Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas
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0:07 - 0:09Do you ever struggle to find the perfect description
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0:09 - 0:11when trying to convey an idea?
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0:11 - 0:12Like a foggy picture,
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0:12 - 0:14adjectives and modifiers fail to depict
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0:14 - 0:16what's in your mind.
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0:16 - 0:19Illustrators often face a similar challenge,
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0:19 - 0:20especially when attempting to explain
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0:20 - 0:23complex and difficult concepts.
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0:23 - 0:25Sometimes the imagery is intangible
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0:25 - 0:28or way too complicated to explain with a picture.
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0:28 - 0:31Although complex information could be relayed
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0:31 - 0:33using charts and stats,
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0:33 - 0:35this could get pretty boring.
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0:35 - 0:37Instead, just like when writing an essay
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0:37 - 0:39to describe, for example, emotions,
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0:39 - 0:42illustrators can use visual metaphors
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0:42 - 0:44to bring to life difficult concepts.
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0:44 - 0:46Just as a written metaphor is a description
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0:46 - 0:48that relates one object to another,
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0:48 - 0:51a visual metaphor uses imagery to suggest
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0:51 - 0:55a particular association or point of similarity.
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0:59 - 1:01Our lesson "Big Data" is a great example
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1:01 - 1:03of a situation where visual metaphors
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1:03 - 1:06played a huge role in explaining the concept.
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1:06 - 1:09What is Big Data in the first place?
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1:09 - 1:11Good question!
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1:11 - 1:13Big Data is a huge amount of digital information
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1:13 - 1:16produced worldwide on a daily basis,
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1:16 - 1:18challenging us to find solutions
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1:18 - 1:19for storing,
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1:19 - 1:19analyzing,
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1:19 - 1:22and also imagining it visually.
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1:22 - 1:24Quite an elusive concept!
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1:24 - 1:26How should we depict this?
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1:30 - 1:32Let's take a look at our "Big Data" script.
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1:32 - 1:35We start with smaller computer servers
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1:35 - 1:36that branch out into bigger networks
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1:36 - 1:37to produce data,
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1:37 - 1:39then even bigger networks
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1:39 - 1:41and production of even more data.
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1:41 - 1:43You see where we're going with this --
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1:43 - 1:46an object growing and branching out in many directions
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1:46 - 1:48and producing something as a result?
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1:48 - 1:50Does that remind you of something?
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1:50 - 1:52Just like those computer networks,
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1:52 - 1:54a tree grows and branches out
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1:54 - 1:57to produce more leaves each year.
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1:57 - 1:59And every year, just as the data accumulates
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1:59 - 2:00and faces us with a challenge
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2:00 - 2:02to find storage solutions,
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2:02 - 2:04it gets harder to collect those piles of leaves
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2:04 - 2:06when they fall off the tree.
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2:06 - 2:09Aha! There's our visual metaphor!
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2:12 - 2:14Okay, so we have the script,
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2:14 - 2:14audio,
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2:14 - 2:16and a visual metaphor.
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2:16 - 2:18The next step in visual development
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2:18 - 2:19is to design the characters
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2:19 - 2:21and environments of the animation.
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2:21 - 2:22To do so, we think
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2:22 - 2:24of an appropriate and appealing style
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2:24 - 2:26to illustrate the ideas
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2:26 - 2:27and help the viewer better understand
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2:27 - 2:28what they're hearing.
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2:28 - 2:30Let's go back to the script
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2:30 - 2:32and see if we can find any clues there.
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2:32 - 2:35Our story starts in the 1960s
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2:35 - 2:37when the first computer networks were built.
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2:37 - 2:39This decade will serve as a good point
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2:39 - 2:41to make the stylistic choice for our animation
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2:41 - 2:43as it will allow us to refer to artwork
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2:43 - 2:45from that era.
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2:45 - 2:45You may want to start
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2:45 - 2:47by looking at some art books
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2:47 - 2:50(design, illustrations, cartoons, etc.)
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2:50 - 2:51from that era
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2:51 - 2:53and find a style that may our own purpose.
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2:53 - 2:54Look closely,
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2:54 - 2:55study the material,
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2:55 - 2:57and try to understand the choices
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2:57 - 3:00artists of that time made and why.
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3:00 - 3:03For example, the 1960s minimalist animation style
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3:03 - 3:05was a significant departure
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3:05 - 3:06from the cinematic realism
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3:06 - 3:09that was popular in animated films at the time.
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3:09 - 3:11The choice to use limited animation techniques
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3:11 - 3:14was originally made for budgetary reasons,
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3:14 - 3:15but it became a signature style
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3:15 - 3:19that influenced many future generations of animators.
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3:19 - 3:20In this stylistic approach,
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3:20 - 3:22the simplified characters,
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3:22 - 3:23flat backgrounds,
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3:23 - 3:25and angular shapes come together
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3:25 - 3:28to create new interpretations of reality,
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3:28 - 3:30which also sounds like a good place
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3:30 - 3:33to begin visualizing our own Big Data.
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3:38 - 3:40Well, let's try an experiment.
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3:41 - 3:43"In the 1980s islands of similar networks
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3:43 - 3:45speaking different dialects
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3:45 - 3:47sprung up all over Europe and the States,
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3:47 - 3:51making remote access possible but tortuous."
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3:51 - 3:52Is this better?
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3:52 - 3:54"In the 1980s islands of similar networks
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3:54 - 3:55speaking different dialects
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3:55 - 3:58sprung up all over Europe and the States,
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3:58 - 4:01making remote access possible but tortuous.
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4:01 - 4:03To make it easy for our physicists across the world
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4:03 - 4:06to access the ever-expanding Big Data
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4:06 - 4:07stored at CERN without traveling,
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4:07 - 4:09the networks needed to be talking
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4:09 - 4:10with the same language."
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4:10 - 4:12As you probably observed,
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4:12 - 4:14graphic representations are a great way
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4:14 - 4:16to capture the interest of your audience.
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4:16 - 4:18By depicting what you want to present and explain
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4:18 - 4:20with strong, memorable visuals,
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4:20 - 4:23you can communicate your idea more effectively.
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4:23 - 4:24So, now, challenge yourself.
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4:24 - 4:26Think of an abstract concept
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4:26 - 4:28that cannot be explained with simple words.
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4:28 - 4:30Go ahead and try your hand
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4:30 - 4:32at visually developing that idea.
- Title:
- Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/making-a-ted-ed-lesson-visualizing-big-ideas
View original lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/exploration-on-the-big-data-frontier-tim-smithHow can animation convey complex, intangible concepts? A visual metaphor, or an idea represented through imagery, can take an idea as massive as Big Data and tie it to the familiar depiction of a growing tree. TED-Ed animators explain how to make an abstract idea come alive visually.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:04
TED edited English subtitles for Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas | ||
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Visualizing big ideas |