When we partnered with POL to launch Vitus Apotek’s new click-and-collect service, director John Christian Ferner Apalnes suggested dusting off a classic technique: the zoetrope. We constructed a custom version modeled after the pharmacy’s own medicine shelves to create a physical animation loop. After meticulous calibration and timing, the shelves came to life with small characters packing and delivering orders at a frantic pace.

Choosing a zoetrope meant skipping digital shortcuts in favor of analog precision. The process involved a fair amount of math and trial-and-error to ensure the strobe effect and rotation synced perfectly. While the project earned a Gold at Visuelt, the real satisfaction was seeing the mechanical persistence pay off as the physical shelves finally clicked into a seamless, hypnotic loop.