Bicycle Wheel Animations Only Visible Through Video Camera

To the naked eye, the intricate paper patterns attached to these bike wheels look like nothing but a blur when it’s in motion. But when filmed with a video camera, the limited frame rate reveals complex animations.

The video was created by YouTube user TheManimation as part of their third year CSM dissertation on using early and basic forms of animation in modern design. They’ve essentially turned a bike wheel into a Zoetrope or Praxinoscope, except that instead of looking through a thin slit to reveal the animation, you need to look through a video camera with an electronic shutter.

So while it makes for a clever way to film real-time animations, it’s useless as a way to pimp your ride. Unless all of your friends have cameras strapped to their heads, and I’m pretty sure only mine do. [YouTube]