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Zoetrope
D&T Online
Submitted by: Geoff Howard
ReceptionWhole Class ProjectResistant MaterialsEngineering
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KS4Enterprise activityICTElectronics
Post 16Product AnalysisSystems and ControlStructures
Embedding ICT in DT   

Resources Needed
Computer with 2-D drawing and design software
Thick and thin card, craft knife, safety rule and cutting mat.

Project Brief
The Victorians experimented with several ways of creating animated pictures and produced a number of devices which pre-dated cinema and film. Design and make a Zoetrope to illustrate some of the principles of animation.

Design and Manufacture
Visit a local museum and examine old Zoetropes, Phenakistoscope and Thaumatropes.
Design and make a Zoetrope based on a cylinder or prism and decide how many viewing slots and animation frames to use.
Decide on a theme for the animation and use a computer to draw an outline for the frames making sure there are the right number of frames, the total length is equal to the perimeter of the Zoetrope and the frame height is not such that it blocks off the viewing slots.
Use 2-D drawing software to select, group, copy and rotate a drawn element to produce an animation within the frames. The starting point can be an original drawing, some clip-art or a digitised image.
Print out the animation on to thin card and try it by hand spinning the Zoetrope (the net for the Zoetrope can be produced by plotting directly on to thick card if a plotter is available)

Expected Outcomes
A working Zoetrope

Image
Example

Additional Information
Design and make a chassis on which to mount the Zoetrope so it can be hand cranked - can a motor be added or a light? Try designing also a Phenakistoscope.

MS Word file of pupil help-sheet

From the the DfES funded and BECTa supported, joint NAAIDT and DATA project 'Embedding ICT in Design and Technology'

DFES, BECTa, NAAIDT and DATA logos