Method and system for facilitating interactive multimedia experiences

1. A method configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experiences, comprising:

at least one data processing device accessing, from memory coupled to said at least one data processing device, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to access a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction; and

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience in accordance with information comprised by the system-readable specification, wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses, wherein said information of the system-readable specification includes a plurality of experience segments that jointly define the multimedia experience, wherein each one of said display elements specifies at least one display element thereof, wherein said at least one display element has a multimedia asset associated therewith, and wherein each one of said experience segments is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to gather audience responses.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to:

analyze said audience responses; and

output information resulting from said analysis.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to output said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes causing said at least one data processing device to display at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to output experience content.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to:

gather audience responses;

analyze said audience responses;

output information resulting from said analysis; and

output experience content dependent upon at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to output said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes causing said at least one data processing device to display at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

a first one of said experience segments of the system-readable specification comprises a plurality of display elements;

each one of said display elements is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia file with each one of said display element thereof via a respective display element attribute; and

a file format of a multimedia file associated with a first one of said display elements is different than a file format of a multimedia file associated with second one of said display elements.

9. A system configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experience, comprising, comprising:

at least one data processing device;

instructions processable by said at least one data processing device; and

an apparatus from which said instructions are accessible by said at least one data processing device;

wherein said instructions are configured for enabling said at least one data processing device to facilitate:

accessing a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction; and

performing the multimedia experience in accordance with information comprised by the system-readable specification, wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses, wherein said information of the system-readable specification includes a plurality of experience segments that jointly define the multimedia experience, wherein each one of said display elements specifies at least one display element thereof, wherein said at least one display element has a multimedia asset associated therewith, and wherein each one of said experience segments is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes gathering audience responses.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes:

analyzing said audience responses; and

outputting information resulting from said analysis.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein outputting said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes displaying at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes outputting experience content.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes:

gathering audience responses;

analyzing said audience responses;

outputting information resulting from said analysis; and

outputting experience content dependent upon at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein outputting said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes displaying at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein:

a first one of said experience segments of the system-readable specification comprises a plurality of display elements;

each one of said display elements is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia file with each one of said display element thereof via a respective display element attribute; and

a file format of a multimedia file associated with a first one of said display elements is different than a file format of a multimedia file associated with second one of said display elements.

17. A system configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experience, comprising, comprising:

means for accessing a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction; and

means for performing the multimedia experience in accordance with information comprised by the system-readable specification, wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses, wherein said information of the system-readable specification includes a plurality of experience segments that jointly define the multimedia experience, wherein each one of said display elements specifies at least one display element thereof, wherein said at least one display element has a multimedia asset associated therewith, and wherein each one of said experience segments is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute.

18. A method configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experience, comprising:

at least one data processing device accessing, from memory coupled to said at least one data processing device, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to access a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, wherein the system-readable specification includes an experience segment having a plurality of display elements and wherein the experience segment is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute;

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to maintain updates of experience feedback information; and

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to perform said multimedia experience dependent upon information comprised by the system-readable specification and said experience feedback information.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said feedback information includes experience state information and audience response information and wherein said feedback information is derived exclusively from at least one query defined within the system-readable specification.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to:

performing the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to access a multimedia asset associated with one of said display elements; and

access information for the multimedia asset is specified within the system-readable specification.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein said feedback information includes information resulting from analysis of a sound file of the one of said display elements.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said analysis of the sound file includes analysis of at least one of amplitude characteristics of the sound file and length characteristics of the sound file.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said causing said at least one data processing device to perform includes causing said at least one data processing device to synchronize a video component comprised by the multimedia experience with a corresponding audio component comprised by the multimedia experience dependent upon said information resulting from analysis of the sound file.

24. The method of claim 18 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to gather audience responses and wherein said gathering is performed exclusively in accordance with at least one query defined within the system-readable specification.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes:

causing said at least one data processing device to analyze said audience responses; and

causing said at least one data processing device to output information resulting from said analyzing.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to output said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes causing said at least one data processing device to display at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein said information comprised by said system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to output experience content.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses.

30. The method of claim 18 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to performing the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to:

gather audience responses;

analyze said audience responses;

output information resulting from said analyzing; and

output experience content dependent upon at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses;

wherein said gathering is performed exclusively in accordance with at least one query defined within the system-readable specification.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to output said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes causing said at least one data processing device to display at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

32. The method of claim 18 wherein:

each one of said display elements comprises a respective portion of the multimedia experience; and

causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes causing said at least one data processing device to perform at least a portion of said display elements.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses.

34. A system configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experience, comprising:

at least one data processing device;

instructions processable by said at least one data processing device; and

an apparatus from which said instructions are accessible by said at least one data processing device;

wherein said instructions are configured for enabling said at least one data processing device to facilitate:

accessing a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, wherein the system-readable specification includes an experience segment having a plurality of display elements and wherein the experience segment is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute;

maintaining updates of experience feedback information; and

performing said multimedia experience dependent upon information comprised by the system-readable specification and said experience feedback information.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein said feedback information includes experience state information and audience response information and wherein said feedback information is derived exclusively from at least one query defined within the system-readable specification.

36. The system of claim 34 wherein:

performing the multimedia experience includes accessing a multimedia asset associated with one of said display elements; and

access information for the multimedia asset is specified within the system-readable specification.

37. The system of claim 34 wherein said feedback information includes information resulting from analysis of a sound file of the one of said display elements.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein said analysis of the sound file includes analysis of at least one of amplitude characteristics of the sound file and length characteristics of the sound file.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein said performing includes synchronizing a video component comprised by the multimedia experience with a corresponding audio component comprised by said multimedia experience dependent upon said information resulting from analysis of the sound file.

40. The system of claim 34 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes gathering audience responses and wherein said gathering is performed exclusively in accordance with at least one query defined within the system-readable specification.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes:

analyzing said audience responses; and

outputting information resulting from said analyzing.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein outputting said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes displaying at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

43. The system of claim 41 wherein said information comprised by said system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses.

44. The system of claim 41 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes outputting experience content.

45. The system of claim 34 wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses.

46. The system of claim 34 wherein performing the multimedia experience includes:

gathering audience responses;

analyzing said audience responses;

outputting information resulting from said analyzing; and

outputting experience content dependent upon at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses;

wherein said gathering is performed exclusively in accordance with at least one query defined within the system-readable specification.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein outputting said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses includes displaying at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses.

48. The system of claim 34 wherein:

each one of said display elements comprises a respective portion of the multimedia experience; and

performing the multimedia experience includes performing at least a portion of said display elements.

49. The system of claim 48 wherein said information comprised by the system-readable specification includes information for enabling facilitation of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses.

50. A system configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experience, comprising:

means for accessing a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, wherein the system-readable specification includes an experience segment having a plurality of display elements and wherein the experience segment is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute;

means for maintaining updates of experience feedback information, wherein said experience feedback information is derived from a query specified by one of said display elements; and

means for performing said multimedia experience dependent upon information comprised by the system-readable specification and said experience feedback information.

51. A method configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experiences, comprising:

at least one data processing device accessing, from memory coupled to said at least one data processing device, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to create a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, wherein the system-readable specification includes an experience segment having a plurality of display elements and wherein the experience segment is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute;

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to designate a feedback information action for enabling corresponding experience feedback information to be updated accordingly in response to performing the multimedia experience; and

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to associate the feedback information action with the system-readable specification, whereby performing the multimedia experience is dependent upon said corresponding experience feedback information.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create the system-readable specification includes specifying access information for at least one multimedia asset comprised by the multimedia experience.

53. The method of claim 51 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create the system-readable specification is performed dependent upon system-specified rules configured for enabling the specification to be interpreted and performed by said system.

54. The method of claim 51 wherein said experience feedback information includes experience state information and audience response information.

55. The method of claim 51 wherein:

causing said at least one data processing device to perform the multimedia experience includes accessing a multimedia asset associated with one of said display elements; and

access information for the multimedia asset is specified within the system-readable specification.

56. The method of claim 51 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create in the system-readable specification includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which audience responses are gathered.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create the system-readable specification includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which:

said audience responses are analyzed; and

information resulting from said analyzing is outputted.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to specify the manner in which said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is outputted includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is displayed.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create the system-readable specification includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which experience content is outputted.

60. The method of claim 51 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create the system-readable specification includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses are performed.

61. The method of claim 51 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to create the system-readable specification includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which:

audience responses are gathered;

said audience responses are analyzed;

information resulting from said analyzing is outputted;

experience content is outputted; and

at least one of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses is performed.

62. A system configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experiences, comprising:

at least one data processing device;

instructions processable by said at least one data processing device; and

an apparatus from which said instructions are accessible by said at least one data processing device;

wherein said instructions are configured for enabling said at least one data processing device to facilitate:

creating a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, wherein the system-readable specification includes an experience segment having a plurality of display elements and wherein the experience segment is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute;

designating a feedback information action for enabling corresponding experience feedback information to be updated accordingly in response to performing the multimedia experience; and

associating the feedback information action with the system-readable specification, whereby performing the multimedia experience is dependent upon said corresponding experience feedback information.

63. The system of claim 62 wherein creating the system-readable specification includes specifying access information for at least one multimedia asset comprised by the multimedia experience.

64. The system of claim 62 wherein creating the system-readable specification is performed dependent upon system-specified rules configured for enabling the specification to be interpreted and performed by said system.

65. The system of claim 62 wherein said experience feedback information includes at least one of experience state information and audience response information.

66. The system of claim 62 wherein:

performing the multimedia experience includes accessing a multimedia asset associated with one of said display elements; and

access information for the multimedia asset is specified within the system-readable specification.

67. The system of claim 62 wherein creating the system-readable specification includes specifying a manner in which audience responses are gathered.

68. The system of claim 67 wherein creating the system-readable specification includes specifying a manner in which:

said audience responses are analyzed; and

information resulting from said analyzing is outputted.

69. The system of claim 68 wherein specifying the manner in which said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is outputted includes specifying a manner in which at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is displayed.

70. The system of claim 69 wherein creating the system-readable specification includes specifying a manner in which experience content is outputted.

71. The system of claim 62 wherein creating the system-readable specification includes specifying a manner in which audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses are performed.

72. The system of claim 62 wherein creating the system-readable specification includes specifying a manner in which:

audience responses are gathered;

said audience responses are analyzed;

information resulting from said analyzing is outputted;

experience content is outputted; and

at least one of audience response tracking, experience navigation and feedback of audience responses is performed.

73. A system configured for facilitating an interactive multimedia experiences, comprising:

means for creating a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, wherein the system-readable specification includes an experience segment having a plurality of display elements and wherein the experience segment is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute;

means for designating a feedback information action for enabling corresponding experience feedback information to be updated accordingly in response to performing the multimedia experience; and

means for associating the feedback information action with the system-readable specification, whereby performing the multimedia experience is dependent upon said corresponding experience feedback information.

74. A method configured for creating a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, comprising;

at least one data processing device accessing, from memory coupled to said at least one data processing device, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which audience response tracking is performed;

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which experience navigation is performed;

and

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which feedback of audience responses is performed;

wherein causing said at least one data processing device to specify the manner in which said response tracking, said experience navigation and said feedback of audience response is performed includes causing said at least one data processing device to create a plurality of experience segments each having at least one display element;

and wherein each one of said experience segments is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute.

75. The method of claim 74 , further comprising:

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which said audience responses are analyzed; and

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which information resulting from said analyzing is outputted.

76. The method of claim 75 wherein causing said at least one data processing device to specify the manner in which said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is outputted includes causing said at least one data processing device to specify a manner in which at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is displayed.

77. The method of claim 74 , further comprising:

said at least one data processing device accessing, from said memory, instructions causing said at least one data processing device to specify access information for at least one multimedia asset comprised by the multimedia experience.

78. A system configured for creating a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, comprising;

at least one data processing device;

instructions processable by said at least one data processing device; and

an apparatus from which said instructions are accessible by said at least one data processing device;

wherein said instructions are configured for enabling said at least one data processing device to facilitate:

specifying a manner in which audience response tracking is performed;

specifying a manner in which experience navigation is performed; and

specifying a manner in which feedback of audience responses is perform; and

wherein specifying the manner in which said response tracking, said experience navigation and said feedback of audience response is performed includes creating a plurality of experience segments each having at least one display element and wherein each one of said experience segments is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute.

79. The system of claim 78 wherein each one of said specifying are performed dependent upon system-specified rules configured for enabling a system-readable specification to be interpreted and performed by said system.

80. The system of claim 78 further comprising:

means for specifying a manner in which said audience responses are analyzed; and

means for specifying a manner in which information resulting from said analyzing is outputted.

81. The system of claim 80 wherein specifying the manner in which said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is outputted includes specifying a manner in which at least a portion of said information resulting from analyzing said audience responses is displayed.

82. The system of claim 78 , further comprising:

specifying access information for at least one multimedia asset comprised by the multimedia experience.

83. A system configured for creating a system-readable specification defining a multimedia experience configured for audience interaction, comprising;

means for specifying a manner in which audience response tracking is performed;

means for specifying a manner in which experience navigation is performed; and

means for specifying a manner in which feedback of audience responses is performed;

wherein specifying the manner in which said response tracking, said experience navigation and said feedback of audience response is performed includes creating a plurality of experience segments each having at least one display element and wherein each one of said experience segments is configured in accordance with a specification format associating a multimedia asset with each display element thereof via a respective display element attribute.