Zoetrope Animation

Topic: Filmmaking Careers

Empowerment Lesson Video: Filmmaking Careers

Supplies:

Download and print templates as needed
- Zoetrope template (main structure)
- Zoetrope template (circle cutout)
- Image template #1 (use this for animation outlines that can be filled in with color by students)
- Image template #2 (use this for animation outlines that can be filled in with color by students)
- Image template #3 (use this blank template for students to draw their own animations)
Straw or pencil
Tape
Cardboard or CD
Pencils, markers, colored pencils,
Glue or hot glue gun
Scissors

Video Discussion:

Ask students to brainstorm words they associate with the term “filmmaking career” (i.e., actress, Hollywood, director, camera, etc.).

Have students share their ideas with the class.

Tell students they will be watching the video titled Filmmaking Careers. Explain that the video presents role models talking about some of the careers available in the film industry and the reasons that they chose a film career.

After viewing the video, use some or all of the following questions to review the film content and prepare students for the activity:

What careers are there in the film industry?
What skills do people in the film industry need to have?
Do you think you would find a career in the film industry interesting? Why or why not?
How can you prepare yourself for a career in the film industry?

Activity Instructions:

Students will explore filmmaking careers by constructing a zoetrope, a classic animation device that mimics how movies create the illusion of movement. By designing a simple series of drawings, students will learn how frame-by-frame animation creates the illusion of movement and understand the basics of storytelling through visual sequences.

Give your students a brief background on zoetropes. The zoetrope was invented in 1834 and became popular in the 1860s as a toy and early form of animation entertainment. They were widely used throughout the 19th century and helped inspire modern animation techniques.

A zoetrope is a spinning animation toy that makes pictures look like they’re moving. It has a round drum with slits on the sides and a strip of pictures inside. When you spin the drum and look through the slits, your brain puts the pictures together to create the illusion of motion. It’s like making your own mini movie before movies were even invented.

Have you ever wondered how movies make characters move? Today, you’ll get to create your very own animation and learn how filmmakers bring stories to life!

Gather the supplies and printed templates.
Cut out the zoetrope paper sheets and take together the ends.
Draw or color your animation using either the printed blank template or one of the templates with outline drawings. Imagine each drawing should take up around 1.5” of space on the paper. Each new drawing should change a little bit. Consider drawing a figure running, a frog jumping, a horse trotting, etc. Make sure to color it in!
Tape together the ends of your zoetrope so that it makes a cylinder, and set it aside.
Find your CD, or cut a CD-sized circle out of cardboard (4 ¾” in diameter)
Poke a hole in the middle of your cardboard, for the straw or pencil to go through (this is
so you can spin the zoetrope.
Tape your zoetrope to the CD or cardboard circle.
Put the straw or pencil through the hole so about 0.5” is poking through the top.
Hot glue one end of the straw and wait for it to dry. Make sure it is as perpendicular to
the circle as possible.
Hot glue the other end.
Spin your zoetrope and watch your animation through the slits on the outside.