Tuesday, July 25, 2006

What is a Zoetrope?


A zoetrope is an optical toy that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures.

It consists of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides. Beneath the slits, on the inner surface of the cylinder, is a band which has either individual frames from a video/film or images from a set of sequenced drawings or photographs. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the slits at the pictures on the opposite side of the cylinder's interior. The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, so that the user sees a rapid succession of images producing the illusion of motion, the equivalent of a motion picture. Cylindrical zoetropes have the property of causing the images to appear thinner than their actual sizes when viewed in motion through the slits. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope)

The Zoetrope was invented in 1834 in England by William Horner who called it 'Daedalum' (the wheel of the devil). It was later renamed by an American, William F. Lincoln, who called it 'Zoetrope' (the wheel of life).
It works by placing a strip of images on the bottom of a drum which can be seen through vertical slits. These images appear to move as the drum is spun creating a moving image. The faster the drum is spun the smoother the image appears.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Why the Zoetrope?

I wanted to learn a little bit about how the modern motion picture was originally imagined and in the process see the relationship of movement and technology.

Here are a few links to see some old versions:

CLICK

CLICK

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Let's Make One (fly...)


This is what the moving image should look like. From this moving image, I picked twelve stills that created a moving image when placed in order and spun and viewed through slits in a reel.

'How To' Steps







1. Collect the following items: a film reel or a wheel of some sort, construction paper (black and white), glue, a ruler, scissors, tape or stapler, a sheet of color photos of moving image (from Kinko's for $.99). *For this project, I shot a video of myself, created a Quicktime movie and selected twelve successive shots through Photoshop. I'm sure you can create your own set of successive movement shots by using a disposable camera or with a digital camera.
2. Measure paper (divided by 12 photos).
3. Cut the photos from sheet and arrange in order making sure to label the back.
4. Paste the photos, in order, on the sheet of paper.
5. Cut slits above each pasted photo (about 3 inches high).
6. Create a cylinder by rolling the sheets of construction paper along the reel and secure it with tape.
7. Place on a stable base with a stick in the center of the wheel.
8. Spin and look through the slits.
9. Make sure to play with the speed – the faster the speed the more seamless the motion.
10. Have fun!

Wheel of Life


Here are different looks at the Zoetrope from different angles.
S P I N * * * W H E E L