Stop Motion Animation (Part 1)

The Persistance of vision is the idea that an image can be retained in the retina for a 25th of a second, this is why we dont see black spaces between the frames in a movie. These devices below prove this theory as they take still images and turn them into moving.

Thaumatrope  - Johm Ayrton

A Thaumatrope is a device with an image on both sides ad when spun in quick succession the images merge to become one. The first image would be the one half of a full picture and the second half well.. the other half of the picture. The eye maintains the picture of view for a fraction of a second so when the device is spun it merges both pictures into one.

Phenakistoscope – Joseph Plateau

The Phenakistiscope is a disc shaped wheel with images running around the outside, these images are divided up by a series of slits. The disc is spun and if you look through the slits from the underneath of the disc into a mirror it reflects a moving image.

Zoetrope – William Horner

The Zoetrope is a wheel shaped like a pie dish with slits along the edge. Round the edge also is a string of images, usually a looped action and when spun, you look through the slits as again as the eye retains an image, it shows the looped photos like short video much similar to GIF files.

Praxinoscope -

The Praxinoscope is the IOS7 to the IOS6 of the Zoetrope, made in 1877, it replaced the slits of the Zoetrope with a circle of mirrors on the inside reflecting at a down angle towards the image on the disc below (like a Phenakistoscope). The image on the Praxinoscope made for a smoother and brighter picture. Progressive editions could allow for up to 15 minutes of film to be played consisting of 500 picture.

Kinetoscope - Tomas Edison

This is the most advanced device of all ive written about, its consists of a film which is run at 16 frames per second and view by only one person at a time through a peep style hole. The actual contraption is a box like object with a hole for viewing. As the pictures pass the whole it creates a moving picture.