Forensic Animation: The Courtroom’s Latest Tool

by Howard Shemer

Educating jurors can be a difficult task for an attorney. By using animation, you can show your point of view and leave a visual impression in the minds of the group of people who decide the fate of your clients. As the old adage goes: a picture is worth a thousand words.

Forensic animation is the use of computer animation to re-create crime scenes or traffic accidents, and even to show judges and juries how specific medical procedures and events occurred.

Forensic animation recently got a boost with the tragic accident involving Princess Diana. CNN had a re-creation of the accident on the air rather quickly and attempted to show what network "experts" thought had occurred. Granted, this was a simplistic demonstration as to how the accident transpired, and the quality of the animation was far from impressive, but all those who saw this had a picture in their minds as to what this network wanted us to see and believe.

Now let’s take it a step further, bring in an engineer and ask: "If the car was doing this speed, and hit a pole in this spot, what would happen to the vehicle?" Working with the right animator and the right software, the scene can be re-created with the true physics of force, surface texture and speed applied to get an even better picture of the scenario. With some effort, a crude animation can be improved and backed up by the laws of physics.

In a recent case, someone filed suit against an architect for an improper design of a bridge. An animator took the blueprints, created a wire-frame drawing and constructed the bridge with the computer. Then, with the help of an engineer, he found that the bridge was designed properly. In fact, there had been an accident involving a vehicle colliding with a support column, which was not reported to the authorities until after the suit began. The animator then re-created the truck accident to show the damage to the bridge and its residual effects.

The medical malpractice suit is one that all doctors fear. Patients sign releases acknowledging what might go wrong, yet there are still people out there who sue, and sometimes win their cases. If you could show a judge or jury why there are stated risks and, through the use of animation, show how and why the patient’s particular situation occurred, you can save all parties involved both time and money.

Forensic animation is growing in popularity due to its cost effectiveness. The price of creating animations more affordable than ever because of the advancement of technology and the increased number of qualified animators.

Howard Shemer is the director of Business Development for Pixel Workshop, an animation, video and multimedia production facility in Columbia. He can be reached at 410-715-9050.