Morphing

Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition.

Three frames form a morph from George W. Bush toArnold Schwarzenegger showing the midpoint between the two extremes

Present use of morphing

Morphing algorithms continue to advance and many programs can automatically morph images that correspond closely enough with relatively little instruction from the user. This has led to the use of morphing techniques to create convincing slow-motion effects where none existed in the original film or video footage by morphing between each individual frame using optical flow technology. Morphing has also appeared as a transition technique between one scene and another in television shows, even if the contents of the two images are entirely unrelated. The algorithm in this case attempts to find corresponding points between the images and distort one into the other as they crossfade.

While perhaps less obvious than in the past, morphing is used heavily today. Whereas the effect was initially a novelty, today, morphing effects are most often designed to be seamless and invisible to the eye.

Software

• FantaMorph
• Gryphon Software Morph
• Morpheus (morphing software)
• MorphThing