Editor’s Note: Neil Halloran has created a moving tribute to the fallen of World War II, which can be fully experienced at the website Fallen.io, which launches on Memorial Day. He has graciously allowed The Daily Beast to use the video on our site.
One way to remember war, and dignify the men and women who have made sacrifices, is to tell individual war stories—from leaders, soldiers, and civilians. Personal stories are not only important, they’re necessary for forming an understanding of conflict, bravery, and loss. But war is also very much about numbers, especially when a war is as unimaginably large as World War II.
In this project, I wanted to tell the story of the numbers behind war, but with passion and cinematic drama. It’s a data-driven documentary that tallies up the tens of millions of people whose lives were cut short by World War II, and then sizes up the totals to other wars in history, including recent conflicts.
Crafted in close collaboration with a musical composer, the emotional journey provides high-level surveys of the the tragedy before thrusting down to imagery of events that took place on the ground. In order to closely choreograph the animation with the statistics, the film was created almost entirely with custom software. The result is a unique experience that paints a new and unexpected picture of war and peace.
Click here to view the video at Fallen.io
