subtitle in="00:00:09:00" out="00:00:12:00" effect="none" text="by making things easier"> <subtitle in="00:00:15:00" out="00:00:17:00" effect="none" text="My name is Mona Kasra"> <subtitle in="00:00:17:00" out="00:00:18:00" effect="none" text="and I'm building a better internet"> <subtitles> <map in="00:00:11:00" type="google" target="map" placeId="1"> <map in="00:00:32:00" type="google" target="map" placeId="2"> </timeline>
Getting involved
Currently the popcorn.js community is very small mainly due to the fact that project has just begun. We urge the video community to get involved and help with development in order to ensure an easy to use and adaptable library. There are many ways one can get involved; some include critiquing current work, filling tickets/bugs, requesting additional functionality, spreading the word, and helping with documentation. Included below are ways to keep track of popcorn.js.
Download Source
We have started a GitHub repository popcorn-js feel free to fork from it or download the source.
Issue Tracker
We have started a Lighthouse project. It is public so feel free to add tickets.
IRC
To get involved in the conversation or just stop by to see whats happening visit the #popcorn channel at irc://moznet/popcorn