Gemini^2: Generating Keyframe-Oriented Animated Transitions Between Statistical Graphics

Complex animated transitions may be easier to understand when divided into separate, consecutive stages. However, effective staging requires careful attention to both animation semantics and timing parameters. We present Gemini^2, a system for creating staged animations from a sequence of chart keyframes. Given only a start state and an end state, Gemini^2 can automatically recommend intermediate keyframes for designers to consider. The Gemini^2 recommendation engine leverages Gemini, our prior work, and GraphScape to itemize the given complex change into semantic edit operations and to recombine operations into stages with a guided order for clearly conveying the semantics. To evaluate Gemini^2's recommendations, we conducted a human-subject study in which participants ranked recommended animations from both Gemini^2 and Gemini. We find that Gemini^2's animation recommendation ranking is well aligned with subjects' preferences, and Gemini^2 can recommend favorable animations that Gemini cannot support.