Prototyping 5.

This piece of work is referred to as M16.2. The "M" stands for, "machine", and the numbers are an index and version. This is number 16, version 2, of an ongoing series of optical devices (machines) currently around the 22 mark. I'm constantly exploring new ideas in all media. Not everything gets finished and there is no relevance to the index. The naming convention makes it easy for me to catalogue things, particularly when much of the work is digital. It makes it simpler for others too, rather than saying something like, "the big spinning one".

As I mentioned this is version 2. M16.1 is shown in the post, 'A Zoetrope! What's That?' During the interim I have made many prototypes, finding solutions to problems and discovering new ones. The major [technical] differences between these versions is the addition of lights, a motor and a stand. The image below shows prototypes made in February 2011.

The image on the left shows a full scale mechanical prototype. It's probably worth mentioning that this machine differs slightly from a traditional zoetrope. This piece rotates in two directions, the animation one way, the shutter the opposite. This means that the viewer does not look through the piece, rather just straight at it. Of course a mechanism is required for this functionality and that needed to be prototyped.

The image on the right shows a Heath Robinson style prototype where I was experimenting with a good viewing height for the shutter. I used masking tape to adjust the height of the clothes rack...