In one process, a mechanical stress (quasi-static or dynamic) or thermal stress is introduced into a local area of a structure where damage is suspected. A standard (or high speed for some dynamic stress approaches) video recording is made of the area under test. The video is processed using a motion amplification algorithm which magnifies extremely small motions. The motion amplification can reveal strains (for static or thermal loading) or wave patterns (for dynamic loading) generated on the surface of the part. If there is damage or structural change, the resulting surface strains will indicate it, or the surface waves in that area will change in phase, amplitude, or both, and will be indicated in the video images. In another process, motion magnification is used to highlight local failure events during structural testing.