hoppy day monster zoetrope

so for the past two and a half weeks i've been building this monstrosity in ALMOST complete secrecy. it's kinda hard to build something of this size in secret. so what the hell is it!? well it's a zoetrope... of sorts. most zoetropes are cylindrical shaped and have slits cut in the side and spin to allow for viewing of the images blurring together and giving the illusion of movement. my zoetrope (if i can even call it a zoetrope... i wasn't sure what else to call it) is more like a conveyor belt that needs to be cranked and relies on a strobe light to give the illusion of movement. oh, and it's inside the mouth of a monster.

here's a video of my hoppy day monster in action so you can see what i mean



there are seven bunnies that make up the hop cycle. you turn the crank clockwise to see them in action. turning the crank counter-clockwise shows the cycle in reverse.



i made the hoppy day monster zoetrope for the shadow machine films (the place where i work) art show which took place last saturday night. i can't really remember where i got the idea to make a zoetrope like this, i just really like zoetropes and the whole concept of camera-less (and computer-less) animation. my first introduction to 3-d zoetropes was at cal-arts through a visiting artist named katsushi boda (for reals that is his name). ever since then i have wanted to push the limits of zoetropes and camera-less animation and now that i know this particular style of zoetrope actually works i think i can do that. i have been loosely calling it a tank-wheel style zoetrope (i need to come up with a better name). my first goal is to make the zoetrope belt much longer to accommodate for longer cycles of animation. after that... well you'll just have to wait and see what i have planned ;]

also, there have been many, many other styles of camera-less animation devices but as far as i know this is the first one to utilize a crank wheel mechanism of this sort and display the animation on a belt rather than in a cylinder. let me know if you have seen any others like this!

and now for some retarded pictures of me with my monster :P



me with a co-worker. that is her piece on the right so we had to take a picture. duh! don't let that smile fool you, she is a BIG troublemaker.



me and my two roomies. obviously troublemakers. obviously.




2 le-git 2 quit dis gangstah life

my piece went over really well at the show. it made all that hard work and lack of sleep so totally worth it :] i can't wait until the next one!

and for your information, i am a real gangstah. for reals, yo. for reals.