BTEC Media

James McConnell

The History & Development of Stop Motion Animation

Part 1: Pioneers & Technology
Persistence of Vision
The persistence of vision refers to the visual illusion in which multiple images appear
to blend into fluid movement through a perception of the human mind. Some believe this is
how we are able to interpret animation and film. The term has been traced back to Greek
philosopher Aristotle, in around 300BC. Persistence of vision is said to work by the human
mind creating a mental bridge between similar images, or frames of animation. Our brains
retain some light from the previous image as it is seeing a new one, which creates an illusion
of constant movement between the two.

Thaumatrope
Thaumatropes were created in the 19th century, usually
credited to either John Ayrton Paris or Peter Mark Roget. Paris is
known to have used one when demonstrating persistence of
vision at the Royal College of Physicians in 1824. Thaumatropes
were produced as toys, consisting of a disc with two parts of an
image on either side. The disc had string attached on both sides
which, when wound up and released, spun the disc to create an
illusion of both images appearing as one. The most famous
example is the bird and the cage.

Phenakistoscope
The Phenakistoscope was first created in 1832 by Joseph
Plateau, after the theory of it was first thought of by both Euclid
of Alexandria and Isaac Newton. A phenakistoscope also consists
of a disc, but larger with multiple images drawn around the
edges. The disc is rotated which creates the illusion of continuous
movement in a repetitive motion, similar to modern day gifs.
Famous phenakistoscope designs include a couple dancing, and
two men in a boxing match.

Zoetrope
A variation of the Zoetrope first appeared in 100BC, created by
Chinese inventor Ding Huan. The modern zoetrope was created
in 1833 by British mathematician William George Horner. It
consists of a drum with a series of pictures inside that, when
viewed from the slits on the drum, gives the illusion of
continuous movement. It too must be spun to create the illusion,
also creating an early type of gif. A famous design includes that
of a man riding upon a horse.

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Praxinoscope
The Praxinoscope was invented in 1877 by Charles-Emile
Reynaud as a method of theatrical entertainment. It consists of
multiple drawings in a drum with a prism of mirrors above it. The
drum is spun around, and the mirrors give clear reflections of the
images. Raynaud used his device to project the images in front of
an audience, using long reels of hand-painted images around the
edge of the drum.

Kinetoscope
Thomas Edison and William Dickson designed and created
the first Kinetoscope in 1891. An individual was able to look
through a peephole window and view images on film reels
which were illuminated by a single bulb. The reels of images were
moved about inside the huge machine on cogs and wheels until
presented to the viewer by moving beneath the peephole. The
reel was capable of moving at a rate of 46 frames per second, but
often only went as fast at 30 as Edison quickly realised this was
all that was required to give the illusion of continuous movement
for most viewers.

James McConnell