5. GIS Animation

5.1. Introduction

This module describes how to create animations with time series data using the Temporal Controller. The result can be viewed in QGIS or used to create a video.

5.2. Prepare the Settings

1. Start a new project, and load a base layer from QuickMapServices - for example OSM Standard

2. Load the source data .../Data/Vector/AFRS_Attended_Incidents.gpkg - you will see that it shows incidents in January 2021 in a grid pattern - there are in some cases many incidents at a single point, as grid references have been truncated for anonymisation purposes

3. Configure the temporal settings for the data

   1. Go to the Properties > Temporal tab for the layer, and configure the dialogue as per the screenshot below
      

      

      You must have a field in the data which is of datatype date  - otherwise you won't be be able to use the Temporal Controller

5.3. Run the Animation

1. Click the Temporal Controller button in the Map Navigation Toolbar to open the Temporal Controller panel.

   

2. Click the Animated Temporal Navigation button to set up the navigation

3. Click the refresh button to set the range to the date range in the data, and set the Step to 1 day.

4. Click the play button to run the animation - you will see the incidents gradually appear on a day by day basis

5.4. Update the Styling

Because the points are generalised to avoid identification of the location of individual incidents, many will appear in the same location. To make the map more useful, we can apply point cluster styling.

1. Go to the Symbology settings for the layer

2. Set the styling type at the top of the dialogue to Point Cluster, and leave the defaults in place
   

   

3. Rerun the animation - you will see the cluster values update as the days pass
   

   

5.5. Add a date/time indicator

To add an indicator on screen of the current date/time status:

1. Open the Title Label Decoration dialog at View > Decorations > Title Label

2. Check Enable Title Label

3. Use the @map_start_time variable to display the current applicable time, and set the Font, Background and Placement settings
   

   

4. The date/time of the current map will appear on screen

5.6. Export for Video Production

If you want to create a standalone animation, use the Save button in the panel to export the individual frames to a folder. You can then use standard video production software to generate a video.