The invention relates to a system and a method for capturing and projecting images for use in an integrated studio including a real location and panels which render these premises partially virtual, using images generated from outside to create an image that is part real and part virtual by showing the images.

An apparatus for providing a foreground frame to be composited with a background frame in a chroma-keying arrangement, each of the foreground frame and the background frame comprising one or more regions that together form the respective frame. A detection module determines whether each frame region has a predetermined colour value and generates and stores chroma keying information based on the determination. Control circuitry then controls image processing to be performed on the region according to the stored chroma keying information.

An apparatus for providing a foreground frame to be composited with a background frame in a chroma-keying arrangement, each of the foreground frame and the background frame comprising one or more regions that together form the respective frame. A detection module determines whether each frame region has a predetermined colour value and generates and stores chroma keying information based on the determination. Control circuitry then controls image processing to be performed on the region according to the stored chroma keying information.

An interactive method and apparatus based on a virtual scene includes: receiving a virtual scene displaying operation; collecting a first scene image through a first camera coupled to a first terminal; and displaying a virtual environment picture, wherein the virtual environment picture includes a virtual scene and a matting object, the matting object copies a movement of a first object cutout from the first scene image and a movement of a second object cutout from a second scene image, where the second scene image is an image collected by a second camera coupled to a second terminal.

A virtual local presence display apparatus, system and method is disclosed. Included are an extraction engine capable of automatically disassociating the virtual local presence from its production background; a first data feed of an actual background in which the displaying device resides; a background data feed of a plurality of optional backgrounds including at least the production background of the virtual local presence; a stream subject data feed of an extracted one of the virtual local presence extracted from the production background; an integrated data feed in which the virtual local presence and a background are integrated; a first processing having a receiver capable of receiving the data feeds and assessing a plurality of focal lengths to focal planes for the virtual presence in the production background, and in a selected one of the other backgrounds; and a second processing for causing displaying, on the display device, the virtual presence at a suitable location with regard to the focal planes in a selected one of the other backgrounds.

An imagery processing system obtains capture inputs from capture devices that might have capture parameters and characteristics that differ from those of a main imagery capture device. By normalizing outputs of those capture devices, potentially arbitrary capture devices could be used for reconstructing portions of a scene captured by the main imagery capture device when reconstructing a plate of the scene to replace an object in the scene with what the object obscured in the scene. Reconstruction could be of one main image, a stereo pair of images, or some number, N, of images where N>2.

An imagery processing system obtains capture inputs from capture devices that might have capture parameters and characteristics that differ from those of a main imagery capture device. By normalizing outputs of those capture devices, potentially arbitrary capture devices could be used for reconstructing portions of a scene captured by the main imagery capture device when reconstructing a plate of the scene to replace an object in the scene with what the object obscured in the scene. Reconstruction could be of one main image, a stereo pair of images, or some number, N, of images where N>2.

Disclosed herein is a method for generating an image using an electronic device having a color camera, comprising: activating the color camera and a camera application on the electronic device; displaying, through the camera application, a preview image generated by the color camera; determining, automatically, whether the preview image includes an image of a first object; displaying, through the camera application in response to a determination that the preview image includes the image of the first object, a first image generated by the color camera, the first image including a color region corresponding to the first object and a gray scale region corresponding to objects that are not the first object; and displaying, through the camera application in response to a determine that the preview image does not include any image of the first object, a second image generated by the color camera, the second image is a grayscale image.

Disclosed herein is a method for generating an image using an electronic device having a color camera, comprising: activating the color camera and a camera application on the electronic device; displaying, through the camera application, a preview image generated by the color camera; determining, automatically, whether the preview image includes an image of a first object; displaying, through the camera application in response to a determination that the preview image includes the image of the first object, a first image generated by the color camera, the first image including a color region corresponding to the first object and a grayscale region corresponding to objects that are not the first object; and displaying, through the camera application in response to a determine that the preview image does not include any image of the first object, a second image generated by the color camera, the second image is a grayscale image.

The present invention relates to a method for differentiating between background and foreground in images or films of scenery recorded by an electronic camera. The invention relates in addition to a method for replacing the background in recorded images or films of scenery whilst maintaining the foreground.