Time Flow Sketch
Reshape time by drawing
Free
A sketching app for reshaping the way time flows inside a video.
You draw the shape of that flow as a black-and-white gradient over the clip you loaded. The brightness you paint becomes a moment in the clip, or a playback speed, so different parts of the image start running on their own time.
Only where your finger traced runs ahead. Another part plays backwards. One area stays frozen while everything around it keeps moving.
You can even draw time that twists — forward and backward unfolding at once. Take the single, even flow of time in a video, pull it apart, and put it back together. Reflections shifting on water, drifting clouds, the movement of familiar things and creatures: there may be something new waiting in the everyday scenery you thought you knew.
■ Main features
[Making a map]
• Draw — trace with a finger to draw the flow of time. Five brush tones, a bleed brush, and a smudge tool
• Gradients and presets — start from a regular pattern
• From motion — build the shape of time automatically from the movement in the clip
• Cut & slide — split the map along a line and slide the pieces to make time slip
[How the map is applied]
• Apply mode — Vertical / Horizontal slit works band by band, Surface works pixel by pixel
• Time map — brightness sets which moment of the clip is shown; black is the start, white is the end
• Rate map — brightness sets the playback speed, from reverse to fast forward
• Space map — brightness sets where on screen the picture is taken from
[Checking what you made]
• 3D plot — see the shape of time as a solid
• Time graph — see time, rate and space as line charts
[Live camera]
• Time-shape the camera image as you film — it keeps the last few seconds, so the map you draw can show the past or freeze parts of the picture
• Tap “Stop & capture” to turn it into a clip you can edit and export
[Sound and export]
• Sound — the audio goes through the same time processing as the picture
• Export — save the result to your photo library as a video
All video processing happens on your device, and nothing you make is sent anywhere.
more • New "Lines" view for the 3D graph: the section is drawn as slit lines in the same colors as the time graph (left = green → right = red) instead of the video.
• The 3D graph now turns at half the previous speed. Spin it and let go to keep it turning at that speed; hold still before letting go to stop it.
• In the editor, a button at the top left of the input video lets you switch to another video or a camera, and opens the load settings.
• The 3D graph in the editor no longer spills out of tall panes.
• In full screen with the bars hidden, each pane shows only its name, so the video and graphs are easier to see.
• Removed the rotate button from the input video on the main screen.
1.29 1d ago
• Fixed an issue where videos stored in iCloud stayed on “Downloading from iCloud” and never loaded.
• When loading a slow-motion video, the app now tells you if the device does not have enough free space.
1.28 2d ago
- In the editor you can now show the input, the maps, the output, the 3D plot and the time graph side by side, in any combination (the View button at the top right). The editor opens with the same layout next time
- "Full screen" hides the editing tools so the panes fill the screen. Spreading two fingers on a video does the same. The former full screen views (the monitor view and the input view) are now part of this
- The input video in the editor now has the use range bar and the loading details
- Buttons now have small names. "Presets" is now "Fill", and the gradient tool has a new icon
- The red playhead line on a map can be grabbed and moved from outside the map
- While an external display is connected, you can switch what it shows from the editor too
- Fetching from the photo library now shows its progress, and says so when it is downloading from iCloud
1.27 3d ago
- “From motion” can now measure movement with optical flow, so a moving surface brightens regardless of its colour or texture. Frame difference is still available in Settings
- New “Stabilize” button at the bottom left of the input video cancels the sway and tilt of walking footage. Smoothing, maximum zoom and centering on the heading are in Settings
1.26 4d ago
- The Editing menu in the editor can now pick the time (or rate) map together with the space map. Switch with the tabs above the map, or edit them side by side in Four panes
- Edit region: draw a rectangle on the map to limit drawing, generation, presets and Cut & slide to its inside (or outside). Gradients run from one edge of the rectangle to the other
- Cut & slide: scale a piece and reshape it with corner handles. A new Polygon line closes when you tap the first point
- Edited maps are now kept when you load another video
- A pen button on the Monitor view's maps opens the editor
- Icons in the map view menu. Readout is hidden on time and rate maps in Surface mode
- Fixed a flat-coloured edge when a piece was moved diagonally in Cut & slide
1.25 Nov 5
- A portrait video on a portrait screen now shows Input, Output, Map and 3D plot in four panes on the top screen. iPad in landscape uses the same four panes
- On iPad in landscape, the editor's tools now sit along the right edge
- The Output and 3D plot in the editor can now open the monitor view
- The map's name and eye button move outside the image when there is room
- The eye button for map display is now on the top screen and in the monitor view too, and the gear sits next to the map's name
- Fill can now Replace, Add or Multiply
- In Draw, hold still and the tone spreads (the Bleed brush switch is gone)
- Exports are now called "Preview export" and "Full-quality export"
- Help is now four steps with a table of contents
1.24 Nov 3
- Export from the source file: turn it on under Settings > Export to render from the original video at its full resolution instead of the loaded preview. HDR sources (HLG and PQ) can stay 10-bit
- If an export from the source file stops part way, you can resume it or save the finished part as a video
- Export at 120 or 240 fps when the source has that frame rate
- New loading resolutions: 1/8 and 1/16
- The Custom grey in Draw is now a horizontal slider, with the Eyedropper beside it
- Fixed an error about allocating a texture when opening long videos
- Temporary copies of opened videos no longer build up
- The screen stays awake during an export
- Removed the option to save the map as a 16-bit PNG
- Explanations in Settings now open from the "i" buttons
1.23 Nov 3
What's new in 1.22
• A redesigned editor. The methods sit in a row at the bottom right, and choosing Draw shows the colours, Brush and Strength straight away. Undo, Redo, Invert, Blur and Gamma are always in the bottom row, whichever method you use. In Presets, the map's default shape is marked Default.
• Rate maps now set separate speeds for black and white in the slit modes too (−2 to +2; by default black is frozen and white plays forward). With reverse switches to black in reverse, grey frozen and white forward in one tap.
• Anchor at is shown in seconds, and the slits now all meet at that moment as well (fixes a case where changing it had no effect). With Readout values on, a dashed line marks it on the map.
• Gradients can Replace, Add to or Multiply the current map.
• iPhone can load longer clips. After a clip is loaded with frames skipped, narrowing the range in use offers in-between frame rates too.
• The input's playhead is green, so it is easy to tell from the red span the output is showing. In Surface mode the input bar shows that span too.
• The 3D plot marks the earliest and latest moments of the section with guide lines and seconds.
• Other improvements and fixes.
1.22 Nov 1
• Map display, simplified. The heatmap is gone and contour colors now follow the map type: white on the Time map; blue (reverse) to gray (stopped) to yellow (forward) on the Rate map; green (left or top edge) to yellow to red (right or bottom edge) on the Space map. On the Rate and Space maps the bands between contours are filled with those colors. Contour lines are thinner and break around their numbers, and only the lowest number carries a unit.
• Slit readout (turn it on with the eye button at the top right of the map): faint lines along the white playhead line (seven, or five for portrait videos), with the source time and playback rate at each one listed under the map. Once you have edited the Space map, the source position is added. The output time is shown at the end of the white line. Readouts also work with the live camera.
• With the readout on, the input bar on the main screen shows in red the range of source time the output is currently showing: a dot during normal playback, stretching into a band where the map spreads time.
• The map on the main screen now has Blur and Invert buttons. The Rate map also offers From motion, and the Space map offers Cut & slide, without opening the editor.
• The 3D plot now marks the earliest and latest times on the cross-section in the cross-section-only view too.
• On a vertical slit, the Time graph now runs output time downward (top = start).
• The input and output play buttons now work independently. Pausing the input no longer pauses the output.
• The editor's view menu is down to Overlay, 2 panes and 3 panes.
• Fixed two extra finger icons in the brush choices on the main screen that did nothing when tapped.
1.21 Oct 31
- Choose what an external display (HDMI or AirPlay) shows: "Output only, full screen" for screenings, or "Mirror this screen" for talks and demos. Switch it in Settings under External display, or tap the badge above the output.
- The eye button at the top right of the map in the editor changes how the map is shown: a heat map (blue for the black side, yellow for the white side), or contour lines labelled with their seconds, speed or source pixel position, so the meaning of each brightness is easier to read.
- The brush palette adds Custom, a vertical slider for any grey from black to white, and Eyedropper, which picks up the grey from the map.
- The button at the top right of the 3D plot shows the video's block translucent or opaque, with pixel-count ticks and the earliest and latest moments the section reaches.
1.20 Oct 30
• Now on the Mac. The same app runs on Apple silicon Macs. On the Mac, videos open from files (drop one from the Finder onto the window, choose “Open With”, or press ⌘O), exports ask where to save, and the camera can be the Mac’s built-in camera or an iPhone used as Continuity Camera, chosen by name. How much video can be loaded grows with the Mac’s memory.
• Added “Open File” under Load, so videos in the Files app can be opened directly.
1.19 Oct 27
• “From motion” now works with the live camera. The map keeps adding up the movement in front of the camera, so the places that move change in time as you film (time map or rate map in Surface mode).
• “Trail” sets how long the traces of movement last, and the invert button leaves the past behind wherever something moved. How much movement counts as white adjusts itself slowly to what the camera sees.
1.18 Oct 21
• A Gradient button now sits at the bottom left of the map on the main screen. Tap it and the map becomes a striped gradient you can shape right there, without opening the editor: drag to move it, pinch to change the spacing, and twist with two fingers to change the angle.
• The edit button on the map is a little larger, so it is easier to find.
• The Help screen now shows the app logo at the top.
1.17 Oct 19
- Live camera rate map: when the lag reaches the length being kept, everything now realigns to now automatically, so a gradient's slope becomes the slope in time. Choose Cap under the gear to keep the lag instead.
- Live camera: choose how long to keep (8, 15, 30 or 60 seconds).
- Top screen: a new button at the bottom left of the map repaints it with a preset such as solid gray or a left-to-right gradient.
- Fixed the ends of a gradient flattening out in the live camera rate map.
1.16 Oct 19
- The output's full-screen view is now the Monitor view: show the input, map, output, 3D plot and time graph in any combination, side by side.
- The space map now keeps a separate drawing for each slit direction (vertical / horizontal).
- After a video was loaded with frames dropped, narrowing the range now offers to reload it at full frame rate.
- Fixed some live camera messages that appeared in Japanese when the app was set to English.
1.15 Oct 6
• New “Live camera”: time-shape the camera image as you film. It keeps the last few seconds, so the map you draw can show the past or freeze parts of the picture. Tap “Stop & capture” to turn it into a clip you can edit and export.
• On the top screen, tap the label on the map to choose its kind (time, rate, space) and its mode right there. The gear at the top right opens settings such as the black and white rates and the displacement.
• Choose the brush for drawing on the top screen (five shades from black to white, plus a finger tool) at the bottom left of the map. You can also draw by dragging over the output video.
• After "Undo" on the map, you can now "Redo".
• Choose the input video's resolution from the label on the video (for example 960×540); the video reloads at that size.
• With Surface, you can now choose the direction of the space map (vertical or horizontal).
• The buttons over the videos and maps now share one size, for a cleaner screen.
1.14 Oct 5
• The opening screen has a new, more graphic design.
• The editor is tidier: the method button now sits at the bottom right and the view menu at the bottom left, leaving the top bar clear.
• The input video on the top screen now shows the frame rate it was loaded at (e.g. "60 → 30 fps" when frames were thinned).
• Notices about the loaded video (frame-rate reduction, and "outside the loaded range") now appear over the input video itself.
• Fixed portrait videos sometimes loading in landscape.
• The buttons on the full-screen output now match the size of the top-screen menu.
1.13 Sep 28
• Draw straight onto the map on the top screen: trace anywhere away from the red line to paint with a black brush, and step back with the button next to the pencil.
• Gradient generation can now be shaped directly on the map: trace to move the pattern, pinch to change the period, and turn two fingers to change the angle. The sliders are tucked away by default.
• The 3D plot is drawn larger, and the one on the top screen can now be rotated by dragging and zoomed by pinching.
• The buttons on the full-screen output now sit in a single row, and "Re-edit" is now "Edit". Closing the editor always returns to the top screen.
1.12 Sep 27
• Reworked the iPad layout: in portrait the input, map and output panes share the same width, the menu sits vertically along the right edge, and Help and Settings open full screen.
• The rate map now defaults to grey = frozen, black = reverse, white = forward.
• Rewrote the in-app guide: the editor is explained in five steps, each choice labelled with the app's own icon.
1.11 Sep 24
• Slo-mo clips from the iPhone camera now load at the speed they were shot (120/240 fps). The app may ask for photo access to do this
• Reverb rebuilt: the wider the span of time inside the frame, the more the sound crosses from the source to the reverb
• Changing the number of voices no longer changes the volume
• Added a Re-edit button to the full-screen output view
• Time from / Time to are shown in seconds, and the 3D plot no longer draws its end faces
1.10 Sep 23
• When a newer version is on the App Store, the app now tells you at launch
• You can update straight from the version shown in the Help screen
• The time graph gains Rate and Space pages — swipe sideways, or use the arrows at its edges, to switch
• The time graph's horizontal axis now has second marks, and its notes and legend have been tidied up
1.9 Sep 19
• In the editor's Draw mode, the button at the far right now steps back one change (press and hold it to reset to default)
• Added "Reset to normal playback" to the list of editing methods (it appears once you have edited the map)
• The 3D plot now reflects the space map in the position of the surface (for maps that show a single column, it draws a plane at the slit's position)
1.8 Sep 18
• Swipe the map on the main screen to switch to the space map (once you have edited one) and the 3D plot
• The 3D plot can now fit its time axis to the use range when the use range is shorter than half the clip
• Help now includes diagrams showing how to read the 3D plot and the time graph
• Time graph lines are coloured by their position in the picture, with a legend
• Help now shows the app version and a link to the support site
• Fixed clipped buttons and headings in English, and sound voices not updating when you switch modes
1.7 Sep 17
- New 3D plot, in the output's full-screen view and in the editor: see the clip as a box of width x height x time, and watch how the current output frame slices through it, with the real footage mapped onto that surface
- New time graph: across one output loop, a line for each part of the picture showing which moment of the clip it is showing
- The editor's layout menu adds "Split: 3D plot + map" and "Three panes: video + 3D plot + map"
- New sessions now start on a vertical slit with a time map
- Fixed: after changing the range in use, Settings > Video Loading would not offer to reload that range
1.6 Sep 16
- Added "i" buttons that explain each setting, including the Granular and Rate playback sound methods
- In the input video's full-screen view, you can now adjust the start and end of the use range
- Cut & slide: new Straight mode. Tap a start point and an end point to cut along a straight line
- Cut & slide: a loop now closes where the line crosses itself
- Removed the notice shown the first time you load a video
1.5 Sep 15
• New "Lines" view for the 3D graph: the section is drawn as slit lines in the same colors as the time graph (left = green → right = red) instead of the video.
• The 3D graph now turns at half the previous speed. Spin it and let go to keep it turning at that speed; hold still before letting go to stop it.
• In the editor, a button at the top left of the input video lets you switch to another video or a camera, and opens the load settings.
• The 3D graph in the editor no longer spills out of tall panes.
• In full screen with the bars hidden, each pane shows only its name, so the video and graphs are easier to see.
• Removed the rotate button from the input video on the main screen.
more Version 1.29 1d ago
Data Not Collected The developer does not collect any data from this app.