Free-standing ferroelectric films in a rotating electric field have been investigated. The spontaneous formation and the evolution of dark and bright rings were studied by an image analysing system. Area and width of the rings depend on the extent of the ring system. A quasi-stationary state is possible which is characterized by a ring creation rate of zero and by a defined quantity of rings. The evolution of the systems is mainly determined by the elastic properties of the ferroelectric liquid crystals.