Cameraless Animation

Cameraless Animation 

According to Laybourne (1988, p. 18) these optical mechanical toys come from the early 19th century which gave the illusion of movement, the main scope of these toys was simply to entertain the viewer. these toys are considered to be the ancestors of animation.
(Kit, L., 1988., The animation book. New York, Three Rivers Press.)

The Thaumatrope 

The Thaumatrope toy has been around since the 19th century or maybe it has been around for far longer that that. This optical toy is made up of two disks which are lied on top of each other with images on both sides, such as a bird on one side and a cage on the other side. On the side of the disk tow strings are attached and when these two strings are twirlled the images that are on either side of the disks that are placed on top of each other are perceived together as a single image. This optical illusion is done by means of a perceptual phenomenon known as the persistence of vision. Our eye hold on to mages for a split second longer than they are actually projected, so that a quick flashes in perceived as one continuous picture. 

Phenakistocope

Just like the Thaumatrope the Phenakistocope is another animation device that used the persistence of vision to create an illusion of motion. It is also made up of two disks the difference is that these two disc's are attached to a handle rather then two strings, with a series of drawings arrayed around the centre of the disc. These drawings show phases of animation. Around the disc there are equally spaced slits for the viewer to look through while the disk is rotating and reflected into a mirror. According to the book " The Animation Book"  the equally spaced slits around the disk also keep the images from blurring, so that the viewer would see a rapid succession of images that are prepared to be a single moving picture. The Phenakistocope was invented by Joseph Plateau back in 1832 the invention is considered to be the first mechanism that created the illusion of sustained movement.

    

The Zoetrope and The Praxinoscope 

The Zoetrope is based on  Phenakistocope, but unlike the Phenakistocope the Zoetrope and The Praxinoscope can be used by more then one person at a time and both devices provide more convenience because it did not need a mirror to view . The Zoetrope is a revolving drum which also consists of equally spaced slits, on this device the slits are placed around the drum as shown in the diagram below.

when the drum is spun the viewer can see a series or drawing that were drawn on a piece of paper then placed in the drum. These drawing also show phases of animation, obviously the larger the drum the longer the movie and the faster the rate of spin, the smoother the progression of images.

The Zoetrope was invented by William Horner back in 1834 and was first called Daedalum which means "The wheel of the devil" The invention was forgotten for almost 30 years and after that it became patented by M. Bradly and Willia F. Lincoln that's when the name was change to Zoetrope which means "The Wheel of Life".

Praxinoscope was invented  Emile Reynaud  who back in 1892 opened the world's famous theatre in Paris. Reynaud's invention of thePraxinoscope was more or less an improvement of the Zoetrope. Reynaud's replaced the slits of the Zoetrope with a set of mirrors that spun in the centre of
the drum.

kinetoscope 

The Kinetoscope was a device that allowed the viewer to view motion pictures. The design of the Kinetoscope consisted of a cabinet in which the film was placed a spooled. The viewer had to open the top and peep through a hole, and as the film was moved across a series of rollers, a back light would illuminate it to create the illusion of a moving picture. This was as long as the film was rotated at the proper speed.

This device was patented by Thomas Edison who is known to be the man who brought forth the most important inventions of all times which is the light bulb.

Reference List

Animation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2014. Animation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation. [Accessed 7 October 2014].

Thaumatrope: Bird & Cage - YouTube. 2014. Thaumatrope: Bird & Cage - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD0ovANHdqQ. [Accessed 9 October 2014].


laybourne, k l, 1998. The Animation book . 1st ed. New York: Three Rivers Press

833 "McLean's Optical Illusions; or, Magic Panorama" (early animations) - YouTube. 2014. 1833 "McLean's Optical Illusions; or, Magic Panorama" (early animations) - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JeN3uk2ClE. [Accessed 11 October 2014].

Zoetrope, Top View. 2014. Zoetrope, Top View. [ONLINE] Available at:http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit10.htm. [Accessed 13 October 2014].

Praxinoscope - YouTube. 2014. Praxinoscope - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez_UJAafRMs. [Accessed 13 October 2014].

Kit, L., 1988., The animation book. New York, Three Rivers Press. 

Edison's Kinetoscope. Museu del Cinema, 2009 Museudelcinema [video online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRIjUYh3MEs. [Accessed 17 November 2014].