Who this is for: Motion producers writing precise creative and educational briefs.
What to prepare
- Timestamped values with explicit missing markers
- Known reasons for missing observations
- Time-axis spacing and any approved estimate policy
Copyable creative brief
An authored planning example. Replace illustrative details with your approved product facts and assets.
Create a 30-second line-chart explanation from OBSERVATIONS. Establish the time axis, UNIT and DATA_STATUS. Plot only supplied observed values at their actual time positions. Where MISSING_INTERVALS occur, stop the observed line and leave the interval unconnected. Do not substitute zero, carry the previous value forward or draw a smooth bridge unless a separately supplied estimation method and values are explicitly approved. Reveal observed segments in chronological order. At the first gap, pause the reveal and show GAP_NOTE in a protected label region. Keep the empty interval visibly separate from recorded zero values. Resume with the next observed point or segment without moving a tracking marker through invented observations. Finish on the complete timeline with dates, units, gap explanation and source visible. If approved estimates are included, use a distinct labeled treatment and preserve the distinction from observations. Keep time spacing honest when adapting the layout. Flag ambiguous missing-value codes for clarification rather than choosing a convenient plotting behavior.
Make it your own
- OBSERVATIONS
- Supply timestamps, values and explicit missing markers.
- MISSING_INTERVALS
- List expected observations that were not supplied.
- GAP_NOTE
- Use the known reason, or state that no observation was supplied.
- ESTIMATE_POLICY
- State none, or provide separately approved estimates and method.
- UNIT
- Supply the measurement unit and preserve it on the fixed value axis.
- DATA_STATUS
- Identify the real source and scope, or explicitly label the series as illustrative data.
Fill the five-day study
Use fictional values Monday 8, Tuesday 10, Wednesday missing, Thursday missing and Friday 9. Draw Monday–Tuesday as one observed segment and Friday as a separate point. Label the middle interval “No observations supplied,” without inventing a reason for the absence.
Adapt the gap emphasis
If the gap is central to the lesson, a lightly marked interval can help, provided it does not resemble a range band. For many gaps, simplify the rest of the chart and offer a complete still reference. Keep the actual dates rather than compressing missing periods out of the timeline.
Correct false continuity
If the reveal cursor glides from Tuesday to Friday along an implied line, remove that travel and introduce Friday separately. If missing values plot at zero, correct the input interpretation. If a source later supplies estimates, label the new treatment and rerun the chart explanation rather than silently filling the blank.
Review checklist
- Missing intervals remain unconnected.
- Recorded zero and missing values look different.
- No moving marker implies unsupplied observations.
- The final time axis preserves the gap's duration.