Zoetropes

What is a zoetrope?
It is a device for giving an illusion of motion, when whirled, shows a succession
​ of images placed opposite the slits within the drum as one moving image
                                                                                        -Dictionary.com

​literally "wheel of life," from Greek zoe "life" + trope "turn" 

Traditional Zoetrope (2D):

     A 2D zoetrope is a cylinder device that has silts cut vertically on it's sides to look through and when spun with static photos in the inner surface of the cylinder, produces the illusion that the photos are moving. Looking through the silts prevents the images from blurring together. The 2D zoetrope was invented in 1865 by William Ensign Lincoln before the 3D variation. Most 2D zoetropes require looking through the silts to across the cylinder but some have mirrors in them that give the same effect of life (praxinoscope). 

Some examples:
1) ​https://youtu.be/2-A_Pcrz6xU?t=7s
2) https://youtu.be/Px1AbfiQ_co
​3) ​https://youtu.be/ChRD0UG0txw?t=51s

3D Zoetrope:

     3D zoetropes are similar to 2D but in this case, with 3D models. It consists of a spinning platform, a flashing light, and physical objects slightly different from each other. The 3D models surround the cylinder so when spun, gives it the illusion of life. The 3D zoetrope was invented in 1887 by several inventors.

Some examples:
1) https://youtu.be/Ux7iEBvaVEQ?t=29s
2) https://youtu.be/AfS2kGO5lg8?t=22s
3) ​https://youtu.be/e1iBejUxuzE?t=4s

Phi Phenomenon:

  • It is also known as perceptual illusion (visual illusion)
  • It was discovered in 1912 by Max Wertheimer; a German psychologist who studied sensation and perception
  • Illusion in which lights next to each other blinking on and off in succession to appear to actually move forward or backwards while the lights stay stationary
  • Picture moving when it's actually not
  • Wertheimer argued our brain filled in the space between the two lines, instead of the two stationary lines that were shown
  • It is the mental bridge that the mind forms to conceptually complete the gaps between the frames or pictures

Persistence of Vision:

  • It works because the human eye and brain can only process 10-12 separate images per second, retaining an image up to a fifteenth of a second
  • Persistence of vision also plays a role in keeping the world from going pitch black every time we blink our eyes
  • Depending on the brightness, the brain retains the impression of that light for a small amount of time (prolonged chemical reaction)
  • Light impulses to to build the picture we see
  • If you could create at least ten pictures per second, you could maintain the illusion of a continuous image or picture

Metamorphosis:

  • "Metamorphosis is the ability for an image to literally change into another completely different image" (Wells, 69)
  • For example, Cinderella's pumpkin into a stagecoach or her torn dress into a ball gown

Metamorphosis 2D Animation