def METHOD_NAME(val, nObjects):
    """ensure that the value is a numpy array with the correct shape."""
    if type(val) == list:
        return val
    val = numpy.asarray(val)
    if val.ndim == 1:
        val = val.reshape(-1, 1)
    assert val.shape[0] == nObjects
    # remove background
    val = val[1:]
    return val