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The increased use of video animations in litigation and the proliferation of companies offering them has led to concerns about animation quality. This paper discusses the types of technical mistakes that may be present in a computer-generated animation and how to identify them. Guidelines for creating accurate animations are given. A functional classification of litigation support animations is suggested as an aid to understanding their use in the courtroom.

A new low light video recording system is described which can be used to document visibility conditions at nighttime accident scenes. The system includes a means for calibrating the recording and playback equipment for the prevailing illumination conditions while on location at an accident scene. Use of a hand-held grey scale chart facilitates calibration of the equipment and provides a visual check during playback. The characteristics, use and adaptability cf the system for a variety of accident reconstruction activities is described.

Energy equivalence calculations from damage deformation have evolved through the years as a principal analysis technique for the accident reconstructionist. The foundation for this analytical technique is the crash test data that has accumulated over the last few decades for specific vehicles crashed into or by barriers. During a reconstruction, the problem that often arises is that crash test data is not available for one of the vehicles involved in the collision. In such a situation, it is customary to use crush stiffness values from vehicles of similar wheel base and weight or abandon the crush energy approach altogether. Alternate approaches to calculating vehicle speeds prior to impact, however, often require the use of other undesirable uncertainties.

The mathematically precise and visually friendly three-dimensional world of the animation computer can provide the reconstructionist with a means of understanding and correlating vehicle component damage and vehicle interaction dynamics. It can also help to resolve geometric driver and witness perception issues. In doing so, it acts as both tool and task master in terms of the required three-dimensional accounting of the laws of physics, engineering analysis, and the physical evidence that goes beyond that commonly demanded of the reconstructionist. The medium, however, builds on the inherent synergism between physical evidence and the correct reconstruction theory.