How do these pioneers impact the future of stop motion?

Joseph Plateau 

Joseph Plateau was born on the 14th of October 1801, and he died on the 15th of September. Plateau was a Belgian physicist and he was one of the first people to create the illusion of a moving image. 

The phénakisticope was the first widespread animation device that created the illusion of motion. The phenakistiscope is thought off as one of the first forms of moving media entertainment created the basis for the future motion picture and film industry.

The device is a spinning cardboard disk which is attached to a handle. and there are a sequence of images placed on the inside. There are also small rectangles are also around the disc, which keep the images from blurring together. The user should spin the handel, and look through the slits across.

The phenakiscope was really important to the development of animation because it was the first example of a moving image, which gave other people ideas on how to create their own animations.

William Horner

William Horner was born on the 9^th of June 1786, and he died on the 22^nd of September 1837. He was a British mathematician and headmaster. He wrote in detail about functional equations, number theory’s and optics. William invented the zoetrope,which was a device used to create the effect of motion in film.

The name zoetrope is composed from two Greek words, “Zoe” means life and and tropos translates to turning, so the zoetrope means wheel of life. A zoetrope is one of many pre film animation techniques to create the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of images using progressive movement.

The zoetrope is made of a cylinder with  slits in the sides, which allowed  light to travel through. On the inside would be a sequence of images on a band on the inside of the cylinder. As the wheel is spun, the viewer would look through the slits , helping to create the effect of movement and keeping the images from blurring together. The zoetrope worked on the same ideas  as the phenakiscope, however it was considered more convenient and efficient because of the advantage of multiple viweing.The drum is on a spindle base and the faster the drum was spun, the smoother the images would be.

The zoetrope was one of the first examples of moving images, as it was a development on the phenakiscope because more than one person could view the moving image at any one time.  Animations and CGI today would not be possible without  these early developments and experiments on light and movement.

Charles-Émile Reynaud  

Charles-Émile Reynaud  was born on the 8^th of  December 1844 , and he died on the 9^th of  January 1918. He was a French inventor, he introduced the praxinoscope and the first projected animated films.

The praxinoscope was an animation device that was introduced in 1877, after the zoetrope. Similarly, to the zoetrope, it used a sequence of images, placed on the inside on a wheel. However, the praxinoscope was an improvement on the zoetrope because it replaced the viewing strips with mirrors on the inside of the cylinder, so reflections of the pictures will appear more or less clear as the wheel was turned. The mirrors are a successful development on the zoetrope, because it meant it could produce a brighter and less distorted picture than the zoetrope was able too  produce

The praxinoscope would not be possible without the technology of the phenakiscope, which was the foundation of all moving images. It was significant because it was able to produce a less distorted image than the zoetrope, as a result of the addition of mirrors and further established the idea fluid movement. 

Without these early pioneers and technology, animated films by the likes of Tim Burton would never have existed, due to experimenting with  fluid movement and light.