TeplowCucurullo Communications | Legal Graphics

Do you have any guidelines for flash presentations for different types of trials?

It’s hard to find a set of guidelines that will work for all of the different types of trials out there. Each trial has its own unique set of challenges that need to be addressed individually. In general however, we try to make all of our Flash animations as simple and straightforward as possible. Audiences tend to have a limited attention span when confronted with the massive amount of data that they are asked to comprehend during a trial. It’s very easy to over load a presentation with too many facts, which only serves to obscure the case you are trying to make, rather then clarify one or two key issues. One technique we use to pack an animation with information without overloading the viewer is to use the programs' interactivity, so information can be stored within the file and accessed via on screen controls. Facts can then unfold strategically based on the litigators discretion and the audiences comprehension rate. There are other technical guidelines that we use for all trials when we build a Flash presentation. Interactivity is one of the most important features of Flash, this allows the user to orchestrate how and when the animation plays. For example one might build an animation of a beam of light passing through an optic fiber, the animation could have a series of buttons built in that when pushed sends one, two, three or more beams of light through the fiber. It all depends on how the information needs to be strategically revealed to the audience. There are a number of technical guidelines for producing Flash presentations for trial, the first and foremost is edit ability. As with most trial graphics, the visual exploration necessary to find the right graphic solution is as important as the solution itself. Attorneys often use this process to view their case from a visual perspective rather then a literary one. The good news is this exercise often yields new insights into the case, the bad news is that it requires constant back and forth revisions, if your Flash document is constructed properly that's not a problem. A second important guideline would be portability, we like to embed the final animation into a PowerPoint document, this allows attorneys to manipulate the placement of the animation within their larger PowerPoint presentation. This technique also allows us to place multiple animations within one file. Although the animation works fine as a stand alone file most attorneys feel more comfortable in the familiar PowerPoint environment. Another consideration might be the courtroom environment, today most courtrooms are equipped with monitors but equipment varies from location to locations and it's a good idea to know the layout of the room. If it's a projection system then we like to avoid soft pastel tones in the animation as they tend to be difficult to read. For some visual examples of what I'm talking about here, go to the "products & services" page on this website and check out the animation samples we have posted. It will certainly help you to see how we customer tailor the guidelines of our Flash animations to the specific needs of each trial type.