Stop Motion Animation Past & Present

Zoetrope
The earliest for of animation was found by the Chinese in 180 AD this was the first form of  the zoetrope this is device that produces an illusion of actions from a rapid of succession from static images that are usually hand made as well as the zoetrope itself. It is a cylinder with holes in the side where you can see the still images from and that's how you would look at the zoetrope in the angle. You have to spin the zoetrope by hand to see the images move fast to create the stop motion animation, as this is the first form of its kind. The whole idea for what this product is used for is clear entertainment and amazement to the people from that century that hadn't seen anything like this before as TV hadn't even existed then. The zoetrope will be made to aim at everybody, as it is that old everyone in that time would find this entertaining I personally think anyone would like to have one of these and because they are so easy to make as there hand made and it involves everyone into the fun of making one as well.

Steps of making a zoetrope:
1. Start with a circular box or lid.
2.Cut a piece of adhesive tape 3-4cm square (about 1.5-2 inches).
3.Make a hole in the bottom of the box.
4.Stick the tape on the outside, over the hole, and cut radially from the inside.
5. Glue a glass bead from the inside so that it extends beyond the bottom rim of the box.
6.Draw a picture on a paper strip, as you would for a flip book.
7.Cut slits in a black paper strip, as shown
8.Place the black paper strip around the outside edge of the box.
9.Set the illustrated paper strip on the inside of it, with the illustrations between the slits.

At the time the zoetrope was made it would of been an exciting thing for someone to of made because nobody would of seen anything like it and would of been effective and very inventive to other people,you can have many different design on the outside to make it look better and more exciting and also the stop motion you see can be of any image you like and can possible tell a story. Another reason why it is effective is because its hand made and anybody could have fun with making one as they are quite easy to make and it could be fun for a family or friend to join in.
The weaknesses today for the zoetrope is that its nothing compared to stop motion animation today as in the years and century's it has become more successful and people have found better ways to make stop motion animation. As it was made to a basic level after a while people can get easily bored of it.

This is an example of a zoetrope, as you can see there is any a certain amount of images that you can use to make a short story or to show anything for your entertainment. This is also combined with a praxinoscope which you look at through the top when you spin it.