Beyond the Limits of Language
“Pre-Film”
By Gabrielle Rock
By Gabrielle Rock
In today’s society, anyone could now make a video in ease through devices such as cameras and smartphone and show their video not only to a few people, but people all over the world. We are also used to watching videos on our devices, or entertain ourselves by watching a film movie in theaters that we don’t realize how far we have come. In the past, making moving pictures or even photographs seem to be an impossible dream. Capturing the appearance of society was only done by artist through mediums like painting or carving, however, many artist had tried to show motion through their work. In this essay, I’ll like to go back to the beginning of where the idea of animation and capturing an image came from, and how some of these devices
1) Camera Obsura.
The Camera Obscura, which in Latin means darken room, was the start of photography. At the very start of it, Aristotle in 330 BC wondered “how could the sun make a circular image when it shined through a square hole?” Some other accidental discoveries happened when there was a hole inside the tent of caravan* riders and they realized the sun light coming through from the hole to other side of the tent projected and inverted image of a camel. In 989 Ad Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham) an Arab philosopher and polymath had investigated this discovery and created the first Camera Obscura/pinhole camera and was able to explain why the images were inverted.
Since the invention of the Camera Obscura, many artist had used it as a tracing tool. However, on 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the first photograph with the camera obcura.
2) Thaumatrope
Also called the “wonder turner” or the “turning marvel”, the Thaumatrope was one of the first optical illusion toys invented in 1825. It works by having a small disc with one image on each side being gentle pulled and spun by two pieces of string attached to two opposite sides of the disc. When the disc spins quickly the two images on each side of the disc appears to become one image. This is due to the “persistence of vision” where the human eye can still see an image 1/20 of a second after it disappears. Though it was a start of making animations, it was limited since it could only hold two images which would eventually become one image after.
Example:
2) Thaumatrope
Also called the “wonder turner” or the “turning marvel”, the Thaumatrope was one of the first optical illusion toys invented in 1825. It works by having a small disc with one image on each side being gentle pulled and spun by two pieces of string attached to two opposite sides of the disc. When the disc spins quickly the two images on each side of the disc appears to become one image. This is due to the “persistence of vision” where the human eye can still see an image 1/20 of a second after it disappears. Though it was a start of making animations, it was limited since it could only hold two images which would eventually become one image after.
Example:
The Thaumatrope is credit to Sir John Herschel, but was made popular by Dr. John A. Paris from London.
3) Phenakistiscope
The phenakistiscope as known as the spindle viewer and it works in two ways. In the first one, there are two disc: one disc with pictures drawn around the circle, and the other disc with cut-out thick lines around the disc which are for looking through. These two disc, which are held side-by-side with a rod, spins in opposite directions and the animation would be seen. The second one works with one disc and a mirror. The disc has the pictures on one side and the other side is plain but with the same cut-outs as the first “spindle viewer”. The disc with the picture faces the mirror and when the viewer spins the disc and looks through the cut-outs, then the animation is seen. The Phenakistrope also uses the “persistence of vision”.
3) Phenakistiscope
The phenakistiscope as known as the spindle viewer and it works in two ways. In the first one, there are two disc: one disc with pictures drawn around the circle, and the other disc with cut-out thick lines around the disc which are for looking through. These two disc, which are held side-by-side with a rod, spins in opposite directions and the animation would be seen. The second one works with one disc and a mirror. The disc has the pictures on one side and the other side is plain but with the same cut-outs as the first “spindle viewer”. The disc with the picture faces the mirror and when the viewer spins the disc and looks through the cut-outs, then the animation is seen. The Phenakistrope also uses the “persistence of vision”.
It was introduced by a Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and his son in 1832, and also in the same year Simon von Stampfer from Vienna, Austria invented a similar machine called the stroboscope. Plateau got his idea, which he turned into a toy, from an invention called the “Michael Faradays’ Wheel”.
4) Zoetrope
4) Zoetrope
The idea of the zoetrope was based on the phenakistoscope, however it could be viewed and enjoyed by more than one person. It was invented in 1834 by William Horner who called it Daedalum, which mean “wheel of the devil”. After it gain back popularity in 1867, it was renamed Zeotrope, which means “wheel of life.”
The zeotrope is a like a top-less drum with vertical cut-outs on the sides of the walls. Inside the zeotrope holds a stripe of paper with many pictures. The animation is seen when the zeotrope spins and the viewers look through the cut-outs.
Here are some other pre-film inventions:
5) Praxinoscope
The zeotrope is a like a top-less drum with vertical cut-outs on the sides of the walls. Inside the zeotrope holds a stripe of paper with many pictures. The animation is seen when the zeotrope spins and the viewers look through the cut-outs.
Here are some other pre-film inventions:
5) Praxinoscope
By Charles Reynaud, 1877. Instead of cut-outs/slits like the zoetrope, it uses mirror in the inside.
6) Zoopraxiscope
6) Zoopraxiscope
Designed by Eadweard Muybridge. The zoopraxiscope uses a glass disc with either hand drawn or photographs and a lamp. The image is seen when projecting on the wall.
7) Kineograph
7) Kineograph
kineograph using pages.
8) Kinetoscope
8) Kinetoscope
All the inventions of pre-film understood the principle of “persistence of vision”. All video and animation, even today, are made up of many still images being seen at such a fast motion that all of those single images become one movement.
Beyond the limits of Language:
As human beings, we always try to improve what we have, or go beyond our limits of what no one thought was possible. It is interesting to see the many steps it took before having the technology we have today. A motion camera was not invented by just one person who knew exactly what to do and how to make it. The motion camera started out as simple items like the “wonder turner” and the “camera obscura”, which as many years past influenced many other people to create other inventions based from those simple inventions. This goes to show that what we do or create today, no matter how small, could influence others in creating something else that could change the world just like motion pictures.
Beyond the limits of Language:
As human beings, we always try to improve what we have, or go beyond our limits of what no one thought was possible. It is interesting to see the many steps it took before having the technology we have today. A motion camera was not invented by just one person who knew exactly what to do and how to make it. The motion camera started out as simple items like the “wonder turner” and the “camera obscura”, which as many years past influenced many other people to create other inventions based from those simple inventions. This goes to show that what we do or create today, no matter how small, could influence others in creating something else that could change the world just like motion pictures.
Links:
http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura
http://camera-obscura.co.uk/camera_obscura/camera_history.asp
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eastman/peopleevents/pande09.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAy8g2kYyxw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camera
2)
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit06.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaumatrope
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit07.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenakistoscope
http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/animation_basics.htm
http://robives.com/category/tags/zoetrope
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit10.htm
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit11.htm
http://www.earlycinema.com/technology/praxinoscope.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura
http://camera-obscura.co.uk/camera_obscura/camera_history.asp
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eastman/peopleevents/pande09.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAy8g2kYyxw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camera
2)
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit06.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaumatrope
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit07.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenakistoscope
http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/animation_basics.htm
http://robives.com/category/tags/zoetrope
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit10.htm
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit11.htm
http://www.earlycinema.com/technology/praxinoscope.html