In this age of portable DVD players and mobile multimedia devices, it’s easy to forget that there was a time when having animation in the palm of your hand meant flipping through a book. In celebration of this month’s 123rd anniversary of the invention of the flip book, New York-based custom flip book manufacturer Flippies is bringing back a classic.
Flip books were patented in the U.S. on May 16, 1882, by Henry Van Hovenbergh of Elizabeth, New Jersey. They were then popularized in the early 1900′s when they showed up as prizes in Cracker Jack boxes. Now, according to Flippies president Jeffrey Kay, there’s a renewed interest in the fun creations as marketers seek to incorporate them in interactive brochures and give them away as handouts at promotions and other events.
In addition to reengineering the original flip book concept, Flippies says it has created a patent-pending process to easily create flip books from live-action or animated video footage. Kay says the new, perfect bound, printed flip books play back crystal-clear, full-motion clips with a simple flip of a thumb. “If he were still alive today, Henry Van Hovenbergh would be proud of Flippies’ achievements in taking his original flip book concept to a whole new level of sophistication,” Kay boasts.
Companies or individuals interested in creating their own custom flip books can visit Flippies on the web at www.flippies.com.
SOURCE: http://www.animationmagazine.net/home_entertainment/company-reintroducing-flip-books/
