Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Barbara MacAllister
Word of the Day: Zoetrope
A zoetrope is defined in Merriam Webster’s as “a 19th-century optical toy consisting of a cylinder with a series of pictures on the inner surface that, when viewed through slits with the cylinder rotating, give an impression of continuous motion.” It is a pre-film optical device that gives the illusion of a moving picture made from a series of still pictures. From the Greek zoe, “life” and-tropos,” turning”, the toys pre-dated motion pictures. It’s a basically a cylindrical version of animated flipbooks children make.
Francis Ford Coppola, the “Godfather” director, decided to name his studio “Zoetrope” after receiving some as a gift from another studio owner who had an extensive collection of early motion picture-making equipment. While traveling in Europe, Coppola became acquainted with alternative filmmaking equipment and returned to the U.S. to start a new kind of studio in 1969. His mission was to foster creative and unconventional approaches for filmmakers. Zoetrope Studios became one of the first adopters of digital filmmaking and new technology. While his studio was short-lived, his original idea inspired others. It is remembered as a revolutionary gamble to create an alternative studio and work outside the standard system of the time to allow the director more control of his film from development to release.
The earliest known zoetrope was found in China in 180 AD. Even though technology has caused amazing advances, the principle of stationary pictures shown in rapid succession to give the illusion of movement is still the fundamental basis of the how TV and film continue to work today.
