R Animations: Building GIFs and Videos
Method 1: Animated GIFs
This method involves creating multiple PNG images and combining them into an animated GIF. Here's the workflow:
- Create a data frame with your data.
- Generate a plot for each row in the data frame.
- Save each plot as a PNG image.
- Use an external tool to combine the PNG images into an animated GIF.
Pros:
- Easy to use and widely supported.
- Produces high-quality animations.
Cons:
- Can be computationally expensive for large datasets.
- Not as interactive as videos.
Method 2: HTML5 Videos
This method involves using the RStudio package `htmlwidgets` to create interactive HTML5 videos. The workflow is:
- Create a data frame with your data.
- Use the `ggplotly()` function to convert the data frame into an interactive plot.
- Export the plot to an HTML5 video using the `htmlwidgets::save_widget()` function.
Pros:
- Interactive and customizable.
- Easy to share and embed.
Cons:
- Not as widely supported as GIFs.
- Can be less performant than GIFs for large datasets.
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