14 DAY TRIAL // In the dark ages of computing everything was extremely serious and all you could do with a computer at that time was strictly related to numbers and math. No images, no music, no games... sounds a bit boring, doesn't it? Now they are all part of our lives and we should enjoy them as much as we can.
One of the great effects that can be achieved with one or more images, a computer and a specialized program is morphing. But... what is morphing, exactly?
Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes (or morphs) one image into another through a seamless transition. The first application for personal computers to offer morphing was Gryphon Software's Morph on the Apple Macintosh.
Today we're going to talk about a Windows application that allows creating morphing movies easier and faster than before. Its name is Abrosoft FantaMorph Pro, and I am reviewing the 30 days trial of the 3.6.2 version.
When first running the program, you will have to choose your language, one of the three editions that you want to run (very strange, there are three editions listed there but the text above them says "choose one from the two editions"...) and the skin you want to use from the three built in ones that come with the software. Wait ten seconds for the countdown to finish and prepare for this magic trip...
First, the program will run a preview test to check the speed of your computer and graphics card; it's going to be a short test, so don't worry about it. Before you start creating your own morph movies, the best path to follow is loading the content that comes with the program and play with it.
Creating a new movie is very easy - just use the wizard! You will find out that three types of movies can be created - Morph, Warp and Multiple Morph. Let's browse through these modes quickly.
Morph projects allow you to select a source and a destination for the process. The source image will turn into the destination one following your guidance.
Warp uses only one image and distorts it following the guidance of the key dots that you have placed on it.
Multiple Morph projects allow morphing multiple images into a single project. For example, think about creating a movie with a kid that grows up, gets married, then children start popping up into the movie... and all this without the help of a professional special effects laboratory, just using a computer and this great program!
Next, I have a few words about the key dots and some of the features available in Fanta Morph Pro.
The most important element in producing morphs is to place key dots on both source images in order to define how the morph process will operate. To achieve the best results you have to place dots on all major elements of your image(s) (for example, eyes, nose, mouth and ears, when morphing face images).
The features I'll tell you some things about now are Background, Mask, Foreground, Transition, Light and the Sound effect. You can use them in order to spice up your movies. I won't get into details, you have to discover them for yourselves, they are easy to use and the results can be quite impressive.
Advanced users can control the morphing process using the new curve tools: Feature Curve and Shape Curve. You can find out more about these and a lot of other interesting topics using the detailed Help system of the program.
In the end I have to say that you have to try this program, I am sure it will be an interesting experience.
The Good
Fanta Morph has a great looking interface, it is fast and the beginner can find a lot of help content available in order to make his/her life easier.
The Bad
The trial version of this program has a ten seconds countdown inside the startup splash screen and it watermarks your movies as long as you don't register. I think only one of these should have been enough...
The Truth
Fanta Morph is one of those programs that have an excellent interface, a lot of functions and are easy to use, but most important, you can have fun using them. Results don't come in an instant, but with a little study you can achieve excellent results. Let the morphing begin!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
