Expression morphing from distant viewpoints

In this paper, we propose an image-based approach to photo-realistic view synthesis by integrating field morphing and view morphing in a single framework. We thus provide a unified technique for synthesizing new images that include both viewpoint changes and object deformations. For view morphing, we relax the requirement of monotonicity along epipolar lines to piecewise monotonicity, by incorporating a segmentation stage prior to interpolation. This allows for dealing with occlusions and visibility issues, and hence alleviates the "ghosting effects" that typically occur when morphing is performed between distant viewpoints. We have particularly applied our approach to the synthesis of human facial expressions, while allowing for wide change of viewing positions and directions.