International projectionist (Nov-Dec 1933)

November 1933 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST 15 THE HISTORY OF THE ANIMATED CARTOON Earl Theisen 'T'HE history of the animated cartoon goes back farther than that of the motion picture; in fact, motion pictures had their beginning as hand-drawn pictures. Long before photography had become practicable, many devices were introduced that portrayed motion by a series of cartoon pictures. These early devices were nothing more than toys, and were impracticable for depicting a story; however, they were popular and did much to crystallize the demand for motion pictures. Five years after the discovery of the "persistence of vision" by Peter Mark Roget, in 1826, the first attempts were made to show motion pictorially by a series of drawings. With a device, called the Phenakistoscope, invented by Joseph Antoine Plateau, motion was depicted by a sequence of drawings, fourteen in number, each drawing blending with the next in the series to show some simple bit of action. The device was composed of two disks mounted on a shaft, the front disk having a series of slits around its outer edge, while the rear disk carried the drawings. The drawings were aligned with the slits, and on peering permits the light to pass to the color wheel and slide. The color wheel is placed a few inches away from the back plate and is followed by the slide carrier. The plates holding the slides and the color wheel are not screwed to the base plate but can be moved into any position. In figure 2 a mirror is mounted in front of the slide, which is partly masked. If we employ a slide of fluted glass, we find that the effect on the screen is as in Fig. 2, a. In this case the waves of the slide are vertical and the colors seem to divide from the center of the screen as is indicated by arrows. In Fig. 2, b, the waves of the slide are positioned at an angle. Figure 3 shows the side and front view of a three-mirror kaleidoscope, as used in Fig. 1. The mirrors should be cut in the form of a keystone, with their width near the slide 21/4 inches, and near the lens 1% inches. The effect on the screen is shown in Fig. 3, a. This particular mirror arrangement has been found quite practical on feature titles which are not too strongly illuminated. It is well to use a mask some distance from the lens. Without a mask the whole stage will be flooded with light. Figure 4 shows an arrangement similar to the one in Figure 2. The mirror through the slits as the two disks revolved the illusion of motion was created, simply but effectively. 'Wheel of the Devil' This was followed by the Daedaleum, or Wheel of the Devil (Fig. 1), invented by William George Horner, in England, in 1834, which consisted of a shallow cylinder, mounted on a stand, having slits around the top. The drawings, made on strips of paper about 2% feet long, were inserted on the inside of the cylinder. In these drawings, the chief character was the devil, waving his trident. The Daedaleum was later re-invented in France as the Zoetrope by Desvignes, in 1860. It came to be known as the Wheel of Life because it showed action, and portrayed little every-day happenings, such as a child jumping rope, or a man pumping water, or a cast of actors, including an erring husband, his wife, and her rolling pin. The rolling pin here used may be said to Fig. 1. The "Wheel of Life," one of the early devices for showing animated pictures be one of the forerunners of the assorted "props" that are now so valuable to the motion picture. Many other events were faithfully recorded by hand drawings for the Zoetrope, which were motion pictures 2V2 feet in length. The Wheel of Life was first introduced in the United States by William Lincoln, in 1867, and was patented on April 23, 1867, which can be said to be the date of introduction of the animated cartoon into this country. The most notable of the prephotographic inventions was the Praxinoscope, devised by Emile Reynaud, in 1877, in France. To Reynaud goes the credit of (Continued on page 28) Fig. 2. Reynaud 's Optical Theatre, showing an audience viewing the play in this case is not vertical but inclined at an angle of 45 degrees. Half of the slide is masked off. The arrows in Fig. 4, a, indicate the direction of the color when using a fluted glass slide in a vertical position. An enterprising projectionist will be able to devise many new combinations. The three described herein are only part of the arrangements which can be placed between the slide and the lens. The simplicity of this mechanism lies in the easy interchangeability of the different effects. The suggestions in this article might be improved, as for in stance, the kaleidoscope in Figure 3 can be constructed in such a manner that it will rotate around the optical axis. Undoubtedly there are many projectionists who as a result of spending some of their spare time in experimenting with and testing out ideas for new screen effects, could contribute substantially to the foregoing discussion. Comment from such men would be more than welcome, particularly since there have been few if any advances in effect work executed from the projection room within recent years — and this is strange because effect work is extremely interesting.