Video Forensics: Standard Operating Procedures

There is a set of procedures all forensic experts follow in order to show that their investigation and forensic work is acceptable in the scientific community. Without these standard operating procedures, our courts and legal systems will get bogged down by bogus forensic experts who provide bogus information in litigation.

Following the practices and procedures of forensic investigation as accepted in the scientific community requires the forensic examiner to be trained on many levels of forensic investigation. For example, software programs that aid in the forensic examination are complicated. Training programs both written and on video help forensic examiners learn how to use and apply these software tools when conducting forensic examinations.

In the following article, I will describe the processes I often use as an audio video forensic expert as well as the tools that aid in my investigations. I wrote this article about digital and analogue video clarification to help the lay person better understand the audio/video forensic examination and investigation process.

Many video recordings are submitted to me for forensics examination. More often than not, the quality of these recordings is below optimal. Operator error or inferior equipment often contributes to poor quality video.

Essentially, video clarification is the process used to address these less-than-ideal video conditionsto produce a sharpened, enhanced video product.

Our Mac and PC based forensic video processes allow us to break a video down into its original components and enhance picture quality and sound.

The components are adjusted and then realigned, resulting in a clearer, crisper image. Once the video has been loaded into our computer, we can then adjust gamma color tints and intensity, ratio of black to white to grey tones, chroma, and other video attributes, plus sound-quality attributes.

Note that no video clarification steps used by a video forensic expert will cause damage to the original recordings. Maintaining the integrity of an original videotape is, of course, of paramount importance.

I want to stress the importance of using original video recordings in all litigation because originals have the better quality than copies and because originals that have an established chain of custody are mandatory for court use instead of copies. Although the copy is showing the same image, the information contained on the video recording will never be as valuable as the original. Original videos outside the court room are referred to as "Full Quality Files".

If you have any questions about original video vs copies in a court proceeding, call us for a pro bono phone conversation. If you believe that your audio or video evidence is not authentic, then you should consider contacting a forensic expert who can help guide you in obtaining an original copy of the evidence that is being used in your court proceeding. Ask the forensic expert for a copy of their curriculum vita so you can see their experience and even contact some of their references.

In all instanceslitigation and other publishing usesworking with the original recording always produces superior results. The master recording has integrity in litigation and is much higher quality than a copy. If a video clarification process is necessary, mine is second to none.

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