The animation of historical events is a key way that we can intuitively express changes that happen over time and space. By using animation as a method, we are able to create synoptic views of often complex historical processes that play out in the landscape. While often simple in function, these animations often lead us to new understandings.

We use animation to show change three main ways:

1. Movement of people (slaves)
2. Locations of events in space over time (aru)
3. Unfolding of historical processes (sea level rise)


Explain each way...

Challenges
In designing animations using historical data, it is common to have incomplete, imprecise, or uncertain data. And even with clean datasets, often we only have two or three time slices in which to show change. We deal with these problems in several visual ways, but there are no simple ways to extrapolating or interpolating history; any introduction of visual effects needs to be done judiciously so as to not erroneously affect the interpretation of the story.

Additional Features:
Temporal re-expression - changing day,week, month. (yellow fever)
Aggregate time (prostitution)
Motion and movement (slaves)
Fading (pop density)
Symbology (lawyers)


Are animations effective?
While research is mixed about the cognitive benefits of interpreting maps in motion, they are an intuitive and appealing way of visualizing change over time.