From data visualization to data storytelling : contextualizing data through digital filmmaking

Abstract

The popularity of online video combined with widely available (and constantly improving) tools for visualizing data have recently opened up new opportunities for data visualization videos in the modern media landscape. This comes at a time when conveying scientific data to the general public is critically necessary. But while these data-driven videos are beginning to appear, there is very little available literature discussing strategies for evaluating and improving them. Given such a lack of established literature, this paper will examine design principles and strategies that do exist in writings from influential information designers and visualization specialists. These principles and strategies were nearly all developed for static forms of media, so this paper will first explore ways to adapt those existing strategies to the time-based medium of video. It will then explore other video-specific advantages that can be utilized to further improve data visualization.