Fig 1.
Hierarchy of cinematic scientific visualization needs.
Fig 2.
a. Cosmic evolution 100–500 million years after the Big Bang. Label adds context regarding formation of the early universe, when the first stars were forming. b. 50,000 light years. A scale bar, as is familiar from common road maps, here suggests the immense size of the features displayed. c. Cool Gas, Hot Gas. As the narration explains the gas is color-coded according to its temperature, these labels scaffold audience understanding of the visualized data.
Fig 3.
a. Our Star, the Sun. This simple label reinforces the fact that our sun is a star and not some other special kind of celestial body. b. Time shown: 21 days. The initial version of the label (not shown) was labeled with just the static calendar page. Here, an animated time bar was added to show time progressing dynamically. c. Swirling gas (plasma). An animated swirl (bottom left) was added, matched to the color of the plasma in the visualization, to clarify which data was being displayed. d. Magnetic field. To introduce a new element–the magnetic field, shown in blue–we added a new swirl icon of that color.
Fig 4.
a. Time shown: 12 hours. A view of a smaller portion of the sun, with reduced scales in both space and time. To show the passage of time in hours, an animated clock icon was added. b. Spatial scale: Australia, lacking clear 3D context. A first attempt to communicate the spatial scale used a picture of Australia as a foreground element overlaid on the image. But several respondents during the pilot phase found this label confusing. To which part of the 3D scene was it to be compared? c. Redesigned spatial scale: Earth, aligned with a discrete 3D feature. The AVL team adapted our labels based on feedback. Here, a compact feature within the 3D scene, a magnetic loop, has a diameter comparable to that of the Earth. Juxtaposing them provides a depth cue for the scale element, and aims to improve the clarity and intelligibility of the visualization.
Fig 5.
a. Solar exterior: time and space scales. A view of the exterior of the sun, again showing Earth to scale and giving the audience a sense of the timescale. Time shown: 2 hours (top, left), and Earth to scale (bottom, right). b. Passage of time. The clock moves forward as the visualization progresses, continuing to represent the timescale.
Fig 6.
a. Sun, Earth. Simple text labels mark the location of the sun, and clarify that we are looking at Earth rather than another planet. b. Solar Plasma. In addition to the label text, a visual effect highlights the solar plasma as the narrator mentions it. c. Time shown: 2 hours. As before, a moving clock marks the passage of time.
Fig 7.
Image posted on social media accounts for respondent recruitment.
Table 1.
Assessments of video by audiences.
Table 2.
Immersive viewing experience self-assessment.
Table 3.
Audience assessment of scientific realism of video.