The TikTok time warp scan filter lets you create fun visual illusions — here are the biggest trends around the effect

Palmer HaaschOct 19, 2020, 23:21 IST

Insider

People are using the Time Warp Scan TikTok filter to create a variety of visual illusions.@you_taste_purple/@jamescharles/@sherinicolee/TikTok

TikTok's Time Warp Scan effects has blown up in recent weeks, sparking a number of trends that rely on the app's power to distort images.
The effect functions in a similar way to a panorama photo: a blue line moves across the screen, freezing the image as it passes.
People are using the effect to distort their eyebrows, create mirror doubles, and make it appear as if objects are floating.

The TikTok Time Warp Scan filter, also known as "the blue line," has exploded on the app in recent weeks, leading to multiple new trends that put the filter's distorting effects to good use.

Time Warp Scan works by freezing the image on the screen incrementally as a blue line moves down, or across the screen. Think of it like a panorama photo — as the line moves across the screen, it cements the image in place, opening up the playing field for interesting distortions or even creating double images if you can move to the other side of the screen quickly enough.

The effect also harkens back to TikTok's incredibly popular Time Warp effect, which was a For You Page mainstay during the summer of 2019 that distorted images to look like a twisting, wavey whirlwind. Like the Time Warp effect, Time Warp Scan has sparked a number of trends on the app.

Here are some of the best, and the basic processes behind them.

Smoking illusion

This trend uses the Time Warp Scan effect to create an image of exaggerated smoking. Users can replicate the trick by moving an object like a pen (or even an AirPods case) from side to side along with the blue line. While it looks simple, this particular trick can be deceptively difficult. This trend is predominately set to a pitched-down version of Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars, and Kodak Black's "Wake Up In The Sky."

Mirror double

One use of the effect creates a mirror double that doesn't match the image of the person themselves. All you need to do is frame the shot so you catch both yourself and the mirror, and then change your facial expression, pose, or even shirt in the time before the blue line crosses over your reflection.

Tim Burton character

Many are using the effect to turn themselves into Tim Burton-style characters by pulling the skin of their eyes down and tugging at their cheeks to make it appear as if they have the sallow-faced look popular in Burton films like "Corpse Bride."

The popularity of the trend has reignited controversy around some of Burton's old comments regarding representation in his films, and their lack of diversity. In 2016, Bustle pressed Burton on the issue of diversity in his films, to which he responded, "Things either call for things, or they don't. I remember back when I was a child watching The Brady Bunch and they started to get all politically correct. Like, OK, let's have an Asian child and a black. I used to get more offended by that than just... I grew up watching blaxploitation movies, right? And I said, that's great. I didn't go like, OK, there should be more white people in these movies."

In response to Burton's comments, DeLa Doll wrote for The Huffington Post, "Nothing is more boring, more common, more bland and expected than an old white guy who acts like people wanting to see themselves reflected in media is an nuisance or a problem as a opposed to a pretty reasonable desire." Now, similar criticisms are playing out on TikTok, with creators of color refuting the idea that they wouldn't fit Burton's "aesthetic."

Thin and wavey eyebrows

People are also using the effect to make it appear as if they have thin eyebrows. First, allow the line to scan the top of your eyebrows, then quickly raise and lower them so the line only catches a thin portion of them.

Making wavey eyebrows has also been popular. Use the horizontal scan and move your eyebrows up and down as the line crosses over them.

Floating illusions

One use of the effect puts it to work creating visual illusions that make it appear as if objects are floating without anyone holding them. To make it work, hold an object with the hand that's not being scanned — if you can switch your grip quickly enough, you can make it appear as if the object is floating.

Effect fails

While many of the tricks and trends associated with the Time Warp Scan effect seem simple, they can be deceptively hard. Failed uses of Time Warp Scan have become a meme of their own on TikTok, with people posting the failed results.

In one notable instance, beauty influencer James Charles posted a video in which the effect distorted his face. In turn, people made the result their profile picture on TikTok.

The failed results are just as, if not more, entertaining as the original illusions.

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