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According to the theory of
persistence of vision, the perceptual processes of the retina of the human eye retains an image for a brief moment. Persistence of vision is said to account for the illusion of motion which results when a series of film images are displayed in quick succession, rather than the perception of the individual frames in the series.
A visual form of memory known as
iconic memory has been described as the cause of this phenomenonColtheart M. "The persistences of vision."
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1980 Jul 8;290(1038):57-69. PMID 6106242.. Although
psychologists and
physiologists have rejected the relevance of this theory to film viewership, film academics and theorists generally have not. Some scientists nowadays consider the entire theory a myth.
Persistence of vision should be compared with the related phenomena of
beta movement and
phi phenomenon. A critical part of understanding these visual perception phenomena is that the eye
is not a camera: there is no "frame rate" or "scan rate" in the eye: instead, the eye/brain system has a combination of motion detectors, detail detectors and pattern detectors, the outputs of all of which are combined to create the visual experience.
The frequency at which flicker becomes invisible is called the
flicker fusion threshold, and is dependent on the level of illumination.
Film systems
Through experience in the early days of film innovation, it was determined that a frame rate of less than 16 frames per second (fps) caused the mind to see flashing images. Audiences still interpret motion at rates as low as ten frames per second or slower (as in a
flipbook), but the flicker caused by the shutter of a
movie projector is distracting below the 16-frame threshold.
Modern theatrical film runs at 24 frames a second. This is the case for both physical
film and digital film systems.
It is important to distinguish between the
frame rate and the
flicker rate, which are not necessarily the same. In physical film systems, it is necessary to pull down the film frame, and this pulling-down needs to be obscured by a shutter to avoid the appearance of blurring; therefore, there needs to be at least one flicker per frame in film. To reduce the appearance of flicker, virtually all modern projector shutters are designed to add additional flicker periods, typically doubling the flicker rate to 48 Hertz (single-bladed shutters make two rotations per frame - double-bladed shutters make one rotation per frame), which is less visible. (Some three-bladed projector shutters even triple it to 72 Hz.)
In digital film systems, the scan rate may be decoupled from the image update rate. In some systems, such as the Digital Light Processing (DLP) system, there is no flying spot or raster scan at all, so there is no flicker other than that generated by the temporal aliasing of the film image capture.
The new film system Maxivision films at 48 frames per second, which, according to film critic
Roger Ebert, offers even a
jerkiness tracking shot past picket fences. The lack of strobe (as opposed to flicker) is due to the higher sampling rate of the camera relative to the speed of movement of the image across the film plane. This ultra-smooth imaging is called
High motion. It is critical for sports and motion simulation, but unpopular for drama.
Video systems
Video records at 50 (PAL) or 60Actually 59.94, but this is commonly rounded up for discussion. (
NTSC) images per second (ips) depending on the national system used; The flicker or refresh rate on a
television screen is fixed to one or the other nationally chosen standards. A technique called interlace uses persistence of vision to combine two consecutive images (or fields) to create one frame with higher detail in non-moving areas. Because the fields are exposed and displayed separately, a single TV "frame" can potentially contain motion or even two distinct images.
With ordinary video from video cameras, the flicker rate and the image rate are the same. However, when footage shot on 24 Hz film is shown on 60 Hz TV, each film frame is repeated for 2.5 consecutive fields to produce 60 fields per second. (see
3:2 pulldown) In countries using 50 Hz TV, 24 Fps film is sped up by 4% to produce 25 frames (50 fields) per second.
Many modern video systems also decouple display from image update, for example, systems using LCD or plasma panels with continuous light output, or intermediate frame buffers that increase the display rate to 100 or 120 fields per second. Such implementations can occur on low-flicker purpose-built CRT TVs, but decoupling can happen inadvertently on any display connected to a
HTPC.
Computer monitors
Aside from a few configurations used in the early 1990s,
computer monitors do not use interlacing. They may sometimes seem to flicker, especially in a brightly lit room. This is due to the greater likelihood that a computer monitor will occupy the viewer's peripheral vision, where sensitivity to flickering is greater. Generally, a refresh rate of 85 Hz or above (as found in most modern monitors) is sufficient to minimize flicker at close viewing distances, and all recent computer monitors are capable of at least that rate. Flat-panel Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors do not suffer from flicker even if their refresh rate is 60 Hz or even lower. This is because LCD pixels open to allow a continuous stream of light to pass through until instructed by the video signal to produce a darker color; see also ghosting. CRTs by comparison create a momentary burst of light each time the electron beam strikes a particular point on the CRT.
Cartoon animation
See Also: Key frame
of a
Horse gait is displayed at 12 drawings per second, and the fast motion is on the edge of being objectionably jerky. (Assuming your computer has enough Computer multitasking for this Animated GIF.)
In drawn
Traditional animation, moving characters are often shot "on twos", that is to say, one drawing is shown for every two frames of film (which usually runs at 24 frames per second), meaning there are only 12 drawings per second. Even though the image update rate is low, the fluidity is satisfactory for most subjects. However, when a character is required to perform a quick movement, it is usually necessary to revert to animating "on ones", as "twos" are too slow to convey the motion adequately. A blend of the two techniques keeps the eye fooled without unnecessary production cost.
Animation for most "Saturday morning cartoons" is produced as cheaply as possible, and is most often shot on "threes", or even "fours", i.e. three or four frames per drawing. This translates to only 8 or 6 drawings per second.
Printed media
Flip books use this principle. If the book is flipped at a fast enough speed, the illusion of motion is created.
Optical toys
See also
References
External links
- Persistence of Vision
- The Myth of Persistence of Vision Revisited - commentary on whether the concept is really a myth.
- The Flicker Fusion Factor Why we can't drive safely at high speed
- Burns, Paul The History of the Discovery of Cinematography An Illustrated Chronology
According to the theory of
persistence of vision, the perceptual processes of the retina of the
human eye retains an image for a brief moment. Persistence of vision is said to account for the illusion of motion which results when a series of film images are displayed in quick succession, rather than the perception of the individual frames in the series.
A visual form of memory known as iconic memory has been described as the cause of this phenomenonColtheart M. "The persistences of vision."
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1980 Jul 8;290(1038):57-69. PMID 6106242.. Although
psychologists and
physiologists have rejected the relevance of this theory to film viewership, film academics and theorists generally have not. Some scientists nowadays consider the entire theory a myth.
Persistence of vision should be compared with the related phenomena of beta movement and
phi phenomenon. A critical part of understanding these
visual perception phenomena is that the eye
is not a camera: there is no "frame rate" or "scan rate" in the eye: instead, the eye/brain system has a combination of motion detectors, detail detectors and pattern detectors, the outputs of all of which are combined to create the visual experience.
The frequency at which flicker becomes invisible is called the
flicker fusion threshold, and is dependent on the level of illumination.
Film systems
Through experience in the early days of film innovation, it was determined that a frame rate of less than 16 frames per second (fps) caused the mind to see flashing images. Audiences still interpret motion at rates as low as ten frames per second or slower (as in a flipbook), but the flicker caused by the shutter of a movie projector is distracting below the 16-frame threshold.
Modern theatrical film runs at 24 frames a second. This is the case for both physical film and
digital film systems.
It is important to distinguish between the
frame rate and the
flicker rate, which are not necessarily the same. In physical film systems, it is necessary to pull down the film frame, and this pulling-down needs to be obscured by a shutter to avoid the appearance of blurring; therefore, there needs to be at least one flicker per frame in film. To reduce the appearance of flicker, virtually all modern projector shutters are designed to add additional flicker periods, typically doubling the flicker rate to 48 Hertz (single-bladed shutters make two rotations per frame - double-bladed shutters make one rotation per frame), which is less visible. (Some three-bladed projector shutters even triple it to 72 Hz.)
In digital film systems, the scan rate may be decoupled from the image update rate. In some systems, such as the
Digital Light Processing (DLP) system, there is no flying spot or raster scan at all, so there is no flicker other than that generated by the
temporal aliasing of the film image capture.
The new film system
Maxivision films at 48 frames per second, which, according to film critic
Roger Ebert, offers even a jerkiness
tracking shot past picket fences. The lack of strobe (as opposed to flicker) is due to the higher sampling rate of the camera relative to the speed of movement of the image across the film plane. This ultra-smooth imaging is called High motion. It is critical for sports and motion simulation, but unpopular for drama.
Video systems
Video records at 50 (
PAL) or 60Actually 59.94, but this is commonly rounded up for discussion. (NTSC) images per second (ips) depending on the national system used; The flicker or
refresh rate on a television screen is fixed to one or the other nationally chosen standards. A technique called interlace uses persistence of vision to combine two consecutive images (or fields) to create one frame with higher detail in non-moving areas. Because the fields are exposed and displayed separately, a single TV "frame" can potentially contain motion or even two distinct images.
With ordinary video from video cameras, the flicker rate and the image rate are the same. However, when footage shot on 24 Hz film is shown on 60 Hz TV, each film frame is repeated for 2.5 consecutive fields to produce 60 fields per second. (see
3:2 pulldown) In countries using 50 Hz TV, 24 Fps film is sped up by 4% to produce 25 frames (50 fields) per second.
Many modern video systems also decouple display from image update, for example, systems using LCD or plasma panels with continuous light output, or intermediate frame buffers that increase the display rate to 100 or 120 fields per second. Such implementations can occur on low-flicker purpose-built CRT TVs, but decoupling can happen inadvertently on any display connected to a HTPC.
Computer monitors
Aside from a few configurations used in the early 1990s,
computer monitors do not use interlacing. They may sometimes seem to flicker, especially in a brightly lit room. This is due to the greater likelihood that a computer monitor will occupy the viewer's peripheral vision, where sensitivity to flickering is greater. Generally, a refresh rate of 85 Hz or above (as found in most modern monitors) is sufficient to minimize flicker at close viewing distances, and all recent computer monitors are capable of at least that rate. Flat-panel
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors do not suffer from flicker even if their refresh rate is 60 Hz or even lower. This is because LCD pixels open to allow a continuous stream of light to pass through until instructed by the video signal to produce a darker color; see also ghosting. CRTs by comparison create a momentary burst of light each time the electron beam strikes a particular point on the CRT.
Cartoon animation
See Also: Key frame
of a Horse gait is displayed at 12 drawings per second, and the fast motion is on the edge of being objectionably jerky. (Assuming your computer has enough
Computer multitasking for this Animated GIF.)
In drawn Traditional animation, moving characters are often shot "on twos", that is to say, one drawing is shown for every two frames of film (which usually runs at 24 frames per second), meaning there are only 12 drawings per second. Even though the image update rate is low, the fluidity is satisfactory for most subjects. However, when a character is required to perform a quick movement, it is usually necessary to revert to animating "on ones", as "twos" are too slow to convey the motion adequately. A blend of the two techniques keeps the eye fooled without unnecessary production cost.
Animation for most "
Saturday morning cartoons" is produced as cheaply as possible, and is most often shot on "threes", or even "fours", i.e. three or four frames per drawing. This translates to only 8 or 6 drawings per second.
Printed media
Flip books use this principle. If the book is flipped at a fast enough speed, the illusion of motion is created.
Optical toys
See also
- Movie projector
- Light writing, a physical animation technique which has the appearance of persistence of vision, but is wholly different.
References
External links
- Persistence of Vision
- The Myth of Persistence of Vision Revisited - commentary on whether the concept is really a myth.
- The Flicker Fusion Factor Why we can't drive safely at high speed
- Burns, Paul The History of the Discovery of Cinematography An Illustrated Chronology
Persistence of vision - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Persistence of vision is the phenomenon of the eye by which even nanoseconds of exposure to an image result in milliseconds of reaction (sight) from the retina to the optic nerves.
Persistence of Vision
This is a set of resources created to support my 'Persistence of Vision' exhibition at Charnwood Museum in May 2002. Please contact me if you have any questions ...
Persistence Of Vision compilation and demo crew
Persistence Of Vision Demo and Compilation Crew: 10-Feb-2003: Managed to contact Oz of POV. He lives in London now and writes web pages for a living.
Tim Lynch's Review of "Persistence of Vision"
Persistence of Vision. WARNING: The apparitions appearing before your eyes are spoilers for VOY's "Persistence of Vision". Persist not in thy futile quest to avoid them.
Persistence Of Vision > Company > Latest News
was founded to provide the film and broadcast industries with cutting edge visuals at unprecedented cost savings. P.O.V. leverages the industries' technological advancements ...
Persistence Of Vision > Contact > Send Message
1522 2nd St. Santa Monica, CA 90401 Phone/Fax: 310.496.0993
POV-Ray - The Persistence of Vision Raytracer
The official site for the freeware ray-tracing program POV-Ray.
POV Press: Home Page
Grand Illusions - Articles - Persistence of Vision - Page 1
Persistence of Vision, by Stephen Herbert "Virtually every ... account of the perception of movement in film texts [is] wrong. The impression of movement is not due to persistence ...
EYE MAGIC: Persistence of Vision Explained
The human eye forms an image on the retina - the light sensitive part - and transfers information about the image to the brain. Just like film in a camera, this process involves ...