Pioneers of Animation

Joseph Plateau (1801 1883)

Joseph Plateau was a Belgian physicist. He was
the first person to demonstrate the illusion of a
moving image. To make this illusion he used
rotating disks with repeating drawn images in a
moving motion on one and while the other disk
had spaced slits. He called this device the
phenakistoscope, it was made in 1832.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JeN3uk2Cl
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The clip above is multiple illusions done by
Plateau. In each clip the illusion is of either one
or two people running with an inner illusion, one
of the main inner illusions is a bird flying. The
inner illusion is always related to the illusion on
the outer disk.

Pioneers of Animation
William Horner (1786 - 1837)
William Horner invented the Zoetrope. The
zoetrope is one of the first pre-film animation that
produced an illusion of moving images in a
sequence. The zoetrope is a cylinder with vertical
slits in the side, with a sequence of images along
the inner surface of the cylinder. It was invented
in 1833 but was first established by Joseph
Plateau.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBg6dAE3mI
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The clip above is an example of how the zoetrope
works from 2 angles. From above so you can see
the images of the horses and then through the
slits which form the illusion showing you how the
zoetrope worked.

Pioneers of Animation
Emile Reynaud (1844- 1918)
Charles Emile Reynaud was a French inventor. He
created the first projected animated cartoon. He invented
the Praxinoscope in 1877 and the Theatre Opitque in 1888
and projected the first animated film to the public in 1892.
The Praxinoscope was an adaption to William Horners
Zoetrope. The Praxinoscope was a cylinder shape with the
images reflected off mirrors which were in the middle of
the cylinder. Each mirror showed the image clearly which
created the illusions that the image was moving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOItdZOGnx8
The example above is a clip of how the Praxinscope works.
It shows that you have to spin the device and you see the
image appear on the mirrors. The example is someone
riding a horse, the illusion of the mirrors makes it look like
the horses legs are moving.

Pioneers of Animation
Edward Muybridge(1830- 1904)
Was an English photographer. He pioneered work in
photographic studies on motion. He invented the Zoopraxiscope
in 1879 which was an early device displaying moving images. It
was considered the first movie projector. It projected the images
from a rotating glass disk to give the impression of an illusion.
The images were painted onto the glass.
However Edward Muybridge is more known for his series of
images of the moving horse. Muybridge went to a horse race
and took multiple images at a fast pace and the images turned
out to look as if the horse was moving in the series of images he
took. This was known as the The Horse in Motion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU7A8mgiAE4
The clip above is an example of Muybridges Zoopraxiscope. The
illusion on the disk is a boy doing backwards somersaults on a
horse as the disk rotates.

Pioneers of Animation
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Edison was an American inventor. He developed
many devices that greatly influenced life around the
world. Thomas Edison created the Kinetoscope. The
Kinetoscope was driven by a motor. It was a large
box with a strip of film inside which passed between
a light bulb and a lens which people could see
through the peephole. However it wasnt a movie
projector but it introduced the basic approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRIjUYh3MEs
The link above is showing how the Kinetoscope
works. It allows us to see what was used to view the
illusion and how it was pioneered.

Pioneers of Animation
Lumiere Brothers (1847-1931)
The lumieres brothers consist of Auguste and Louis.
They were French film makers. They pioneered the
cinematograph which was an adaption to Edisons
Kinetoscoup however it allowed multiple people to
view the short film.
The first film contained no sound and it consisted of
workers leaving a factory. They made many of these
short films of people walking around. The brothers
set up a camera and recorded the public. The first
film was in black and white.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEQeIRLxaM4
The link above is the first film the Lumiere brothers
made. It is the workers leaving the factory.

Pioneers of Animation
George Pal (1908-1980)
He was a Hungarian animator and film producer. He
used puppets to create animations. He was the first
person to talk about the use of special effects.
George Pal produced War of the World in 1953.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9G9K8pSc2g
The YouTube video above is George Pals puppet
animations he created in 1941.