stroboscopilicious

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A strobe fountain, a stream of water droplets falling at regular intervals lit with a strobe light, is an example of the stroboscopic effect being applied to a cyclic motion that is not rotational. When viewed under normal light, this is a normal water fountain. When viewed under a strobe light with its frequency tuned to the rate at which the droplets fall, the droplets appear to be suspended in mid-air. Adjusting the strobe frequency can make the droplets seemingly move slowly up or down.

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Harold Edgerton

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Harold Edgerton

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Harold Edgerton

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Stroboscopic Sport Photography - it was used to capture the changing features of a subject in motion and track the subjects position over time with a single exposure. It was (and still is) useful for sport analysts to track a sport persons movement such as a golfer, tennis or baseball player, etc to analyse their motion, calculate the ideal swing and see if there is room for improvement. credit: Harold Edgerton

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What is the stroboscopic effect?

According to Wikipedia: “The stroboscopic effect is a visual phenomenon caused by aliasing that occurs when continuous motion is represented by a series of short or instantaneous samples. It occurs when the view of a moving object is represented by a series of short samples as distinct from a continuous view, and the moving object is in rotational or other cyclic motion at a rate close to the sampling rate.”

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Major inspiration! 

For his 1968 film Pas de deux McLaren used the optical printer when he repeatedly superimposed delayed image after delayed image of two dancers, the effect being an enhancing of the movement and an enrapturing of the viewer, leaving a sensuous and almost stroboscopic appearance.

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Aim1: photography

Create motion photographs with sharp outlines.  Link for that to watch later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_QzHoThyZE

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Basically: What I will do here

I was browsing through my older work because I wanted to do something new yet rooted in my already completed projects and topics of interest. I was revisiting animation techniques and I came across with the stroboscopic disc (better known as the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenakistiscope). Stepping away from the original, I would like to explore the aesthetics and use the basic principles at work with a twist in photography and 3d modelling.

Why? Because I have always loved exploring human movement and body images, and this time, I don’t want to drift too far. Except it would be more like picking glimpses of a specific movement and create the illusion of continuous flow. 

How? Firstly, I will research the principles and find out why does the stroboscopic effect work the way it does. Secondly, until I can get back to my resources I can start to look for inspirations (especially in photography), take a crash course in Photoshop (will need that) and come up with the design of a 3d printed sculpture (more on this later).