BASIC PRACTICES PART THREE: SAFEGUARD YOUR FOOTAGE The steps below are for eyewitnesses and human rights activists that have small amounts of footage that need to be protected for a short period of time, until the videos can be handed over to an appropriate person or organization for longer-term safekeeping or until an investigation is launched. If you or your organization has a larger body of footage that you need to organize, manage or safeguard for the foreseeable future, see WITNESS’ Activists’ Guide to Archiving Video. WHY? Protecting your video is essential if you want it to be used as a part of the judicial process. It’s essential because to use a video in court, an attorney must always prove that the video file was not edited or manipulated. In some cases, the attorney will also need to show how the video got from the videographer to an investigator, then to a lawyer, then to a court. In legal terms this is called the “Chain-of-Custody”. If your video is not properly protected, the trustworthiness of your footage can be called into question. The basic steps below will help you protect the integrity of your original file by preventing it from being edited or digitally manipulated, getting lost due to equipment failure or being taken into the hands of someone who could destroy or misuse it. FROM CAMERA TO NGO IN LEGAL TERMS, DOCUMENTING THE TRANSFER OF FOOTAGE FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL TO ANOTHER IS CALLED THE “CHAIN-OF-CUSTODY.” TO LAWYERS/INVESTIGATORS TO THE COURTS 66 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: BASIC PRACTICES V 1.0