The theme of this special session is to explore the continuing interest in Computational Media Aesthetics, which we define as the algorithmic study of visual and aural elements in media and associated analysis of the principles that have emerged underlying their manipulation in the creative art of clarifying and interpreting some event for an audience. The core trait of this approach is that in order to create effective tools for automatically understanding video, we need to be able to interpret the data with its maker's eye. That means, analyzing the media data from the ways in which its producers put it together to impart a particular meaning, sense, and mood. We solicit papers from computer scientists, content creators, producers, and users that seek to address the fundamental issues in spanning the data-meaning gulf by a systematic understanding and application of media production methods. We invite expositions on the principles of media aesthetics and production rules and conventions that are frequently used in content creation with their interpretive guidance. We seek contributions that describe computational frameworks, and tools and techniques to extract expressive elements, higher order semantics and semiotics in multimedia.
Analysis of semantic gap in media management systems from the perspectives of real users, their needs, domain-oriented search practices and query modes
Models of media semantics that go beyond describing what is on the frames, defined and supported by media production elements, their usage and prevalent practices
Examination and representation of high-level expressive elements relevant in different media domains and relationships to useful content structuring and characterization
New algorithms, tools and techniques for extracting roles of space, motion, lighting, color, sound, and time in media presentations, and associated high-level semantic constructs
Joint analysis of aural and visual aspects in producing and presenting affect in media
Comparative studies of production protocols for manipulation of affect and meaning
Media Semiotics in evidence -- Analysis of signs and symbols in media and their indexical usage and idiomatic roles to denote context, ambience, and mood
Metrics to assess extraction techniques and interpretational power of expressive elements
Case studies and working systems of production-guided media analysis
Review process: All submissions to this special session will be reviewed following the same standard for regular contributed papers to ICME 2004.
Deadlines:
Paper Submission to the Special Session: January 15, 2004
Notification of acceptance: March 1, 2004
Camera-Ready Paper Due: March 31, 2004
Contact: Authors may contact either organizer for further information.
Chitra Dorai, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 704, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, email use-mylastname-here@watson.ibm.com
Svetha Venkatesh, School of Computing, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia