Geovisualizing Trail Race Maps

The way to analyze the path and direction is to create a flyby by path (flyover) in ArcGlobe 10.3. The GPS data points are converted into a polyline. A polyline is required so that the animation will have a path to follow, in the case of our project, the polyline becomes the trail route that runners will reference to. Utilizing the function “Create a flyby by path”, an animation of following the polyline is achieved and exported to become a video file.

The settings involved in creating a flyover are azimuth, inclination, vertical offset, and path destination. Azimuth refers to the angular distance between the direction of a fixed point and the direction of the object. Inclination is the angle made by the horizontal and vertical plane to allow the camera to face upward or downward onto the trail. The vertical offset sets the camera’s elevation in accordance to the trail’s elevation. And the path destination in this case, for all the trail races were set to move both observer and target along pre-determined path.

At this stage, the video file can be uploaded and distributed accordingly. The exporting of the animation for the trail race route required more attention to the frame rate and keyframe selection in order to produce a smoother and better quality video. Selecting two keyframes per clip allowed for easier transition between frames and to avoid frame repetition. Before exporting, the flyover recording in either ArcGlobe or ArcScene needed to be filmed four times slower so that, when the video is edited in Wondershare Filmora, a video editing software, it is sped up to produce a smoother video. Post-editing of the flyover video in a video editing software will enhance the video output for uploading onto a web service.