Time as shape.
2026
CREATIVE CODING / VOLUMETRIC VIDEO
A video becomes a spatial object: 192 sampled frames are stacked along a time axis. An active frame moves through the volume as the clip plays.
192 sampled frames form a transparent volume. The active frame plays inside it at 45% opacity, with the full time stack visible and the camera held still.
Read motion in space. Compare the source clip with its volume, scrub through individual frames, then change the shape of the time axis.
Creative concept, interface design and browser-based visual-tool development.
The example uses a ten-second character performance clip. The app samples 192 frames locally in the browser.
Frames occupy successive layers in a 3D texture. Frame spacing sets its depth; the active frame card marks the playhead.
The updated app adds separate frame and volume opacity, a playhead, cut mode, layers and a rolled time axis. It also supports shape and camera controls, PNG stills and recording a turn.
Play moves the active frame through the volume at the source clip’s speed. Cut mode removes the volume after the playhead, revealing how the block grows over time.
The screen recording above shows the running app with the character example.
Roll time bends the frame sequence into an arc or ring. Volume and Solid modes provide different readings of the same video texture.
The interactive demo exposes these controls for further exploration.