Landscape Animation Summary of an experimental approach to inform the use of camera dynamics in visualization

Outline Theoretical context: towards a theory of landscape information Application: landscape animation design Experimental design: controlling landscape visual variables Study of camera motion: trajectories Extracting landscape experience: Questionnaire Landscape animation of mystery

Landscape Information Landscape as an expression of geographic information: the theory of fields The visual landscape as an information structure: from depth cues to visual landscape elements The access to landscape information through changing location and evolving time The framework of geographic visualization as an organizing structure

Landscape animation design A framework for landscape information may be the basis for developing visualization guidelines Design would be considered a way to manage landscape information for particular purposes For example, optimization of the communication of landscape spatial information, or discovery of visual elements such as landscape form. It requires a linkage between spatial and non spatial information, aesthetics and sense of place within the same information framework (e.g. useful theories: Kaplan’s)

Rationale for experimental design The objective is to identify fundamental landscape visual variables that govern the way visual elements can be used for communicating and discovering information Visual variables include the physical landscape properties and observation parameters Visualization and representation allows us to consider landscape elements as variables containing information to be studied experimentally

Observation as experimental variable Term project dedicated to study ways to control the visual variables of observation parameters Camera observation considered as a function of landscape form: close dependency or independency The observation variables are complex. Camera altitude is considered a primary control on the access to landscape information.

Trajectories and camera motion The vertical motion of the location of a camera over the landscape is isolated from horizontal motion (constant) and from target motion Two main trajectories type identified: terrain following and uniform, with variations in between according to filtering and generalization

Subjective evaluation: Questionnaire The evaluation of the overall impact of landscape information is based on quantitative spatial analysis and subjective measures of landscape experience A questionnaire has been developed for assessing the acquisition of spatial knowledge about trajectory and landscape, the aesthetic reaction to landscape and the sense of place elicited from it. If landscape experience varies significantly across trajectories, landscape information impact is different and the need for design is justified (it is then possible to expand from that)

Beyond experimental design Ideally the landscape animation design guidelines can be applied to develop better visualizations of landscape that optimally manage spatial information and elicit aesthetic reactions An example might be to focus on the idea of discovery in the landscape (feature hidden behind another feature) and aim at the aesthetical reaction of mystery.

Conclusions A theory of landscape information is needed to develop landscape visualization guidelines Landscape animation design involves controlling the effects of camera location, but not only Landscape experience is extracted through a questionnaire that explores spatial knowledge, aesthetics and sense of place Guidelines can be applied to document specific landscape exploration elements such as mystery and discovery