We want to explore holographic moving images using pre-cinema animation techniques developed in the ninetieth century. By combining seemingly archaic animation techniques with the futuristic illusions of holography we can create a whole new art form and bring to the world something brand new: holographic animated films, or “holopraxiscopes” (working title).

We’d like to develop the idea of holographic moving images by creating a praxinoscope using holographic images instead of photographs or drawings. This will give the amazing illusion of a moving 3D image!

These pre-cinema machines used to capture the imagination of viewers a the turn of the century who would flock to see images move before their eyes. Spectacle and display are still things that fascinate us today and inspire us to still attend a circus. The holopraxinoscope has the same old world charm but with a modern twist.

In the images attached, we've depicted a holographic image of a butterfly and an image of a 2-D praxinoscope. Neither of these are our own work but we have presented these images as representative of our intent. We hope to build a praxinoscope with 3-D holograms in place of the conventional 2-D image; the imagery presented would present the illusion of a train moving from far in the background into the foreground in depth. This would be reflective of the first 2-D film ever portrayed to an audience.