Ocean Systems just announced that the Anaheim Police Department will be hosting our DVR Assessment & Video Recovery training course September 16th - 18th in Anaheim, CA. Seats have been filling up fast in our DCCTV Recovery classes, with next month's class at the New York State Police Academy already sold out!

If your agency is looking to standardize your video evidence recoveries based on industry best practices, and you'd like hands-on training for those officers collecting your video evidence out in the field, get a quote from us today and then reserve your seat! Hope to see you in class soon. Be safe out there my friends.

Registration is now open for the Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) 26th Annual Training Conference being held November 2 - 6, 2015 in Clearwater Beach, Fl. Hope to see you there!

Visit LEVA.org

LEVA will be providing the Advanced Forensic Video Analysis & the Law course September 14th - 18th, 2009 at the LEVA DME Lab. Only graduates of LEVA's Basic and Intermediate “Forensic Video Analysis and the Law” courses may apply, and seating is limited.

Visit the LEVA training schedule for the latest on all of LEVA's course offerings or click here for the complete advanced course details (PDF).

The Cheshire Constabulary will be hosting the LEVAPhotographic/Video Comparison course in the United Kingdom April 26 - 30, 2010. This is the same highly regarded course that will be held at the LEVA Lab at UIndy again in May.

Photographic/Video Comparisons focuses on the science of comparing known objects, vehicles, clothing and humans with CCTV images of questioned objects, vehicles, clothing and humans. The process of cataloguing class characteristics and unique characteristics found in questioned evidence is examined in detail. Using Adobe Photoshop and other generally accepted scientific tools for imaging comparison work, analysts/examiners develop a scientific workflow involving the hands-on analysis of video evidence, criminal-case report writing and courtroom presentation.

For information on all of LEVA's training courses, including a complete schedule, please visit our LEVA Course Overviews & Schedule page.

LEVA has announced that they will be providing their Photographic/Video Comparison Course May 18-22, 2009 in the LEVA DME Lab at the University of Indianapolis. The Photographic/Video Comparison focuses on the science of comparing known objects, vehicles, clothing and humans with CCTV images of questioned objects, vehicles, clothing and humans.

For LEVA's complete training schedule - click here.

LEVA has announced a special reduced pricing package to help government agencies meet their training requirements in these challenging economic times.

As of January 1, 2009, LEVA will bundle its prestigious 40-hour core training courses and others, providing significant cost reductions. All courses are conducted at LEVA’s Digital Multimedia Evidence Processing Lab at the University of Indianapolis, Indiana. Visit the LEVA Website for complete details.

The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association is providing a free course — Video Essentials for First Responders — for attendees of its 2013 LEVA Digital Multimedia Evidence Training Symposium, which runs Sept. 9-13 in Asheville, N.C

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Hard to believe that next week's 2011 LEVA Training Conference is already upon us. I'll be out in Coeur d'Alene all next week, and I'll be giving a presentation on the AVI file format and VirtualDub at the conference late Thursday afternoon. There are tons of great training sessions going all week long. Hope to see you there!

Among the presentations scheduled for LEVA's International Video Evidence Symposium & Training Conference are two that will focus on video and imaging in Iraqi combat operations.

LEVA has announced the next Level 1 training course, which will be held at the LEVA DME Lab September 28th - October 2nd.

I was out in Indianapolis last week to assist with the LEVA Level 1 training course. Another great week of forensic video and DME training provided by LEVA, and hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

It was an action packed week both in the classroom and out with students learning and practicing DME fundamentals, and the City bustling with NBA playoff and Indy 500 activities. Thank you to LEVA, their staff, my employer Ocean Systems, and the students for such an incredible opportunity.

Safe travels home everyone and have a great holiday weekend!

The 25th Annual LEVA Training Conference is underway in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. A quick thank you to those who attended yesterday's Ocean Systems presentations. Moments ago I emailed a PDF copy of my morning presentation, "Fundamentals of Multimedia & Screen Capture", to those in attendance who requested it. If you were in attendance and would like a copy, simply shoot me an email.

I'll be attending the afternoon sessions today, lecturing about DCCTV Assessment & Recovery tomorrow, and attending classes Thursday and Friday as well. It's been a great turnout at a great location. Be sure to stop by and see us at the Ocean Systems booth today. Hope to see you there!

http://media-geek.com/images/myblog/frontpage/ft-worth.jpg LEVA's 20th Anniversary Training Conference will be held in Ft. Worth, Texas November 18th- 20th.  As usual, LEVA is organizing some great pre-conference training as well as a vendor exhibit hall.  For more information or their official registration form click here.

It's been a very interesting and exciting year for Magnet Forensics.  New products, new acquisitions, new training opportunities, more awards & industry recognition, and still so many exciting things to come!  Don't miss the Magnet User Summit 2024, being held in Nashville, TN April 15th through 17th, 2024.  Be sure to also check out the pre-conference training opportunities.

It's really fascinating to look back at how far our discipline has come in the last 20 years, and how many resources and solutions are out there these days for Forensic Digital & Multimedia Analysts. Even more exciting is knowing some of the new opportunities and solutions for DME professionals that will be coming in 2019, especially in regards to training!

If you're responsible for recovering video evidence from DCCTV systems, be sure to check out our new class "DVR Assessment & Video Recovery". We'll be in WA, MD, TX and NY in the coming months. Hope to see you in class!

Training Schedule

A brand new LEVA course has been designed by and will be taught by two highly respected members of the FVA community: George Reis and Jimmy Schroering.  "AUTOMATION FOR FORENSIC VIDEO ANALYSTS: From Photoshop to Scripting" will be conducted in the LEVA Lab this December 17 - 20 and again May 20 - 23. 2013.

For additional information please visit the LEVA website at www.leva.org 

Ocean Systems has announced a new 3-day DVR Assessment & Video Recovery training course that will be hosted by the Tacoma Police Department April 8-10, in Tacoma, Washington. This course is recommended for anyone tasked with the recovery of digital video evidence from CCTV systems.

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LEVA recently announced that the New York State Police will be hosting their Photographic/Video Comparison course in Albany, NY April 4th through the 8th.

Photographic/Video Comparisons focuses on the science of comparing known objects, vehicles, clothing and humans with CCTV images of questioned objects, vehicles, clothing and humans. The process of cataloguing class characteristics and unique characteristics found in questioned evidence is examined in detail. Using Adobe Photoshop and other generally accepted scientific tools for imaging comparison work,analysts/examiners develop a scientific workflow involving the hands-on analysis of video evidence, criminal-case report writing and courtroom presentation.

Complete details and application forms are available via the LEVA website.

As more and more companies turn to Linux for mission-critical operations, making sure IT staff have the necessary skills is becoming more important than ever.

That's a significant challenge, because demand for Linux skills now far outstrips supply, making them a particularly hot commodity in the hiring market as companies large and small struggle to equip themselves with the talent they need.

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The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centerhas multiple vacancies available in the upcoming Digital Photography for Law Enforcement training program (DPLE 905). The program dates are: 06/02/2009-06/11/2009.

This eight-day program, with evening assignments, is an introductory digital photography school that acquaints students with a host of photographic concepts and skills including:

by Thomas C. Christenberry, "Digital Multimedia Evidence Processing Laboratory - Training," The Police Chief 77 (March 2010): 62–63, http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=2041&issue_id=32010

"For many television viewers and forensic science enthusiasts, shows like CSI and the spin-off television shows CSI: Miami and CSI: New York are fun to watch and, with their various characters and story lines, continue to fascinate viewers of all demographics. Viewers anxiously marvel at the forensic technology, the latest scientific methodology, and the amazing deductive skills of the forensic specialist. Best of all, the whole case is completed in just one hour."

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A few weeks ago, I heard through the grapevine that George Reis' new book "Photoshop CS3 for Forensic Professionals" was available, so this past Monday I finally took a few minutes to order it through Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised when it showed up at my doorstep Tuesday.

Now before I go any further, I want to tell you up front I haven't completely finished reading the book, but the first thing that impressed me about it was that it's laid out, so you don't have to. There are three parts to the book with a total of twenty-four chapters. At the very beginning George makes it clear that after completing part one all remaining chapters stand on their own and can be read in any order that may meet your needs or interests.

Prospective students can now submit applications entirely online for all LEVAtraining events!  LEVA's all new Training Home Page lists all LEVAevents currently open for registration along with the starting date of the course, a link to complete course details, and link to register for the event by submitting your application online.  Click here to check out the all new LEVA Training Home Page!

Registration is now open for LEVA’s 25th International Training Conference in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho!

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Resolution Video is planning their 2009 training schedule and would like input from their current and prospective students. To that end, they've published a brief online survey to collect your input and would appreciate your feedback.

Those who participate in the survey prior to September 1, 2008 will be entered to win an Apple iPod Nano. To complete the survey, please click here.

The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) is offering a $200 discount to government employees who sign-up to take two of their most highly sought after courses - Forensic Imaging Techniques and Photographic/Video Comparison.  The courses will be held back-to-back June 9 - 15 at the LEVA DME Lab, which is located at the University of Indianapolis.

Visit the LEVA Web site for complete details!

The Western New York RCFL, US Attorney's Office, NY Attorney General and various other entities are sponsoring a one-day seminar entitled "Search & Seizure of Digital Evidence", to be held on March 31, 2009 at the SUNY Buffalo North Campus Center for Tomorrow.  See attached PDF for details.

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There are still seats available for the next LEVA Level 1 training course, which will be held at the LEVA DME Lab September 28th - October 2nd.

I was out in the Seattle area Tuesday along with my colleague Ed Baker to provide a couple of free seminars on digital video evidence for members of the Washington Homicide Investigators Association (WHIA).

Many thanks to WHIA for the opportunity and hospitality, as well as to our employer Ocean Systems for their dedication to, and continued support of educating the LE community on the multitude of issues related to digital & multimedia evidence.