morphing

Metamorphosis of one shape or object into another by computer-generated animation. First used in film-making in 1990, it has transformed cinema special effects. Conventional animation is limited to two dimensions; morphing enables the creation of three-dimensional transformations.

To create such effects, the start and end of the transformation must be specified on screen. Once the beginning and end objects have been created, the computer can calculate the morphing process.

Morphing is a lengthy process because every detail of the object's colour, lighting, reflectiveness, surface texture, transparency, and location must be specified. A technique known as ‘ray tracing’ calculates how the light directed at the object reaches it, with what intensity, and in what areas. The computer then calculates the colour intensity of each pixel (single dot on the screen) that makes up the object.

Morphing has many scientific uses; for example, it can be used by a palaeontologist to reconstruct a skull from a handful of teeth.