#Legal guidelines
17 messages in this thread
I am interested in any publications, or files that outline the specific issues
and guidelines for the use of animation in the court room, thank you
GBH
You might want to contact someone at FTI (Forensic Technologies) they do a lot
of computer simulations for legal cases.(415)398 1995
You can ask them what publications they refer to.
I'm not involved in this end of the industry as there are several specialists
doing this locally. One article I read last winter in the local paper
concerning the use of animation might interest you. The newspaper,
Jacksonville Times Union, Jacksonville, FL ran a press release on a new
business here in town where the owners were "bragging" about doing animation
for the courtroom stating that this is the latest and greatest thing to hit the
legal beagles since Perry Mason etc.etc. They also bragged about some recent
court cases that they were doing animation for. A week later a News story
surfaced that a local judge ruled "no animation simulations would be allowed in
his court" The reason was that he didn't care for all the hype this company
got in the press. The judge stated that while work of this type is a great way
to show what possibilities are the creation of these animations by paralegal
amateurs is a waste of the court's time. I got the impression that this
specialty of animation is a real tough market. 1. You have to do business with
lawyers, 2. The work has to be scientifically accurate to the nth degree. 3.
Final word on it rests with a judge and is based on the skills of defense and
prosecution attorneys. Unless one is an expert in legal matters it is a
specialty best left to specialists. I don't have the articles anymore but it
could be researched if necessary. I know one specialist here who probably
saved the article as they were his competitors for a short while.
Don,
What in the heck are you doing up at 4:15 a.m.
I'm already keeping a watch on this coast, you can go to sleep. 🙂
Paul
I'm a cyborg! Don't require sleep!
Now here's something I can totally agree with you on. 🙂 Legal work is tough
and requires really specialized knowledge. I have a consulting association with
an "expert witness" and one of his areas of expertise is to find flaws in
animations that haven't been created correctly. He has a full animation suite
and they spend a lot of time pushing the boundaries and finding the flaws and
limitations for animation simulation. He's sharp as a tac. I would hate to see
him in court on the opposing side. His attention to detail is extrodinary. As a
result a lot of otherwise high profile animations never make it to court.
BTW Insiders are dumping SGI stock. Is this a portent of things to come? <g>
(This doesn't have anything to do with anything, but I just heard it and
thought I'd pass it along.)
-JE
Don,
You've made some excellent points about the forensic animation business.
Animation is difficult enough and when mixed with lawyers, judges and juries,
it gets _really_ difficult.
I think I may save your message to send to all the people who contact me
wanting me to help them get into the forensic animation business. Those who
don't know about it seem to think its easy.
Alec Jason
Alec: Those that don't know about many things think many things are easy.
Ignorance is bliss. I just got off the phone with a self proclaimed
expert/experienced video producer that is frustrated with the cooperation he
gets with editors and engineers. He wants to get into it because he says there
is nothing to editing. Asked me to guide him in a decision on which PC to buy
so he can do some new "computerized editing" It was all I could do just to
keep my composure. His biggest concern was whether to get a machine with 2 or
4 megs as he put it. He wanted my suggestion on which video board does
everything. My next series of questions had to do with video editing and I
asked him whether he will need to do just off line. He said he will do
everything on line right from the start. I said, yea right! Next I asked him
if he needed to do simple ADO effects, paintbox, and chroma keying. He said he
would probably use paintbrush because the salesman at the computer store told
him Windows comes with it. All I can say, Alec, is the next few years are
going to be really interesting in the "computerized video world"
I think one bad aspect of computers is that people are under the impression
that the computer does it all and anybody that uses them are just drones. Most
of these nitwits can't even type a letter in notepad and now think they're a
computer wiz video editor and animator. I seriously hope they all go out and
buy the biggest systems. There will be a lot of cheap gear out there on the
used market in six months. <BG>
Don,
< His biggest concern was whether to get the machine with 2 or 4 megs >
Hey, maybe I've got too much RAM; all those simms might be slowing me down!
Most have been _some_ conversation!
When I was producing videos, I would contintually encounter people who were
incredulous that I had to hire a camera/audio/grip crew and pay 4 or 5 thousand
for on-line editing. They always thought that I just went out in the back yard
and had my wife hold the camcorder and made the video.
I still have to _always_ explain to attorneys and news media types that I don't
feed the autopsy reports, crime scene photos, physical evidence reports, etc
into the computer and then sit back and wait until the computer creates the
animation showing who shot whom.
BTW, while I've got you here: I have a nice little portable NTSC frame grabber
which inputs through the LPT (Computer Eyes). It works OK but I think I could
improve the quality of some of the images I'm grabbing if I used an "enhancer"
type box between the VCR and the grabber. I'd like to have one which would
allow me to remove all the color information when I'm only going to be
outputing the final image via laser printer. When I grab a color frame while
I'm in grayscale mode, some of the color seems to change to "noise". I'd also
like to be able to tweak some of the frames before I grab them.
I'm not looking for a professional, studio type box but something in the
consumer/prosumer arena. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Alec Jason
What you are looking for is a proc amp. These generally have 4 controls. Luma
level, setup or black level, Chroma, and hue. The other device you mentioned
is an enhancer which is like a treble tone control for video. This device
boosts the high frequencies in the video signal which will give you more detail
in the picture. It also will boost the noise in the picture so one has to use
this with proper balance using a good monitor. Over enhanced video will also
distort the horizontal sync so, again, one has to be very careful with this
device. HQ circuitry in VHS decks works on this same principle. At the very
bottom of the consumer scale is the Radio Shack boxes but I've found they add
much distortion for my taste. Going up the scale are some of the devices found
in a supply catalog from Markertek 800-522-2025. A good catalog for you to
have. Beyond that would be the TBC cards like the DPS- TBC IV. Do you have a
PAR? If so, I would get this TBC and it's remote control box which will give
you what you want minus the enhancer. If you can find one, a company, now out
of business, Vidicraft, made a very nice enhancer with noise reducers too. It
sold for about $400 in the late 80's.
Hope this helps.
Don
Thanks, Don.
The TBC would be nice to have but I don't have a PAR. I can't really use a PAR
because nearly everything I do is eight bit as I have to use AAP so heavily
with all my animations for titling, arrows, lines, boxes, and editing. I'm
waiting for the 24bit version of AAP.
Alec Jason
>> I'm waiting for the 24bit version of AAP.
Haven't we all? I'm good but I can't hold my breath much longer. <G>
Mind if I jump in, guys? Just a quick comment on digital video. It seems
we're about to experience the same growing pains we did with DTP. People have
a hard time understanding that having access to the tools does NOT make someone
a designer, or illustrator, or video editor, or animator …… If you thought
that 15 fonts in a document was fun, just wait!
Ken Burke
Designlab
>> It seems we're about to experience the same growing pains we did with DTP
We've been experienceing it since the invention of the camcorder, wedding
videography business and then the Toaster.
Don:
I agree that the field looks eiser before your get involved. As this is true of
all fields as this thread has covered a lot of those bases. The story you cited
about the Florida company sounds as if their PR department was ahead of their
ability to produce the "goods" so to speak in court.
My interest is in a project for an attorney friend, (not a condradiction in
terms!), which would integrate various media, animation being one component.
Also, the animation would agument video that exists along with new footage that
still can be obtained. The use of the animation can be thought of then as the
blueprint from which video would serve to demonstrate the particulars of this
case. As regards the acceptance in the court,
I have know doubt that judges can, and do determine the validity of these as
they see fit.
Regards
GBH
>> PR department was ahead of their ability to produce the "goods" so to speak
in court.
I doubt it because this was a one man shop. I don't really feel they
understood the business. Most forensic experts do not discuss their work much
less expose it in the press for some cheap publicity. In my line, industrial
machinery animation, most clients insist on non-disclosure. Flying logo work
is much less protected after initial publication.
Don:
If the guy was a one man band, than his right brain was not talking to his left
brain. Seriously though, I agree about non-disclosure and run across that issue
from time to time doing video projects for corporate clients.
Gilbert