Enhancing Video-Text Retrieval through Augmentation using Large Foundation Models

Core Concepts

Leveraging large language models and visual generative models to augment video and text data can significantly improve the representation learning ability and performance of video-text retrieval models.

Abstract

The paper presents a novel video-text learning paradigm, HaVTR, which augments video and text data to learn more generalized features. Specifically, it introduces three augmentation methods: Simple Augmentation (SA): Randomly duplicating or dropping subwords and frames to generate self-similar data. Augmentation by Text Paraphrasing and Video Stylization (ATPVS): Using large language models (LLMs) and visual generative models (VGMs) to generate semantically similar videos and texts through paraphrasing and stylization. Augmentation by Hallucination (AH): Using LLMs and VGMs to generate and add new relevant information to the original video and text data. The authors show that these augmentation methods, especially AH, can significantly improve video-text retrieval performance on several benchmarks, including MSR-VTT, MSVD, and ActivityNet. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of leveraging large foundation models to enrich the training data and enhance the representation learning ability of video-text retrieval models.

Stats

"various young people play challenging games of basketball" "a man shoots a series of basketball trick shots from long range" "guy putting the basketball into the basket" "a basketball player in an indoor court along with his friend demonstrates a perfect side court basket shot"

Quotes

"To solve this data issue, in this paper, we propose a simple yet effective framework, namely HaVTR, to augment data to enrich the one-to-one matching between video and text." "Inspired by the success of the latest large foundation models such as large language models (LLMs) and visual generative models (VGMs), we utilize these models off-the-shelf and propose two augmentation strategies, i.e., augmentation by text paraphrasing and video stylization (ATPVS) and augmentation by hallucination (AH)."

Key Insights Distilled From

HaVTR

by Yimu Wang,Sh... at arxiv.org 04-09-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.05083.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

How can the proposed augmentation methods be extended to other cross-modal retrieval tasks beyond video-text, such as image-text or audio-text retrieval

The proposed augmentation methods can be extended to other cross-modal retrieval tasks beyond video-text, such as image-text or audio-text retrieval, by adapting the techniques to the specific characteristics of the modalities involved. For image-text retrieval, the augmentation methods can be modified to generate semantically similar images and texts. This can involve using image generation models to create variations of the original images and leveraging large language models for text paraphrasing to enrich the textual data. Similarly, for audio-text retrieval, the augmentation methods can be tailored to generate diverse audio samples and corresponding text descriptions. By utilizing audio generation models and language models, the audio data can be augmented with variations and additional context to enhance the retrieval performance. Overall, the key is to adapt the augmentation techniques to the unique features and requirements of each modality while maintaining the goal of enriching the data for improved cross-modal retrieval.

What are the potential limitations or drawbacks of using large foundation models for data augmentation, and how can they be addressed

Using large foundation models for data augmentation may have potential limitations or drawbacks that need to be considered. One limitation is the computational resources required to train and utilize these models effectively, as they can be computationally intensive and may require significant processing power and memory. Additionally, there may be challenges related to model interpretability and transparency, as large models can be complex and difficult to interpret, leading to potential issues with understanding how the augmented data is generated. Furthermore, there could be concerns about the generalization ability of the augmented data, as the models may introduce biases or artifacts that could impact the performance of the retrieval system. To address these limitations, it is important to carefully validate the augmented data, monitor for biases, and ensure that the augmentation process enhances the diversity and quality of the data without introducing unintended effects. Additionally, exploring techniques for model compression and optimization can help mitigate the computational challenges associated with large foundation models for data augmentation.

How can the hallucination-based augmentation technique be further improved to generate more realistic and relevant additional information for the video and text data

To further improve the hallucination-based augmentation technique for generating more realistic and relevant additional information for video and text data, several strategies can be considered. Firstly, incorporating domain-specific knowledge or constraints into the hallucination process can help ensure that the generated information aligns with the context of the data. This can involve conditioning the hallucination process on specific attributes or features relevant to the domain of the data. Additionally, exploring advanced generative models that focus on capturing fine-grained details and nuances in the data can enhance the realism of the generated information. Techniques like adversarial training or reinforcement learning can be employed to refine the hallucination process and generate more coherent and contextually relevant data. Moreover, leveraging feedback mechanisms from downstream tasks or human annotators can provide valuable insights for improving the quality and relevance of the hallucinated information. By iteratively refining the hallucination process based on feedback and domain knowledge, the technique can be enhanced to generate more realistic and meaningful additional information for video and text data.