Note: When you click on the "Morph 1.0.1" icon from the "Demo Applications!" interface, you are shown a QuickTime movie illustrating what Morph can produce. This is not the demo application itself. To launch the demo application, go to the "Morph 1.0.1" folder located in the "More Information" folder on the CD and click on the "Morph 1.0.1 Demo" icon.
Welcome to the Demonstration Version of Morph 1.0 !
This copy of Morph is based upon the release 1.0.1 version, except that it cannot save, print, or create an animation. However, it can create a morph for viewing on the screen, and implements all of the user interface.
This demo version also assumes that you already have the QuickTime™ system extension. This extension is provided by Gryphon in the real version, along with a samples disk. The extension is also available from most user groups, on-line services, or from your local Apple dealer.
To run Morph, you will need a QuickTime-compatible Macintosh. As of this date, the following models qualify:
• Macintosh II, IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx, IIsi
• Macintosh LC, LC II
• Macintosh Quadra 700, 900, 950
• Any recently introduced color Macintoshes
The program will also run on the following computers, though the lack of color in the basic models will severely affect its usefulness:
• Macintosh SE/30, Classic II
• Macintosh PowerBook 140, 145, 170
If you have a PowerBook and a third-party external color display device, make sure that it supports QuickTime, since some of them apparently don't. The bottom line is that Morph was designed to run on a color machine.
Both QuickTime and Morph require System 6.0.7 or later, including System 7.0 and System 7.0.1. If you are using System 6.0.7 or 6.0.8, you will also need to get the "FS6Patch" extension which fixes a bug in System 6 that affects QuickTime. It should be available from the same place you acquired the QuickTime extension.
Morph is System 7-savvy and 32-bit clean. If your Macintosh has a floating-point coprocessor such as the MC68881 or MC68882, or your machine is running a MC68040 main processor, then Morph will automatically take advantage of it, though it is not required.
We also recommend at least 5 MB of RAM, though the actual amount of RAM is dependent upon the sizes of the images you intend to Morph.
Of course, a hard disk is essential to anyone using a Macintosh nowadays. If you don't have one, and you have one of the above Macintosh computers, then we are worried about you.
So now you've got everything you need, and you want to try this thing out. We assume you have the basic knowledge of how to use your Macintosh, such as operating menus and windows and so forth. If you are a bit hazy on this, refer to the manual that came with your Macintosh to familiarize yourself with this operations.
Time to run Morph.
Double-click the Morph application icon, or click on it once and select the Open command from the File menu.
The program will open with two windows: the Tool palette and the Storyboard window. We'll get to the tools in a minute.
The Storyboard window has two parts: the Movie duration bar, which displays the total length of the animation being created, and the Storyboard itself, which contains a scrolling list of Sequences. A Sequence is a single transition from one image to another. Each Sequence also has a duration display. Click on a Sequence to select it.
Durations are presented as a time code. For instance 12:23:45.67 represents 12 hours, 23 minutes and 45 and 67/100 seconds. To change the duration of a Sequence, you can click on the digits of the time code. If you click in the upper half of a digit, that digit will increase, and if you click in the lower half, it will decrease. If you increase or decrease a digit beyond its range, then the change will propagate to other digits. For instance if the display reads 00:01:00.00 and you decrement the last digit, the display would change to 00:00:59.99. The total movie duration display cannot be altered - it just reflects the total of all of the other displays.
Each Sequence also has two "thumbnail" views. The left one represents the starting image for the transition, and the right one represents the ending image of the transition. Before you can create a Morph, you must load images into these thumbnails. You do this by double-clicking in the thumbnail, which brings up a dialog to select an image. The first time you do this for a Morph document, the dialog will show all PICT files. All subsequent times you do this for that same document, the dialog will only display PICT files that have the same dimensions as the one you chose. After you load the two images, you should open up the Image windows. This is done using the Windows menu. Open up both the Start and End Image windows.
Now we'll talk a bit about the Tools palette.
The first tool is called the "Adjusting" tool, allows you to select, delete, and move Key Points. The second tool is the "Key Point" tool, which allows you to create Key Points. The third tool, the "Line" tool, allows you to create lines between Key Points. The "Scissor" tool allows you to delete those lines. The "Magnifying Glass" tool allows you to zoom in and out of the image. The "Hand" tool allows you to "grab" the image and move it within its window.
The Hand tool is available from any other tool by holding the Command key down. The Tab key allows your to easily switch between the Adjusting tool and the Key Point tool, which are the most commonly used tools. Holding the Option key down will also alter the meaning of some tools. With the Adjust tool, it allows access to an advanced feature, called Tension. With the Key Point tool, it allows you tocreate a line in addition to a point. In the Magnifying Glass tool, it allows zooming out rather than zooming in.
Basically, what we have to do is identify common points in the two images. Select the Key Point tool and click on some identifiable location (like and eye or something) in the Start Image. Notice that a corresponding point appeared in the End Image Window. Select the Adjsuting Tool (remember that you can just hit Tab) and move the point in the End Image to the corresponding position (like the same eye). Make several of these points. Good locations on faces for instance would be eyes, the nose, mouth and ears, as well as the outline of the head and shoulders.
When you've made several pairs, open up the Morph Image window (again from the Windows menu) and move the slider to 50%. This indicates to Morph that you will be making an image that is 50% between the Start and End Images. Now select the Morph command. After a few seconds, the Morph Image window contents will be replaced with the intermediate image. Try moving the slider and selecting the Morph command.
If the morph is a little hazy, try adding more points and moving the existing points. The more points, and the more carefully they're placed, the better the quality of the morph. If you want to remove a point, select it with the Adjusting tool and hit the "delete" key.
Sometimes when you have a lot of points, it is useful to logically group them together by joining them with lines. Select the Line tool and click several points. They will be joined together. Use the Scissor tool to remove the lines.
That's pretty much it for the demo version. In the Real Version, you can save these images, and create animations. The "Compression…" menu item in the File menu lets you set up a movie. Included with the demo version is a pre-built document that performs the morph described above if you want to see how an experienced user supplies key points, and, depending upon the source of this copy, you may also have some prebuilt movies to view.
If you're interested in Morph, check with your local software outlet or favorite mail order house, or contact Gryphon at the following address:
Gryphon Software Corporation
Box 221075
3298 Governor Drive
San Diego, CA 92122-1075
Phone: (619) 454-6836
AppleLink: GRYPHON
This demonstration version of Morph is for free distribution.
