Dublin City University participation in the VTT track at TRECVid 2017

Dublin City University participated in the video-to-text caption generation task in TRECVid and this paper describes the three approaches we took for our 4 submitted runs. The first approach is based on extracting regularly-spaced keyframes from a video, generating a text caption for each keyframe and then combining the keyframe captions into a single caption. The second approach is based on detecting image crops from those keyframes using saliency map to include as much of the attractive part of the image as possible, generating a caption for each crop in each keyframe, and combining the captions into one. The third approach is an end-to-end system, a true deep learning submission based on MS-COCO, an externally available set of training captions. The paper presents a description and the official results of each of the approaches

Analysing the memorability of a procedural crime-drama TV series, CSI

We investigate the memorability of a 5-season span of a popular crime-drama TV series, CSI, through the application of a vision transformer fine-tuned on the task of predicting video memorability. By investigating the popular genre of crime-drama TV through the use of a detailed annotated corpus combined with video memorability scores, we show how to extrapolate meaning from the memorability scores generated on video shots. We perform a quantitative analysis to relate video shot memorability to a variety of aspects of the show. The insights we present in this paper illustrate the importance of video memorability in applications which use multimedia in areas like education, marketing, indexing, as well as in the case here namely TV and film production

Digital life stories: Semi-automatic (auto)biographies within lifelog collections

Our life stories enable us to reflect upon and share our personal histories. Through emerging digital technologies the possibility of collecting life experiences digitally is increasingly feasible; consequently so is the potential to create a digital counterpart to our personal narratives. In this work, lifelogging tools are used to collect digital artifacts continuously and passively throughout our day. These include images, documents, emails and webpages accessed; texts messages and mobile activity. This range of data when brought together is known as a lifelog. Given the complexity, volume and multimodal nature of such collections, it is clear that there are significant challenges to be addressed in order to achieve coherent and meaningful digital narratives of our events from our life histories. This work investigates the construction of personal digital narratives from lifelog collections. It examines the underlying questions, issues and challenges relating to construction of personal digital narratives from lifelogs. Fundamentally, it addresses how to organize and transform data sampled from an individual’s day-to-day activities into a coherent narrative account. This enquiry is enabled by three 20-month long-term lifelogs collected by participants and produces a narrative system which enables the semi-automatic construction of digital stories from lifelog content. Inspired by probative studies conducted into current practices of curation, from which a set of fundamental requirements are established, this solution employs a 2-dimensional spatial framework for storytelling. It delivers integrated support for the structuring of lifelog content and its distillation into storyform through information retrieval approaches. We describe and contribute flexible algorithmic approaches to achieve both. Finally, this research inquiry yields qualitative and quantitative insights into such digital narratives and their generation, composition and construction. The opportunities for such personal narrative accounts to enable recollection, reminiscence and reflection with the collection owners are established and its benefit in sharing past personal experience experiences is outlined. Finally, in a novel investigation with motivated third parties we demonstrate the opportunities such narrative accounts may have beyond the scope of the collection owner in: personal, societal and cultural explorations, artistic endeavours and as a generational heirloom

Visual access to lifelog data in a virtual environment

Continuous image capture via a wearable camera is currently one of the most popular methods to establish a comprehensive record of the entirety of an indi- vidual’s life experience, referred to in the research community as a lifelog. These vast image corpora are further enriched by content analysis and combined with additional data such as biometrics to generate as extensive a record of a person’s life as possible. However, interfacing with such datasets remains an active area of research, and despite the advent of new technology and a plethora of com- peting mediums for processing digital information, there has been little focus on newly emerging platforms such as virtual reality. We hypothesise that the increase in immersion, accessible spatial dimensions, and more, could provide significant benefits in the lifelogging domain over more conventional media. In this work, we motivate virtual reality as a viable method of lifelog exploration by performing an in-depth analysis using a novel application prototype built for the HTC Vive. This research also includes the development of a governing design framework for lifelog applications which supported the development of our prototype but is also intended to support the development of future such lifelog systems

Video Vortex reader : responses to Youtube

The Video Vortex Reader is the first collection of critical texts to deal with the rapidly emerging world of online video – from its explosive rise in 2005 with YouTube, to its future as a significant form of personal media. After years of talk about digital convergence and crossmedia platforms we now witness the merger of the Internet and television at a pace no-one predicted. These contributions from scholars, artists and curators evolved from the first two Video Vortex conferences in Brussels and Amsterdam in 2007 which focused on responses to YouTube, and address key issues around independent production and distribution of online video content. What does this new distribution platform mean for artists and activists? What are the alternatives