Process

Overhead was born from my interest in a single dataset. Originally, I was searching for supplemental data, recording organisms that migrate across Manhattan, in order to examine the relationship between the city’s infrastructure and ecology. As I explored sources and analyzed them in GIS, I came upon an overwhelming data set from Movebank, a repository that partners with the Audubon Society to archive animal tracking data. The data consisted of thousands of dispersed points tracking the migration patterns of five species of birds.Visualizing this information over the Northeastern United States, where I’ve lived 
my entire life, made me stop and wonder how I could have missed these patterns that spread like roads across every corner of the map. By filtering the data in GIS and performing drawing operations guided by the time stamps embedded in the data points, I was able to narrow down years of data into a few paths of continuous movement.

(1) Movebank dataset focused Peregrine Falcone migration in North America
My first step exploring this dataset was to construct the line plot depicted above by translating decades of sensor information into chronological flight paths. I seperated the data into the five seperate sensors used to record GPS information and then used GIS tools to trace along these points alongside the timecodes in the spreadsheet. The result was the incredibly chaotic plot above.

(2) Four final flight paths, visualized using the “Time-slider” in ArcGIS Pro
By using the data over time features in ArcGIS I was able to focus in on specific time frames in the recording’s history. After considering a variety of geographic sites I decided to zoom in on these four flight paths from 2010 clustered around upstate New York and Lake Ontario. Working with this immense dataset impressed upon me the sheer amount of movement happening in and around urban spaces and this process led me to three research questions: How does human migration and bird migration overlap and what happens when paths coincide? How can I represent these momentary overlaps between the travel of humans and birds? And finally, what is the potential for this migration to change in the future?
Outcome

Originally I sought to use a combination of photoshop and AI generated images to imagine the changing habitats encountered by my migrating birds; today and in the future. However, in contrast to the simple wonder of unravling the data in GIS the renderings I produced felt static and detached. I decided that showcasing the data was the best way to demonstrate the passion I felt about the flight paths and endeavored to use stop motion and 3D animation to imagine an interaction between migrating falcons 
and a commuter on the neighboring Amtrak train line.

(3) Design for a console flight system based on the control system of a Cessna 402C
The result of this experiment was Overhead, a short film that explores the stories of the birds of the dataset in parrallel to an Amtrak commuter. I wanted to bring the viewer into my process of experimenting with the migration dataset. Through this mutual exploration, I wanted the viewer to reconsider moments when they might have unconsciously crossed the paths of migrating birds and maybe even extend this question to other species.
OverheadShort Film Data Mapping 3D Animation