Hop onto our timeline of politically motivated amateur camera use.

Just roll cursor over the timeline to reveal significant moments in the camcorder's short yet tumultuous existence.

On November 22, in Dallas, Texas, Zapruder captures the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, Jr. on his 8mm film camera. It is the only known film that records the entire assassination. Government investigators rely on the footage to help their analysis. The most famous, most analyzed 'home movie' in history, the film has also been a favourite of conspiracy theorists.

Sony launches its first effort to market consumer-oriented video equipment. These first machines are cumbersome, but in 1967, Sony launches the portable 'Porta Pak', followed by JVC and Panasonic's own versions. The 1/2 inch videotapes allows for wide distribution amongst 'Counter-culture' arts groups, political activists and underground media activists. Videoactivism is born.

The Handycam is invented by Sony's team of engineers, including Shoji Nemoto: "It was exactly the same size as the Japanese passport. It was amazing for our customers." Weddings and family vacations are immortalized.

Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers of America release 'The Wrath of Grapes' to draw attention to the poisoning of grape workers and their families by dangerous pesticides used in grape production in the USA. Hundreds of thousands of free copies of the video are distributed. By 1992 an estimated 9% of consumers in the United States have stopped buying grapes, and all five of the dangerous pesticides identified by the UFW are banned or phased out. Although not shot on handicam, the success of 'The Wrath of Grapes' demonstrates the potential of video as an advocacy tool. Said Chavez, "Once I realized how moved people were at what they saw - sympathetic, yes, but angry, too - I knew we had to get it out as fast and to as many people as possible."

Human rights activists begin picking up handicams for their work. For example, in 1987, the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador shoots clandestine footage of the inmates of Mariona Prison. Through video testimony, the inmates describe their treatment and show wounds of recent torture, including electroshock burns.

On March 3, George Holliday uses his camcorder to record police beating motorist Rodney King on a Los Angeles highway. King had been stopped after leading police on a high-speed chase. For 81 seconds, the tape shows officers repeatedly striking King with batons as he lies on the ground. Holliday calls police about the incident but they refuse to respond. He then takes the tape to a local TV station, and soon, it is broadcast around the world. Six days later, four of the officers on the scene are arraigned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force.

'Witness' is founded by musician Peter Gabriel, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and the Reebock Foundation. The non-profit organization's goal is to advance human rights advocacy through the use of video and communications technology. It puts cameras into the hands of local activists and assists its partners to use video as evidence before courts and the United Nations, as a tool for public education, and as a deterrent to further abuse. It also gives local groups a global voice through the Internet. Witness aims to educate and activate an international audience. Today, Witness has worked with over 150 partner groups in 50 countries.

A jury acquits the four police officers charged in the beating of Rodney King. Riots break out in South Central LA and spreads to other parts of LA County. Shortly afterward, the officers are indicted by a federal grand jury.

Branch Davidian leader David Koresh sends two videotaped messages to FBI negotiators days before the fire that destroys the compound and kills more than 80 cult members. The haunting home video shows Koresh, weakened by a bullet wound, outlining his beliefs and instructing some of his young children to wave to the camera and say "bye-bye". Excerpts of the video are played by mainstream broadcasters.

The plight of Innu communities in northern Canada gains worldwide attention when members of the Innu Nation release video footage of a group of gas-sniffing, suicidal teens. Former Innu Nation President Katie Rich writes: Armed with a video camera, we tried to capture the hopelessness of our youth and how they are coping with their despair. We hoped these images would alert the world to our reality and shame the governments into helping us.

Sony and Panasonic usher in the digital age with the introduction of digital camcorders. Sharp and JVC soon follow.

The Canadian Airborne Regiment is disbanded after investigations into scandals during a peacekeeping mission in Somalia. Two amateur videos show regiment members describing the need to kill more "niggers" and conducting hazing rituals that include forcing recruits to eat vomit and feces. A black soldier is seen being walked like a dog with the words "I love the Ku Klux Klan" written in excrement on his back.

The handicam of accountant Ronni Kempler records the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at a Tel Aviv peace rally. Kempler was on a rooftop overlooking the parking lot where Rabin was shot. The dark, grainy video shows assassin Yigal Amir loitering by the Prime Minister's car, approaching him from behind and shooting him at point blank range. Israeli TV broadcasts the video, which records the entire sequence of events up to the gunshots.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia use amateur video footage as evidence of atrocities committed by political and military leaders in the former Yugoslavia. Video evidence contradicting his own testimony is crucial in the prosecution of Serb General Radislav Krstic, on trial for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war for his role in the murder of 7000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. He is found guilty in August 2001, and has filed motions to appeal. Meanwhile, the trial of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic is expected to continue for several years.

Farewell videotapes of the Heaven's Gate cult arrive in the mail at the home of a former cult member, leading to the discovery of the bodies of 39 cult members. The tapes feature cult leader Marshall Applewhite and other members describing their plans to commit suicide in order to leave their terrestrial bodies, believing that the appearance of the Hale-Bopp comet was their signal to 'depart'.

Clandestine handicam footage shot by the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) focuses worldwide attention on the plight of women in Afghanistan. Horrifying images of public executions and beatings of women for 'crimes' such as being seen in public without a burka, are seen by millions as mainstream media organizations pick up the story; even Oprah takes up the cause. RAWA continues its work for women's rights in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

During a confrontation between First Nations fishermen and federal officers over fishing rights off of Burnt Church in Canada, Mark Simon's camcorder captures incidents of Federal boats ramming Mi'kmaq fishing boats. The intentional crashes force the occupants to jump overboard to avoid injury. After international attention, the Feds begins a review of what went wrong.

The Pro-Life Alliance tries to air an election broadcast that includes gruesome amateur footage of aborted fetuses. The BBC refuses, and the dispute goes to trial in 2001, raising provocative questions about censorship of 'alternative' voices and the political agendas of 'mainstream' broadcasters.

Dr. Mark Heath documents the World Trade Center towers coming down around him. He takes refuge behind a car and describes what he is seeing as huge clouds of debris begin to fall. He is heard saying, "I hope I live, I hope I live" (he does).

The world, and handicams, will never be the same again.