Methods and systems for generating and delivering navigatable composite videos

1 . A system for generating a composite video having a plurality of video assets, comprising

storage having a plurality of video assets,

a metadata generator for processing respective ones of the video assets to generate a metadata track representative of information that is descriptive of the content of the video asset, and

a composite video generator that receives a plurality of metadata tracks, and responsive thereto, processes the associated video assets and the metadata tracks to generate a composite video asset having a metadata list panel that presents information representative of the metadata information as video data appearing within a composite video that includes video data from the video assets, whereby the sequence of video assets in the composite video is visually presented by the metadata list panel.

2 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the composite video generator further comprises

a controller for controlling generation of the composite video asset.

3 . The system according to claim 2 , wherein the composite video generator further comprises

a visual indicator tool controlled by the controller for applying to a respective video asset a visual indicator representative of a temporal location within the video asset.

4 . The system according to claim 3 , wherein the visual indicator tool comprises,

a progress mark generator capable of overlaying onto a plurality of scenes in a video asset a visually perceptible mark having a characteristic that changes as a function of temporal progress of the video asset.

5 . The system according to claim 4 , wherein the progress mark is selected from the group consisting of a progress bar, a thumb, a counter, and a color code.

6 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising

an advertisement scheduler for inserting within the composite video data representative of an advertisement.

7 . The system according to claim 2 , wherein the composite video generator further comprises

a scaling processor controlled by the controller for processing a video asset to alter a visual scale of the video asset as a function of time to generate a composite video wherein the scale of a video asset changes during play.

8 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the composite video generator further comprises

a frame processor for adding an introductory frame to the composite video wherein the introductory frame includes an advertisement and a metadata list panel.

9 . The system according to claim 2 , wherein the composite video generator further comprises

a banner ad generator controlled by the controller and capable of providing a space within the composite video for receiving a banner ad.

10 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising

an ad server for providing to the video data processor a video asset having content for promoting a good or service.

11 . The system according to claim 10 , wherein

the ad server selects a video asset having content for selling a good or service as a function of the metadata associated with at least one of the video assets selected for inclusion in the composite video.

12 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising

a controller for regulating the selection of video assets being combined.

13 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the regulator includes

means for associating a selected video asset with an advertisement video, whereby the selection of a particular video asset causes an additional selection of an associated advertisement video.

14 . A method for delivering video assets, comprising the steps of

providing a plurality of video assets representative of video content of the type capable of being displayed on a video player,

providing for respective ones of the video assets, metadata tracks representative of information about a respective video asset,

allowing a user to select from the plurality of video assets to identify a set of video assets to be joined sequentially into a composite video, and

processing the selected video assets as a function of their respective metadata tracks to generate a composite video having a metadata list panel that presents metadata information as video data appearing within a composite video that includes video data from the video asset, the sequence of video assets in the composite video being visually presented by the metadata list panel.

15 . The method according to claim 14 , further comprising

providing a plurality of advertisement videos representative of video content for promoting a good or service and being of the type capable of display on a video player, and

joining within the sequence of video assets in the composite video at least one advertisement video.

16 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising

processing the selected video assets and the metadata to provide within the composite video a banner ad image.

17 . The method according to claim 16 , further comprising

serving banner ads for inclusion within the composite video.

18 . The method according to claim 16 , further comprising

serving targeted banner ads selected as a function of the metadata tracks associated with at least one of the selected video assets.

19 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising

selecting the advertisement video as a function of the video assets selected.

20 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising

selecting the advertisement video as a function of a subject associated with the selected video assets.

21 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising

allowing a sponsor to provide the video assets and the advertisement videos.

22 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising

generating a visual mark representative of a sponsor and applying the visual mark as an overlay on at least one of the selected video assets.

23 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising

allowing a user to select the video assets for inclusion in the composite video.