OUAN05 - Understanding - Zoetrope (1834)

The Zoetrope

The zoetrope was another big advancement made in the world of moving images during the mid 19th century. The zoetrope is another one of the pre-film animation devices that display sequences of images in order to create the illusion of motion. The word 'zoetrope' itself comes from the Greek words meaning 'life' and turning' so again, a very literal description of the device when looked at it like that.

The zoetrope consists of a cylindrical kind of casing that has vertical slits around it. On the inner surface, is a band of sequential images that in turn demonstrate the phases of movement through the pictures. As the cylinder spins, the observer can view the images through the slits in the side, the scanning also keeps the images from blurring together. As the user of the zoetrope sees the rapid succession of images, the illusion of motion or movement through the pictures is created.

The invention of the device took place around 1833 and 1834, when the basic drum like form was created by a British mathematician named William George Horner, who was aware of the recently invented phenakistoscope. Once the zoetrope was established, projections of the zoetrope were made using the magic lantern as early as 1860. In modern day the zoetrope is still used for entertainment purposes but in a much more novel way, for artwork and other media uses.