You can see how a Zoetrope works when you look inside and it shows the horse galloping, creating the illusion of action. This would give a better effect that the Phenakistiscope, as it is viewed simpler as you look through the slits on the sides.
Edward Muybridge was a photographer and an inventor in early stop-motion projection. He invented the Zoopraxiscope in 1879, which was like a projecting version of the old Phenakistiscope or ' spinning picture disk '. It projected sequences of images from glass discs and was devised in order to prove the authenticity of Muybridge ' s galloping horse pictures. The earlier version, the Zoogyroscope took the 16 inch discs while the later Zoopraxiscope took the 12 inch discs. Muybridge wanted to prove that, when a horse is galloping, it stays in the air briefly, which he then proved in 1877 by taking several photographs of a horse galloping, and then having them in order one after the other, to create a moving image. His techniques of making the first photographs that show sequences of movement was the start of the cinematic era, and he is known as the“ father of the motion picture”. He didn’ t make films as we do today, but his techniques and inventions were the start.
Developers:
Willis H. O’ Brien was an American motion picture special effects and stop-motion animation pioneer, who was known for“ some of the best-known images in cinema history”. He is best remembered for his work on‘ The dinosaur and the missing link’( 1915),‘ The lost world’( 1925),‘ King Kong’( 1933). O’ Brien was born in Oakland, California in 1886. O’ Brien became a cartoonist for the San Francisco Daily News, where his interest for sculpting grew.
In 1913, his sculptures got displayed at the San Francisco world’ s fair. After this, he started making his sculptures move, by using wooden figures with moveable joints, and molded rubber to them. In 1914, O’ Brien started experimenting with his models and came up with the idea of moving images, by using his figures and filming them one frame at a time. Within a year, he had produced‘ The dinosaur and the missing link’.
https:// www. youtube. com / watch? v = RClif87GM1A
This is the original video clip of‘ The dinosaur and the missing link’. When watching the clip, you can see that the stop motion is quite clear, especially compared to the Lumiere brothers’“ Arrival at the train at La Ciotat” in 1985.
O’ Brien’ s fascination for prehistoric creatures grew, and in 1925 they were used for the Feature Film‘ The Lost World’, directed by Harry Hoyt. O’ Brien’ s dinosaurs not only moved they also had a‘ bladder’ inside a skeleton model, which could be inflated and deflated, making it seem as if his models could breathe. The film’ s real stars were O’ Brien’ s dinosaurs. The magazine Picturegoer called the creatures“ the most startling and intriguing monsters who have ever invaded screenland”. The audience loved the movie, and the majority of them never realized that the huge monsters were miniature models.
By the early 1930’ s, producer Merian Cooper had an idea on a story idea about a giant ape and eventually a film named‘ King Kong’ was produced. For this project, O’ Brien put a year’ s worth of effort into his sets and models. He spent several days in the zoo to study the behaviors and