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A ring of illustrated bird poses turns in an antique workshop, then resolves into a repeating wingbeat. An editable pose atlas is mounted around a drum. The first passage shows the rotating drum. A full-frame close-up then samples the actual atlas at the drum cadence, using editable eye anchors to keep the bird registered. Reuse your own material, or quote missing images and optional sound through PopNow before generation.

Uses PopNow for
Images · Music & voice
Needs
Python 3 · FFmpeg

The skill is free. Optional AI images, video and sound are quoted for your approval before generation. API-key calls use your separate API balance in USD; generation through ChatGPT or Claude connected via OAuth/MCP uses your website credits.

v1.0.0 · Updated Oct 25, 2026 · 3.7 MB · Use it for personal and client work; please don't resell or share the package.

What you get

  1. An editable 6–12 second 720p MP4; the included example lasts 8 seconds and is silent.

  2. An editable pose atlas is mounted around a drum. The first passage shows the rotating drum. A full-frame close-up then samples the actual atlas at the drum cadence, using editable eye anchors to keep the bird registered.

  3. A six-frame contact sheet and render receipt with actual duration and hashes.

Good for

  • Original creative shorts and visual motion studies
  • Testing a reusable animation mechanism with your own inputs

Not for

  • Phase-locked angle sampling illustrates the optical effect; it is not a recording of a physical strobe. Pose consistency depends on the atlas you supply.
  • Automatic feature-length films or unreviewed asset-rights claims

How to use it

You say

  • Use the PopNow skill "Zoetrope Loop Theatre" (zoetrope-loop-theatre) for this: Render the supplied 8-second example, then change one control to make a second version. Quote any missing assets before generating.

Then try

  • Use my own inputs and keep the project editable.

  • Show the changed frames and explain which setting caused the difference.

What to have ready

  • A white-background pose atlas with 8–16 poses and one empty workshop background; the example uses a 4 × 3 atlas.
  • pose_atlas, atlas_columns (2–6), atlas_rows (2–4), poses (8–16, within the grid), pose_anchors (one normalized point per pose), rpm (8–72)
  • Python 3, Pillow, NumPy, FFmpeg and ffprobe

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Questions

Can I use a different character?

Yes. Replace the white-background atlas, set its grid, and keep one consistent pose in each selected cell. Inspect the full sequence before export.

How does speed affect the result?

The drum angle comes from rpm and time. In the full-frame sampled section, the atlas advances at the drum cadence. Editable per-pose anchors keep the selected point steady.

What does the local renderer check?

It checks input ranges, required images, frame size and encoded duration. The self-check also tests a changed input and a rejected invalid case. You still need to watch the result.