Which video redaction method is better? Bulk vs manual

Introduction:

CaseGuard Studio offers several different redaction methods for many different types of redaction. When trying to determine which type is best for your task, it is important to consider the time and effort it takes to utilize both methods. While manual and bulk redaction are two of the most popular and useful features offered by CaseGuard, they are useful in different circumstances. Bulk redaction is great for large volumes of video content where faces, license plates, screens, and much more need to be redacted while manual is best for redacting specific objects or details that require more attention to detail.

Let’s explore how Bulk Video Redaction compares to Manual Video Redaction for three 59-second body-worn camera videos. In the following video, the officer is involved in a traffic stop that turns violent. We redacted all the faces using a blur effect.

First, take a look at the video below to get an idea of the videos I’ll be redacting.

Next, let’s see how long it takes me to redact three of these videos using different redaction types in CaseGuard Studio.

Bulk Video Redaction:

Use Cases:

• Bulk Video Redaction allows agencies to upload and process multiple videos simultaneously, significantly reducing the time needed for redaction and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.
• With Bulk Video Redaction, security firms can combine different video angles into a single split-screen format. This innovative approach allows for simultaneous redaction across all footage, enhancing privacy protection while saving valuable time and resources.

Benefits:

• Efficiently processes a vast number of files in a single operation, significantly cutting down redaction time and effort. Its scalability easily accommodates large projects.
• Ideal for agencies with time-sensitive tasks, ensuring compliance with FERPA and FOIA requests.
• User-friendly solution with automated redaction reasons and auto-generated reports.
• Fast and efficient redaction of a large volume of files, ensuring compliance with tight deadlines.

Step-by-Step Guide:

• Set up Bulk: Choose your Bulk AI redaction preferences in the CaseGuard Startup window, determining what you want to be done to your files.
• Add Files: Upload all files that need redacting.
• Wait for Redaction: Let CaseGuard Studio redact all of your files for you.
• Export: Export your files.

Overall, the time it took to set up, redact, review, and export the redactions took 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Bulk Video Redaction is a powerful feature designed for organizations that manage a large volume of video content, particularly those within law enforcement and government sectors. It can simultaneously redact faces, license plates, screens, and more across multiple video files with precision. Since the Bulk processing feature can redact an unlimited number of files at once, it can save a ton of time for police departments, medical institutions, financial institutions, or anyone else with an abundance of confidential files. This feature is ideal for Body Worn Camera files, security footage, large amounts of confidential documents, and more.

Let’s see it in action!

Play Video

Manual Video Redaction:

Use Cases:

• A Police Department requires the redaction of a suspect’s tattoos within a video. Using Manual redaction the Police department can redact the tattoos the AI would not pick up.
• A school needs to redact a single student from a busy cafeteria. Using Manual redaction the school can redact a single individual quickly while AI would redact every individual.

Benefits

• Popular among users requiring detailed redaction of identifying features in individuals or objects, ensuring no detail is overlooked.
• Offers unparalleled control over the redaction process, perfect for scenarios where automatic redaction may miss specific details

Step-by-Step Guide:

• Upload: Add your files to CaseGuard Studio.
• Manual Redaction: Select Manual Video from the Toolbar on the right side of the screen.
• Redact Faces: Draw a redaction box around the subject’s face and adjust it frame-by-frame, removing and recreating the box when the subject leaves and re-enters the frame.
• Object Tracking: Use Object Tracking to follow the subject when they stay in the frame for extended periods, switching to manual redaction when the video is shaky or the subject’s head is obscured.
• Review and Export: Review the redacted video to ensure all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is covered, and then Export .

Overall, the process of uploading, setting up, redacting, reviewing, and exporting the videos took a total of 36 minutes and 23 seconds. Manual Video Redaction is CaseGuard Studio’s most straightforward redaction method. Users have complete control over the redaction process, allowing customization of shapes, effects, and redaction reasons. It is ideal for targeting specific objects or details, ensuring exact redaction where automation may not suffice.

While this is much longer than the bulk redaction option, it allows for full control over redactions. When dealing with small details that need redacting, like tattoos or objects in the background, it is the best way to ensure that these objects are properly censored.

Let’s see it in action!

Play Video

Conclusion:

CaseGuard Studio’s two most prominent redaction options, Bulk and Manual redaction, offer the user two different things. Bulk Video Redaction has the efficiency needed to handle lots of large video files at once and Manual Video Redaction is adequate for detail-oriented tasks requiring precision. The choice between the two methods ultimately depends on the nature of the content and the level of control required by the user. Anthony Miles, a Program Specialist for the Stockton Police Department, has this to say about CaseGuard Studio:

“It used to take me hours to redact a body worn camera video. Now it takes a fraction of the time and the accuracy of the automatic face/head detection is amazing! When I saw the demonstration for the program, I thought to myself, ‘This has to be difficult’. Well, I was wrong. The program is easy to use, and you don’t have to be a computer expert to use it.”

Whatever the task is, CaseGuard Studio ensures users have versatile options to meet their diverse redaction requirements efficiently. Whether painstakingly redacting every frame by hand or uploading thousands of documents at once for Bulk processing, CaseGuard has you covered.