Understanding: The Zoetrope

By 1834, another invention very similar to the Phenakistoscope called the Zoetrope was created. This animation device worked in the same way that the Phenakistoscope worked, yet the design was slightly different. The Zoetrope, unlike the Phenakistoscope, was a cylinder with slits cut vertically into the sides. On the inner side of the cylinder there was a band with a series of sequential images that lined up with the corresponding slits on the outer surface.

In the same way that the Phenakistoscope works, when the cylinder was spun, the viewer would look through one of the slots and the images would move round and come into and out of view giving the illusion of movement.

Zoetrope

From the early development of the Zoetrope, technology has allowed for the development of the device that has allowed for the Zoetrope to be used for many different artworks and media. Since the late 20th century, zoetropes have been altered in ways that allow for them to be used in various settings and ways. For example, Linear Zoetropes are often used in subways to display large animations. They work in the same way as a traditional Zoetrope, however, rather than being a cylinder, the device has a linear outer case. A good example of this is Bill Brand's "Masstransiscope", which was installed in an unused subway platform in New York in 1980, and restored in 2008. Since then, Linear Zoetropes have been used in subway stations by many artists.

Masstransiscope, Bill Brand

Developing the device further, but possibly before Linear Zoetropes, 3D Zoetropes were created. 3D Zoetropes use the same principle as a Zoetrope, only with 3D models. The variation was suggested by many different inventors including, Etienne-Jules Marey, who created a large Zoetrope with plaster models based on the flight of birds in 1887. This variation of Zoetrope has been adopted by several well-known animation studios including Studio Ghibli and Pixar. Since the first 3D Zoetropes, the cylinder case has long been rejected and strobe lights have been used to produce sharper, undistorted cycles of movement. This was the case with the Zoetrope of Toy Story characters that was exhibited in a Pixar exhibition I was fortunate enough to attend whilst in Paris. 

Still of Toy Story Zoetrope

Although the process has been developed and the technique isn't quite the same, the principle of the Zoetrope is still practiced among animation and is still used to create contemporary pieces of animation worldwide.