VideoTrees: Improving video surrogate presentation using hierarchy

As the amount of available video content increases, so does the need for better ways of browsing all this material. Because the nature of video makes it hard to process, the need arises for adequate surrogates for video that can readily be skimmed and browsed. In this paper, the effects of the use of hierarchy in a pictorial summary of keyframes are explored, and a novel type of video surrogate is presented: the VideoTree. Moreover, a prototype browser was developed and tested in a preliminary usability study. This showed that users performed better using the VideoTrees browser than using a regular storyboard-based browser. They also found it more flexible, but more difficult to use.