News uses 3D elements for impact and hype purposes
It is no surprise that the social media and various visual media, apart from the standard news, has been used as a conduit for political positions and news delivery. And as one thing plays upon another, the news media has used some of the tactics of social media when presenting their coverage of political news. Primarily, the engrafting of 3D Elements into leading stories has become a dominant trait. Here are a few ways in which 3D has come to the forefront of Political News.
Diagram and Projections
When discussing hypothetical situations, diagrams and projection animations have been used by various news stations. On August 28th, 2017, Fox news used 3D mapping to show that North Korea fired a missile over Japan. In the map, North Korea was extruded from the world I white as well as Japan. But this is not the only network to use 3D mapping and projections. During the election, every major political news coverage consisted of a 3D map of the United States and interactive elements for the democrat and republican parties. Another example would be the CNN coverage of Osama bin Laden’s death. The network used 3D elements and animation to show the timeline and the various places within the operation to explain to viewers the operation.
Transitions
Even the non-critical elements of news stories are seeing a dominance of 3D features. Scrolling marquies, transitions between stories, logos, and updates tend to have 3D elements. Think about the breaking news transition, or the scrolling news stories on some news networks. From the transitions on news stories to introductions to Presidential Speeches, 3D elements are a major part of political news.
Online Political News
Where one tends to find more of the 3D elements in political news is in online forums and podcasts. For the most part, the media elements are in the form of intro and exit sections. Using 3D purchased items from CGTrader for the purposes of the intro or the outro is perfectly understandable and encouraged (as you want to have something to gain the attention of the viewer). Furthermore, using 3D elements to explain a situation or to tone down the gravity of a situation (for example using silhouetted figures to show a homicide or murder rather than bloody raw footage or such which could be traumatic) is used and beneficial for political news online.
Are 3D elements beneficial or misleading?
The use of 3D Models in the news can be a double edged sword. On the one hand, the use of models gives the news an aesthetic which is modern and therefore helps to drive viewers’ attention to the story. When used appropriately, the 3D models work as a tool to expound upon factual and verifiable data. The issue which arises with the use of 3D elements in the news is when hypothetical situations are given the status of concerted data based upon fictitious renders. Think back to Y2k and the paranoia which ensued after the news media bombarded the screen with visuals of a global blackout.
While a great deal of the elements used in Political news are beneficial to the expounding and the enhancement of the program and for the viewer, the misuse of the elements is a cause for concern. Like any tool, when used inappropriately there can be some major negative effects. The issue with 3D elements is when online and television political news uses the elements to build there story rather than to enhance the story. If the facts are not there, news reporters should gain the facts and then present the story, not use animations and “what ifs”.
The future of 3D in the News
As Social Media and trends in visual presentation goes more and more to the 3D elements, it is more apt that the news will follow suit. Look for an increase in the transitions, as well as photorealism rendering to begin to be more dominant. Due to the country’s dependence upon social media and due to the type of graphics and animations which are used on such social platforms, it can be expected that major political news channels will start to become more like the major social networks than of the “traditional” type of news reporting that we are accustom to. While the human factor will remain as the corner stone of political news reporting, 3D reporting through animations, tables, 3D models, and renders, may come in a close second in the near future.