A formal framework for handling audiovisual materials

In this paper we present a formal framework for the representation of audiovisual material produced or broadcasted by a TV company. Such a framework captures not only features related to the making of audiovisual objects but also features related to their inner structure. The framework exploits the compositional nature of audiovisual objects, and includes the possibility of dealing with broadcasts of audiovisual materials. A DAML+OIL ontology has been defined to represent the formal framework and has been used to implement a prototype system.