The Difference Between a Courtroom Animation and Illustration

A civil trial involves two sides of one story. You represent the plaintiff who is seeking compensation from the defendant because of a negligent act that caused your client harm.

Although your client’s testimony is vital, it needs to be supported by evidence. This can be presented in the form of courtroom graphics that enhance your client’s version of the accident.

The artists and animators working at Advocacy Digital Media have been providing courtroom animations for attorneys all across the country. We have a genuine passion for telling stories and a deep sense of responsibility to provide our clients with the best supportive evidence.

If you want to enhance your next courtroom presentation, consider using animation or illustration.

What is the difference between courtroom animation and illustration? It comes down to their ability to depict motion and time. Consider the following:

What Are Courtroom Illustrations?

A courtroom illustration is a still image that visually depicts one or more aspects of your client’s testimony. They can be diagrams, charts, or maps that help explain complex concepts related to the case. That can include illustrations of a car crash impact, a surgical procedure, or a point of injury.

Courtroom illustrations can also provide a summary of your evidence and key points of your witness testimony. These can be in the form of “digestible” captions that the jury will be able to easily remember. In addition to providing a visual record of the accident, courtroom illustrations also help humanize the participants.

The limitation of illustrations is that they are static. They can’t show movement or progression of time. That might be important, especially in an accident case.

What Are Courtroom Animations?

A courtroom animation is a video recreation of an accident or event that plays out like a mini-movie clip. These animations are created using cutting-edge computer graphics techniques, not unlike those used for movies and television dramas. The goal of an animation is to provide a jury with the visual sequence of an event.

Not only can they show the details of an accident, but they can also convey the information in a manner that jurors will remember during deliberations. A courtroom animation can also be paused and replayed for effect.

Animations can be 2D or 3D, depending on the level of realism you need to achieve.

The animations can also be conveyed in a way that avoids being too graphic. After presenting all the forensic evidence through testimony, the animation can convey the event in a vivid way that supports the testimony. These animations also improve memory retention for the jury.

Choosing the Right Courtroom Graphic

Choosing between an animation and an illustration for your presentation depends largely on the specifics of the case. When you retain the services of Advocacy Digital Media, we will provide you with many examples of both options. You’ll be able to judge for yourself which is more impactful and which meets the needs of your client.

No matter which type of graphic evidence you choose, it is essential that you provide accurate information for its creation. That will include the following:

• Police crash report
• Medical records
• Video surveillance
• Dash camera footage
• Accident scene photos
• Witness testimony

Once you have accumulated all the relevant evidence, we will conduct a thorough review and combine it with our network of experts who have years of experience in accident reconstruction and medical procedures.

Keep in mind that you don’t need these types of graphics exclusively for the courtroom.

They can be used as part of your initial settlement negotiations. When the insurance company sees the power of these presentations, they might be more inclined to settle to avoid having a jury see the evidence.

When you’re ready to discuss the options for courtroom animations or illustrations, Advocacy Digital Media will be standing by to help. Call to schedule a consultation today.