HA4 - Task 1

Illusion of movement

The term illusory motion, also known as motion illusion, is an optical illusion in which a static or single image appears to be moving due to the cognitive effects of interacting color contrasts and shape position. 

Illusory movement is hundreds of years old and is used in many different types of animation such as the one above. Which uses a lined piece of paper or card to break the image up so the eye perceives constant movement

 

Frame rate (FPS)

Frame rate is the speed at which the still images change from one to the next. A frame rate of 1 image per second will not trick the viewer into seeing motion as the break between the images is too long and the brain can process the images one by one, At a frame rate of around 10 FPS the eye cannot process the images singularly and thus the illusion of motion kicks in as the brain blurs multiple single images into one fluid animation.  Despite 10 FPS being substantial enough to trick the eye single frames can still be sensed due to 10 frames being just enough to trick the eye most media uses 24 frames per second which is more than enough to trick the eye and will always trick the eye into detecting constant movement. 

Beta Movement

The beta movement is an optical illusion, Described by a man named Max Wertheimer in 1912, whereby a series of static images on a screen creates the illusion of a smoothly flowing scene. This occurs when the frame rate is greater than 10 to 12 separate images per second. It might be considered similar to the effects of animation. The static images do not physically change but give the appearance of motion because of being rapidly changed faster than the eye can see.

Persistence of vision

Persistence of vision refers to the optical illusion whereby multiple discrete images blend into a single image in the human mind and believed to be the explanation for motion perception in cinema and animated films. This works on theory that the human eye retains images for a a fraction of a second in memory leading to the viewer seeing multiple images.

Suspension of Disbelief

Suspension of disbelief is the ideology that the viewer suspends what they know in reality to enjoy animation. An example of this is in stop motion animation, An inanimate object such as a Lego figure in the below example moving on its own is impossible however the viewers reaction to these kinds of media suspends their disbelief as they give into the wonder of the situation to enjoy the media product.

Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2524722/The-optical-illusions-fool-CAT-Video-reveals-tricks-eye-outfox-animals-too.html
http://imgur.com/gallery/vO0pIci
http://veinctor.deviantart.com/art/Claymation-GIF-animation-43371589