What’s Next.!?... The Art of Cinematic Endings in Data Video

After analysing 111 film endings and 105 data video endings, we identified four common styles using the framework of punctuation marks. We next consulted expert interviews to derive 20 guidelines for creating cinematic endings in data videos. To demonstrate the application of our cinematic guidelines, the three authors of this work (a film scriptwriter, a data visualization designer, and a cinematic designer) have created four data videos. The data videos are about the recent COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrate how each of the four can be visualized with different cinematic ending styles. For example, based on the ellipsis ending style and corresponding guidelines G4.1, G4.2, and G4.4, we have designed a visualization of a running time clock and fading images of the elderly, symbolizing and emphasizing the great sense of urgency to improve the vaccination rate.

“The camera zoom, the changing dates, the changing colour of the photographs and the music all work together to express this idea, which  exemplifies the integration of visual and audio language to express content ... and for me personally, that is my definition of cinematic." — quote from leading expert on cinematics after viewing the artworks.