Inspired by Edward Muybridge’s seminal photographic work and innovation with the Zoöpraxiscope, the team wanted to use programming to represent animal movement and time. 

Motion Studies is a series of different Processing codes that explore a butterfly’s flight path. The study is composed of five different film treatments: Muybridge, Zoetrope, Looping Flight Positions, Tracing Wing, and Full Frame Loop. 

The team used slow motion, high definition footage to generate a dataset that would closely look at the animal’s movement and be reflected across the different codes. 

By taking a hyper-focused approach to butterfly movement, the team got a deeper perspective on flight and nuances of wing motion. Motion Studies expresses the beauty of subtle and fleeting, and what happens when we take a closer look at nature.