Silhouette Zoetrope
This video, created by Christine Veras of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, pays homage to the early zoetropes from the 19th century. The zoetrope consists of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides. When the cylinder in the middle of the contraption in this video is rotated, the slots strobe behind the cutout images, making the cutouts appear to be animated inside the empty slotted cylinder. This ultimately ends up creating the illusion of moving silhouettes floating in space.
This video was a top 10 finalist for the Best Illusion of the Year Contest.
Got a zoetrope myself, but had never seen this
trick before. It took me some time to figure it out, but I think I’ve got it now. Magnificent illusion!
I don’t have a zoetrope, but I agree that this is a very interesting illusion.