Scale models tend to be fairly delicate so care must be taken in handling and shipping should be held to a minimum. Video animations are a new trend in litigation and still expensive. Not all accident situations lend themselves to animation. They best show a driver's view and collision avoidance tactics in simple scenarios. This type of exhibit, properly prepared, can almost take the jury to the scene.
Animations can also show the scene from above, just like a scale diagram.
This gives the juror a perspective that did not exist to any of the witnesses. A tremendous amount of information is required before the animator goes to work. Time, speed and distance must all be determined by an expert in extreme detail. The position of every vehicle going into a collision must be known in intervals of fractions of a second. The view of the driver, blocked by outside objects such as buildings or trees, must be determined.