Video Redaction for Workplace Incident Reviews

For a workplace incident review, preserve the original and create a separate copy for each audience that needs less identifying detail. The people investigating the event may need information that an internal training group or external recipient does not.

Let the responsible incident, HR, or legal process decide what must remain visible. The editor's job is to implement that decision accurately.

State what the copy is for

A safety discussion may need to see the equipment, sequence, and body positions but not every employee's face. A formal investigation may require the complete source.

Do not use a cropped social-style clip as a substitute for the original record. Keep the full footage under the organization's retention and access rules.

Record who requested the sharing copy and which details they said to preserve.

Keep enough context to understand the event

Over-redaction can make footage misleading or useless. A large mask might hide a hand movement or obscure whether somebody was looking toward a hazard.

Watch the edited sequence for meaning as well as privacy. If the mask interferes with the review question, return to the responsible reviewer rather than quietly choosing a different visibility rule.

Explain any cropping, muted audio, or removed intervals.

Treat unrelated faces where appropriate

For an approved derivative, use Select faces in Unseen to hide incidental employees while preserving the required participants.

Check people crossing near the event. Selective tracking can become confused when faces overlap, which matters if the wrong person is left visible.

If automatic treatment is unreliable, use an approved manual correction workflow. Do not mark an incomplete redaction as ready because the central action looks correct.

Inspect badges, clocks, screens, and speech

Names and other identifying details may remain outside the face region. Some details, such as a timestamp, may be necessary for the review rather than something to remove.

Make that decision explicitly with the process owner. Unseen's face effects do not manage arbitrary text or audio redaction.

Keep the edited file linked to its source through internal notes, not through unnecessarily revealing public filenames.

Distribute the exact approved version

Name the output for its audience or purpose and keep it away from drafts. Attach a short description of the edits and any limits on further use.

If another audience requests the video later, reassess the required copy. A version prepared for investigators is not automatically suitable for training, publicity, or a broad internal message.

The source-and-derivative guide helps organize those versions without overwriting the original.