Ten steps to a video that stands on its own.
A video of an agreement is most useful in disputes years later — when memories diverge, papers are lost, and witnesses are no longer easy to reach. These ten steps prepare a recording that can stand on its own at that point, without needing testimony to authenticate it.
The ten steps
Read the whole list before you start recording. The single most important rule: one continuous video. Do not stop and restart.
Open the camera. Plan to record one continuous video.
Use WhatsApp camera, the phone's built-in camera, or any video recorder. Press record once at the start, press stop once at the end. Stopping and restarting in the middle creates room for later argument that something was edited out.
Show the date clearly.
A smartphone screen displaying today's date is sufficient. A newspaper of the day is stronger. Both is best. Read the date aloud as the camera frames it.
Each party shows their national ID.
National ID card, carte d'identité, passport, voter card, or equivalent. Hold the document close enough to the lens that the name and the ID number are clearly readable. Each party states their full name as it appears on the document.
Each witness shows their national ID the same way.
Same procedure for each witness. The witness states their full name, their relationship to the parties (neighbor, family member, local administrator, religious leader, etc.), and explicitly that they are here to witness the agreement.
Walk the camera around the property or asset.
If the agreement concerns land: show the boundaries, the neighboring properties, any identifying features (trees, buildings, paths). If livestock: show the animal, ear tags, brand marks, distinctive markings. If a movable asset: show the asset, its serial numbers, and any identifying details. If a marriage or family settlement: still consider showing the home, the meeting place, or the items being settled.
Read the contract terms aloud.
Read slowly, in the language all parties understand. Cover: the price, the description of what is being exchanged, the payment schedule, the delivery or transfer conditions, any guarantees, any conditions for termination. If the contract is oral, state the terms point by point so they are captured on the audio track.
Each party states their agreement to the terms.
Each party speaks in turn, states their full name and their role (buyer, seller, lender, borrower, family member), and explicitly says they understand and agree to the terms as read.
Each witness states their attestation.
Each witness in turn, on camera, states their full name, their relationship to the parties, and that they witnessed the agreement being made today. If there is a customary or religious form for witness attestation in your community, use it.
Sign or thumbprint the document on camera.
If there is a written document, sign or thumbprint it while the camera is rolling. Show the signed document at the end of the recording. If there is no written document, the oral statements in steps 6–8 are the contract — that is acceptable.
End the video. Send it to PLENA.
Stop the recording. Send the video to PLENA's WhatsApp number (operational once production accounts are activated), or upload it through the browser app. PLENA computes the SHA-256 hash, anchors it on Bitcoin via OpenTimestamps, stores the video on Arweave, and returns a verification code you keep for life.
Common mistakes to avoid
Mistakes that have caused otherwise good evidence to be questioned in later disputes.
Stopping and restarting the video
Two separate clips create room for someone to argue something was edited out. Keep it one continuous recording.
Filming in a way that doesn't show all witnesses' faces
If a witness later denies being there, the recording needs to show their face — not just their voice off-camera.
Speaking only in one language when one party doesn't fully understand
If one party speaks only a regional or community language but the written contract is in a national language they do not fully read, a later challenge will argue that party did not agree to what was actually written. Read or restate the terms in the language all parties understand.
Failing to show ID documents clearly
Identity is the part of the receipt that takes the most effort to fake. A blurry ID is the part that gets questioned. Hold it still, close enough to read.
Failing to show the asset or property being transacted
The asset is the part that grounds the dispute years later. Walk the camera around it. Show the identifying features.
Recording in poor lighting or with poor audio
Film during daylight or in a well-lit room. If outdoors, keep the wind out of the microphone — face away from the wind, or shield it with a hand. Test the audio briefly before starting.
Forgetting to state the date
Phones can have the wrong date set. State the date aloud, and show a second source of the date (newspaper, official document, calendar).
What to do if a witness later denies their attestation
This is the most common failure mode of unrecorded agreements — and the specific failure the video format is designed to address.
1. Retrieve the video.
Use your verification code on the browser app retrieval page, or send your code to PLENA on WhatsApp. PLENA returns the original video file and the certificate (Arweave URL, OpenTimestamps proof, Bitcoin block reference).
2. Show the certificate to the disputing party first, where possible.
Often, simply showing the witness that the video exists — that their face and voice and ID number are recorded on a tamper-evident archive — is enough for them to reconsider their position. The point of the receipt is not to win the dispute but to keep the historical record from being silently rewritten.
3. If the matter goes to a formal body, present the video and certificate together.
Show the video to the local administrator, the cooperative council, the customary court, the formal court, the labor inspectorate, the family-law tribunal, or whichever body will hear the matter. The certificate independently confirms via OpenTimestamps and the Bitcoin block reference that the video could not have been created after the disputed date.
Independent verification: Anyone — including the receiving body — can verify the video against the Bitcoin block independently at opentimestamps.org. They do not have to trust PLENA. They only have to confirm the SHA-256 of the video matches the SHA-256 anchored in the Bitcoin block.
4. If you anticipate a major dispute, consider the Premium tier in advance.
The Premium tier ($30) bundles a multilingual handover packet pre-formatted for the legal proceedings you expect to face, professional translation review of the contract terms, and annual refresh reminders that re-affirm the receipt's continued validity. For agreements likely to reach a formal court, the Premium tier is the version of the product that is structured for handover.
Languages
This guide is available in PLENA's 8 live languages. The language switcher defaults to the user's browser language with manual override. Human-reviewer queue priorities for this product follow the general site priorities. Contact hello@joinplena.com for translator inquiries — see the full Translation Roadmap.