Zoopraxiscope

In the late 1880's, flexiable negatives were finally produced. Photos became a lot cheaper and easier to create, and movies became practical. However, it takes more than just new technology to create a new art form.

One of the biggest scientific debates in the late 1800's was "Do all the legs of a horse come off the ground when they run?"

The most influencial person who weighed in on the subject was businessman, race-horse owner, and Gov. of California, Leland Stanford.

So, Stanford employed Eadweard Muybridge to prove this was possible.

Muybridge set up a series of cameras with trigger mechanisms so that each would take a picture as the horse passed by and it ended the debate. (Yes, they all do come off the ground).

This is what lead to the invention of the machine called the "Zoopraxiscope" (meaning, "living being or animal in action to look at"). The device uses 16 inch discs with hand drwan images, based on photos to project short sequences of motion.

The reason this device works so well is because our brains can only processs images so fast. When still images overlap in our mind, we percieve them as motion. So, this invention made it possible for people to take still images and put them togehter to make "moving pictures".