Editing SMIL with Timelines

This paper presents a timeline approach to editing two of the main components of SMIL: the time and synchronization model and the animation model. This approach is illustrated with two prototypes: the LimSee tool for editing SMIL time structures, and the SVG Animation component included in the Amaya Web client. The timeline view is a faithful representation of the temporal behavior of the document where the author can perform all editing operations related to animation or synchronization between media. The advantages of this authoring approach are shown through editing session excerpts performed with LimSee and the Amaya Animation module