While the general recommendation is to get training and to turn off the camera if you are collecting testimony solely as part of human rights investigations, the reality is that frontline documenters don’t always have access to training and are often on the ground collecting testimony during or immediately after human rights violations, when it’s difficult to pull out a pen and paper. In light of this reality, this section provides guidance on filming testimony to support legal accountability efforts, should you decide to film testimonies during a human rights situation without much time to thoughtfully plan out an interview. The specific goals for this section are as follows: • to provide guidance on whether to record testimony on camera or write it down; and • to provide guidance, should you decide to press record, on how to film a preliminary field interview that will help professional investigators and lawyers secure accountability for human rights violations. This section is broken down into the following parts that can be read separately or together: PART I Preliminary Field Interviews v. Comprehensive Interviews PART II Choose Your Recording Method PART III Principles and Practical Tips for Filming Preliminary Field Interviews PART IV Conducting Preliminary Interviews: Before, During, and After PART V More About Informed Consent This part defines the types of interviews that are typically conducted with witnesses and defines the different categories of witnesses. Here we explore the reasons for capturing an interview on camera or not. This part summarizes the key principles to abide by to ensure you are capturing testimony in a safe, ethical, and effective manner. This part provides practical step-by-step guidance on how to film the interview, including what to do before, during, and after the on-camera testimony is provided. Here we define “informed consent” and explore the challenging questions around how to obtain it and what to do when you can’t. ADVOCACY EVIDENCE 138 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: FILMING PRELIMINARY INTERVIEWS V 1.0 FILMING GOAL