Abstract  This paper describes a set of studies that use audio–visual recording in an actual environment (surgery) to study the effectiveness of various patient safety interventions. Video is used in several different ways: as the intervention in one of the studies, and as a means to capture team behavior during surgeries for the other two studies. This paper summarises the logistical, legal, regulatory, technical, financial, social and methodological factors that must be considered and discusses solutions to many of these potential barriers. Although audio–visual recording has a long history in human factors research, only now are the technical, financial and logistic barriers less of a concern, as all data can now be stored and analysed electronically, making many previously cumbersome factors less so through the use of technology. Perhaps the most challenging areas that require more research are the methodological difficulties encountered when observing teams in an uncontrolled environment.