How to Display the Redaction Reason on Top of the Redaction in Your Footage

Overview

CaseGuard Studio allows you to display redaction reasons directly on top of redacted areas in your video footage. This is especially helpful for legal reviews, FOIA releases, transparency reports, and any workflow where viewers need to understand why a section was redacted. By adding customizable reason labels, you can clearly communicate the purpose of every edit.

Use Case Example

Imagine you’re preparing a video for a FOIA release or court submission and want to clearly show that a face was redacted because it belongs to a juvenile, or that an address was removed due to personal privacy laws. Displaying the Redaction Reason directly on the footage helps reviewers understand why the redaction was made, ensuring transparency and compliance.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open your footage in CaseGuard Studio.

2. If you are using AI to detect PII automatically:

   • Click AI Search on the left vertical toolbar.

     

   • Select the PII categories you want the AI to detect and redact.

     

   • Click Next.

3. On the Effect Selection screen:

   • Choose your redaction effect 

   • Click the “+” icon to add an additional effect.

   • Scroll down and select Reasons.

     

4. In the Redaction Reason dropdown, choose your desired reason

   

5. Customize how the reason text will appear:

   

   • Color

   • Alignment

   • Text Style

   • Thickness

   • Outline Color

   • Delimiter (useful when multiple reasons apply)

6. Use the Sample Preview on the right to see how your reason text will look in the final video.

7. Continue setting the rest of your redaction preferences, such as shape, size, and duration.

   • Repeat for all PII categories you selected.

   • Once finished, click Apply.

Adding Redaction Reasons Manually

You can also apply redaction reasons without AI:

1. Click Manual or Tracker from the left vertical toolbar.

   

2. In the Video Tools section below the timeline, click the “+” icon.

   

3. Select Reasons.

4. Choose your redaction reason from the dropdown.

5. Draw your redaction box manually over the object you want to redact.

Once all redactions are configured, click Export.

💡 Tip: Manage Stacked Effects

Every time you add an effect (Blur, Pixelate, Reasons, etc.), it will be stacked in the Effects list.

This ensures the correct effect combination is applied to your footage.

Conclusion

Adding visible redaction reasons in CaseGuard Studio is a powerful way to improve clarity, professionalism, and legal compliance in your redaction workflows. Whether you apply them through AI or manually, reason labels help your audience understand the purpose behind every edit – making your footage easier to interpret and ensuring full transparency throughout your disclosure process.