High-Low Tech Ombro-Cinéma

Barrier-grid animation is a primitive animation technique that utilizes an interlaced image with a transparent striped overlay. Ombro-Cinéma, a toy developed in 1921, utilizes this technique effectively with a scroll of graphics. By rotating an attached hand-crank, it presents a scrolling animated story, the narrative of which is often tightly associated with its mechanical structure. This paper describes High-Low Tech Ombro-Cinéma, a prototype device that extends Ombro-Cinéma using an embedded system. Conductive adhesive tape strips are affixed to the back side of a scroll and used to trigger various sonic events to enhance its narrativity. Such an investigation into the reproduction of an obsolete toy with digital technology may provide an interesting opportunity to review the narrative of an obsolete device and to reconsider the effects tangible interfaces have on narratives.