Illustrative Motion Smoothing for Attention Guidance in Dynamic Visualizations

Information

• Publication Type: Journal Paper with Conference Talk
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • Visualization Group
• Date: June 2023
• Journal: Computer Graphics Forum
• Volume: 42
• Open Access: yes
• Number: 3
• Location: Leipzig, Germany
• Lecturer: Johannes Eschner
• ISSN: 1467-8659
• Event: EuroVis 2023
• DOI: 10.1111/cgf.14836
• Pages: 12
• Publisher: WILEY
• Pages: 361 – 372
• Keywords: Empirical studies in visualization, Animation

Abstract

3D animations are an effective method to learn about complex dynamic phenomena, such as mesoscale biological processes. The animators’ goals are to convey a sense of the scene’s overall complexity while, at the same time, visually guiding the user through a story of subsequent events embedded in the chaotic environment. Animators use a variety of visual emphasis techniques to guide the observers’ attention through the story, such as highlighting, halos – or by manipulating motion parameters of the scene. In this paper, we investigate the effect of smoothing the motion of contextual scene elements to attract attention to focus elements of the story exhibiting high-frequency motion. We conducted a crowdsourced study with 108 participants observing short animations with two illustrative motion smoothing strategies: geometric smoothing through noise reduction of contextual motion trajectories and visual smoothing through motion blur of context items. We investigated the observers’ ability to follow the story as well as the effect of the techniques on speed perception in a molecular scene. Our results show that moderate motion blur significantly improves users’ ability to follow the story. Geometric motion smoothing is less effective but increases the visual appeal of the animation. However, both techniques also slow down the perceived speed of the animation. We discuss the implications of these results and derive design guidelines for animators of complex dynamic visualizations.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• Computer Graphics Forum
• Entry in reposiTUm (TU Wien Publication Database)
• DOI: 10.1111/cgf.14836

BibTeX

@article{eschner-2023-ims,
  title =      "Illustrative Motion Smoothing for Attention Guidance in
               Dynamic Visualizations",
  author =     "Johannes Eschner and Peter Mindek and Manuela Waldner",
  year =       "2023",
  abstract =   "3D animations are an effective method to learn about complex
               dynamic phenomena, such as mesoscale biological processes.
               The animators’ goals are to convey a sense of the
               scene’s overall complexity while, at the same time,
               visually guiding the user through a story of subsequent
               events embedded in the chaotic environment. Animators use a
               variety of visual emphasis techniques to guide the
               observers’ attention through the story, such as
               highlighting, halos – or by manipulating motion parameters
               of the scene. In this paper, we investigate the effect of
               smoothing the motion of contextual scene elements to attract
               attention to focus elements of the story exhibiting
               high-frequency motion. We conducted a crowdsourced study
               with 108 participants observing short animations with two
               illustrative motion smoothing strategies: geometric
               smoothing through noise reduction of contextual motion
               trajectories and visual smoothing through motion blur of
               context items. We investigated the observers’ ability to
               follow the story as well as the effect of the techniques on
               speed perception in a molecular scene. Our results show that
               moderate motion blur significantly improves users’ ability
               to follow the story. Geometric motion smoothing is less
               effective but increases the visual appeal of the animation.
               However, both techniques also slow down the perceived speed
               of the animation. We discuss the implications of these
               results and derive design guidelines for animators of
               complex dynamic visualizations.",
  month =      jun,
  journal =    "Computer Graphics Forum",
  volume =     "42",
  number =     "3",
  issn =       "1467-8659",
  doi =        "10.1111/cgf.14836",
  pages =      "12",
  publisher =  "WILEY",
  pages =      "361--372",
  keywords =   "Empirical studies in visualization, Animation",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2023/eschner-2023-ims/",
}