Jihee Kim (Section D)– LookingOutwards-07

The Shadow Peace is a short film that presents the effects of nuclear war. Neil Halloran, one of the most brilliant data visualizers in the world created this video using custom software to quantify the consequences of nuclear war, as the possibility of it happening has been constantly increasing especially with tension building up between the US and North Korea. He compares trends like casualties in wars and bombing in the past with his software and depict them through visual elements.

It is fascinating how Halloran communicates data through his short films so effectively. A lot of it has to do with the visually enticing elements of the video that are made possible by simple geometries that represent data, comparison (in this case Hiroshima bomb attack, etc.) and narration. More specifically, elements such as bar charts are thoughtfully used and placed (on timelines, globes, etc.) so that the viewers could put information and data into context. His approaches to data visualization show his focus on bestowing relevance to data sets that could have no meaning to some people.

Halloran certainly touches people’s senses through his data visualization so that global matters/issues like war do not feel so distant and irrelevant to people. He allows us to hear and see data -data that connects the people to the world through visualization.

For more information on The Shadow Peace, visit:
The Shadow Peace
An interview with the creator on the project can be found here:
The Shadow Peace Interview