Maker space workshops: week 5: 28/2/18: Zoetrope prototyping:

Reference image from google.

This week in the makerspace it was a general work session. However Annabeth advised that I take the time to create a prototype zoetrope using the tools in the maker space. Given the lack of other objectives today, I worked on the zoetrope. First thing I needed to do was to get an idea of what to create so using my phone I searched for an image of a zoetrope to give me an idea of what to do, I found one image that was useful and I explained my plan was to do a simple clock animation inside the zoetrope and since there were twelve hours on the clock Annabeth suggested the use of twelve frames in the animation.

The first step was to rule out a strip of card to cut into, then using a pencil to mark out the twelve sides of the wall. These were about 4cm long in distance, and then in the middle of these slides were a small thin rectangle for the window in the device. The piece was then cut out and loosely scored with the craft knife but kept the blade away from my hand to avoid any injuries for health and safety reasons. I placed the piece together using masking tape and tried using the measurement of the shape to work on a base for the zoetrope sketching the shape and then adding tabs to glue the strip onto.

Glued base for Zoetrope.

Using the craft knife the base was cut out and then used a glue stick to glue the tabs onto the inside of the strip wall but had to be held down to keep it glued in place. To begin with I was studying the reference image but Annabeth suggested I used wire and string to create the spinning element of the zoetrope. However at first I felt I couldn't understand what she was telling me at the time with the wire element so I needed to think everything through before I did anything.

Then I had an idea in my head, I found some string and punched two holes in the base then tied the string into it. I tried lifting it however it seemed unbalanced when holding the string. I tried a different tactic and taped the two ends of the string to two of the edges of the zoetrope, which made it more balanced. I had drawn some pictures of a simple clock face with hands on them going backwards to show I would be traveling back in time in the essay which was a good idea.

These slides were glued into the inside of the zoetrope, I was able to conduct a short test to see if it worked by twisting the string and letting it go. Inside I could see the clock moving backwards like an animation.

I decided to add something to help the string, an idea given to me by Annabeth using an "A" shaped  pillar to support the strings I accomplished this using some paper straws taped together with masking tape. The pillars were then taped together and the string tied at the top.

However as I looked over the Zoetrope it looked a little uneven in the base, and the spin didn't seem to last for very long, and so I wanted to try and find a way to compensate this.

Thankfully I had a solution by adding a second piece of string to the other edges of the zoetrope to help balance it out. The string sadly then came loose from the top of the "A" structure I got worried this wouldn't work but this was a prototype and some issues were predictable.
To try and correct this, I tied all the strings to the bottom of the poles and made sure they were nice and tight.

I then tested the spinning of the zoetrope again to see how it would work, and it span round rather fast making it rather difficult to see the clock moving backwards in time. This was clearly something to work with more in development.

However the zoetrope was close to perfection, with a little more refinement it could very well be of use in my video essay. However there wasn't any time left in the session to continue refinement so I would need to do it later next week. Looking back on the lesson I feel I would've done things differently. One thing would be to ask Annabeth further details on what she was suggesting in terms of the wire and string so that I would have a better understanding of the matter. I would also consider looking at refining the base of the zoetrope so that it wouldn't look so uneven with the walls and would possibly spin smoother. 

In hindsight I should've done the base first in the card before I worked on the walls as it would give me a better element to work with to get a smother result. I would measure it out on the shapes length on the base and translate it to the walls. However this was a prototype and now knowing this will help me to refine my design. This lesson has been beneficial in starting my work on the props and will continue to work on it and start research into my project and storyboard. I must now consider looking at possible materials to construct the final product to use in my essay.