Timewarp (computer graphics)
A term first coined by Smith and Drewery to describe a tool for manipulating the temporal dimension in a hierarchically described 3D computer animation system. Continuous curves that are normally applied to parametric modeling and rendering attributes are instead applied to the local clock value, which effectively remaps the flow of global time within the context of the subsection of the model to which the curves are applied. The tool was first developed to assist computer animation users in making minor adjustments to animated models that might have employed dozens of interdependent interpolation curves. Rather than adjust the timing of a coordinated animation element, a timewarp curve can be applied to the model element in question, adjusting the flow of time itself for that element, with respect to the timing of the other, uneffected elements. Subsequent experiments with the technique moved beyond the simple timing adjustment and began to employ the timing curves to create continuous animation cycles.
The tool has since become common in both 3D animation and video editing software systems.