persistence of vision


Persistence of vision


Animation works by using an optical illusion. By presenting a sequence of still images in quick enough succession, the viewer interprets them as a continuous moving image. This is the same principle that enables live action film making and projection to work. Film theorists often refer to this illusion of movement as the persistence of vision.
Persistence of vision works because the human eye and brain can only process 10 to 12 separate images per second, retaining an image for up to a fifteenth of a second. If a subsequent image replaces it in this period of time it will create the illusion of continuity.
The use of animation techniques to create moving images predates conventional cinema. Devices like the phenakistoscope (disk pictured above) and the zoetrope (pictured below) used the basic principles of animation to provide entertainment in the 19th century.


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