PURPOSES OF EVIDENCE Just as video can come from a number of sources, it can also serve a number of purposes in your pursuit of the full and honest story. Additionally, keep in mind that the same video can serve several different purposes. Here is a short list of the different ways video can support your work to secure accountability, followed by a Field Note that illustrates this. For a frontline documenter, what’s most important is to understand the principle that video serves different purposes — this will help you know where to point your camera to capture more useful images. Don’t worry about knowing each purpose in detail. LEAD EVIDENCE Initial information that points to a crime and allows us to make an educated guess about what may have happened. The information alone, however, is not sufficient to determine whether a crime actually happened. It must be further researched to determine whether an investigation should be launched. Examples: Footage depicting the destruction of civilian schools, injuries and casualties from causes we do not see in the video, tanks driving down a street and firing in what is believed to be residential areas, air strikes, etc. PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE Information that allows a key fact to be established or presumed true unless it is disproved. Examples: Footage of torture being administered, video of a military commander bragging that he has effective command over his troops; an image of a child soldier who cannot possibly be older than 15. 46 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: ALL ABOUT EVIDENCE V 1.0 LAW PART II