Capture, processing, and assimilation of digital media-based information such as video, images, or audio requires a unified framework within which signal processing techniques and data modeling and retrieval approaches can act and interact. In this paper we present the rudiments of such a framework based on the notion of “events”. This framework serves the dual roles of a conceptual data model as well as a prescriptive model that defines the requirements for appropriate signal processing. Amongst the key advantages of this framework, lies the fact that it fundamentally brings together the traditionally diverse disciplines of databases and (various areas of) digital signal processing. In addition to the conceptual event-based framework, we present a physical implementation of the event model. Our implementation specifically targets the problem of processing, storage, and querying of multimedia information related to indoor grouporiented activities such as meetings. Such multimedia ...