Prompt 1
I chose the phenakistiscope (spindle viewer) and the zoetrope as examples of pre-cinema animation tools.
Both tools rely on the same principle of persistence of vision, which creates the illusion of motion by rapidly displaying a series of still images. They also use slits to help control the timing of the images being viewed, an essential feature that makes the animation appear smooth.
However, there are several key differences between the two. The phenakistiscope requires the viewer to spin the disc while looking into a mirror through the slits to see the animation. This limits the experience to just one person at a time. On the other hand, the zoetrope, developed around 1834 by William George Horner, works without a mirror and allows multiple people to watch the animation simultaneously.
The zoetrope also paved the way for later developments in animation, as it evolved into more sophisticated devices like the praxinoscope, which replaced the slits with mirrors for a clearer viewing experience.
All in all, both devices were key contributing factors in the evolution of animation and story telling.
