Master instructor Ted Boardman (at front of the room) leads a typical forensics class at VPTC.

When developing the animation, Harovas sought to add dynamic elements to the scene, one of which was an explosion. Rather than rely on stock footage from an off-the-shelf CD library, the Mastering Maya co-author used Maya’s Fluids for a 2D blast whose simulation, he says, is especially effective when correctly placed in the shot.

Adds Astrachan: “We stepped on the footage quite a bit in the beginning section so it seemed like a gritty heads up display that the medics would be wearing, and we used after effects with several different layers of static and some text animation sequences.”

A cylinder with text on it was placed around the camera, whose physical rotation was recorded and kept 100% in sync when action slowed down or sped up. In effect, the creation of a heading tape would enable soldiers (as is the case with helicopter pilots) to know which direction they were facing on a real battlefield.

“We also used a couple of layers of Maya’s deformers to give the impression that there were newspapers blowing around the street -- one of the things we always want to put in to help liven up the environment but usually don’t have the time,” Harovas reports.

XVIVO LLC partners Michael Astrachan (left) and Perry Harovas handle the visualization of complex medical information for blue chip clients such as Merck, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Alcon Surgical.

Importance of Standards
Leaders in the field are working hard to raise the bar on a commitment to excellence. Wright’s pet project is to ensure that forensic animation meets both legal and scientific standards in the eyes of judges who determine whether the material presented in each case is fair and accurate. “If and when it is admitted,” he explains, “an animation carries different evidentiary weight than witness testimony, physical or hard evidence, or an expert’s opinion.”

His larger point is that forensic animation professionals need to be proactive to insure their work meets the highest possible standards. For example, FBI bullet analysis has proven to be of questionable forensic value when a metallurgist testifies that two bullets are “analytically indistinguishable.”

According to the FBI’s own estimate, comparative analysis of bullet lead evidence has played a role in at least 2,500 cases and 500 trials during the past three decades. Wright says each of these cases must be reviewed and judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys must be notified not just for exoneration of the innocent but apprehension of the guilty.

At the end of the day, standards help animators make sound judgments in difficult situations. “One of the dilemmas of the adversarial legal system is overt and subtle pressure to put spin on an animation to favor one side,” he explains. “Counter balancing spin is opposing counsel’s right and obligation to examine and question all aspects of the creation of the animation.”

Bruce Shutan, a Los Angeles-based freelance writer, has written for several entertainment publications and Websites, including Daily Variety, Weekly Variety, emmy, the 55th Annual Emmy Awards program, Below the Line News, Film Score Monthly, DRUM! and OnlineRock.com. Shutan also specializes in writing for the human resources and employee benefits trade press.