#How do I know if my SAR is going to be hard to process?
If you don’t have a lot of experience with video redaction, it can be difficult to estimate the amount of time it’d take to anonymise a video.
Here’s a quick way to evaluate your upcoming project:
| Simple processing project | Complex processing project | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of footage | Single type of personal data | Multiple types of personal data |
| Limited number of people or vehicles with no or limited overlapping | Crowded or high-traffic venues where people or vehicles overlap or temporarily leave the view | |
| No audio tracks to edit or remove | Videos where spoken personal data needs to be redacted | |
| Type of project | Single video source | Multiple sources of footage to combine in a clip |
| Short duration of a video clip | Longer videos that can't be efficiently processed manually | |
| Company requirements | No firewall or additional privacy requirements | Industry-specific privacy requirements, including air-gapped solution requirements |
| Footage centrally accessible | Local footage that needs to be moved to a central location |
Keep on reading for tips on how to choose a video redaction software tool to handle complex SARs for each of these scenarios, including examples from using our software product, Identity Cloak.
#Choosing the right tool to redact complex video footage
To choose the video redaction software that can handle complex footage without extensive manual cleanup, it’s important to understand which features you’ll need for different types of redaction challenges, from keeping track of multiple types of personal data to planning for fast-turnaround deadlines.
#Videos with multiple types of personal data
A frequent misunderstanding is assuming that the main focus of video redaction should be on face blurring.
It’s not incorrect. However, in most cases, videos contain other types of personal data that also need to be redacted, from visible computer screens or ID tags to face reflections in windows and documents in plain sight.
Video redaction tools can automate blurring for some of those types of personal information, but the biggest challenge is making sure all of that data is fully anonymised before exporting the footage.
#Footage of crowded venues with people and vehicles
For videos of crowds or multiple vehicles present, manual redaction is not feasible because blurring out every face or licence plate frame by frame is going to be extremely time-consuming. And that’s even before scanning the video for other types of personal data.
For example, a UK rail operator is using Identity Cloak to process body-worn and CCTV camera footage as a proof of fare dodging, going through thousands of backlog videos that were previously too time-consuming to redact.
Most specialised video redaction solutions can automatically detect and track people and vehicles.
If you process videos of crowded venues or locations, you’ll want to make sure that the software you choose can accurately detect people even when they’re only partially visible or when they cross paths.
Another helpful feature would be being able to restart tracking for specific people or vehicles after they reenter the frame or overlap with redacted areas, such as signage.
#Videos that include audio tracks
Spoken personal information in videos also needs to be redacted. Most video redaction tools, including Identity Cloak, support this feature.
We recommend checking for this capability if your organisation needs to frequently redact body-worn camera footage in addition to CCTV.
Read our overview of best practices for redacting spoken personal data in footage.
#Features to look for to quickly complete complex video projects
In addition to footage-specific challenges, some projects are more complex because they require combining different clips in a single project and prepping footage for the project.
In this case, common unexpected challenges that teams face are:
Limited format support across different types of videos that requires additional software for format conversion
Lack of video editing features, such as zooming into a part of a screen or clipping video before processing it
Running out of credits or facing unexpected video redaction fees.
Read more about finding a GDPR-compliant solution that can handle both bodycam and CCTV footage.
If you know that you’ll frequently need to combine footage from different sources, work with legacy formats, or process long videos, look for a solution that can:
import different types of video footage
support basic video editing
process long videos without unexpected spikes in video redaction costs.
Identity Cloak provides all of these:
no limitations on the file size or file duration and per-video pricing
built-in screen recorder so that you can import any file format that can be played on screen
screen zoom and cropping so that you can only redact the sections you need
Some examples of longer than average video clips processed by Facit’s customers include footage for a logistics company tracking parcel deliveries across all delivery stages and private club DSARs, frequently asking for several hours of footage.
#What to consider when comparing video redaction tools for process fit
In most cases, company processes are determined by internal setup or industry-specific compliance requirements and limit the ways in which companies can approach video redaction.
#Complying with industry-specific privacy and data protection requirements
For regulated industries, it means choosing an on-premise solution that can work behind a firewall.
Identity Cloak supports multiple healthcare and educational institutions with strict privacy requirements, including BARTS Health NHS Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust, King’s College Hospital, Witherslack Group, and more.
I’ve never looked elsewhere. Every software update brings real improvements that make our job easier and the process more robust. It’s good to know we can handle complex SARs quickly, confidently and compliantly.
Read more about the differences between cloud-based and on-premise video redaction solutions here.
#Centralized video processing for distributed organisations
For distributed organisations that need to process local footage in a central location, it means making sure that the solution they use will be able to process videos with a tight turnaround time, since transporting footage to the central location is going to take up some time, potentially creating bottlenecks.
With Identity Cloak, most video redaction projects are completed in under 12 minutes, which means that teams can meet deadlines much easier – even if footage delivery has been delayed.
Start your free Identity Cloak trial
Try out Identity Cloak on your footage to see how you can speed up video redaction for typical projects.
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