Digital high-speed photography has been used to investigate the dynamics of a two-dimensional model granular system, consisting of steel or [poly(methyl methacrylate)] discs under vibration between glass walls. Images are analysed by computer using Hough transform algorithms to measure the two-dimensional position and angle of discs within the field of view. Two preliminary test problems indicate position errors of 5% to 30% of the pixel separation, and angular errors of 0.017 to 0.025 rad depending on magnification. The combination of all-digital recording system and automated pattern recognition software allows rapid acquistion of high quality data. Translational and rotational velocities, calculated for the vibrated discs, are used to construct speed and velocity distribution functions; the speed distribution closely approximates to the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution and the velocity distribution is Maxwellian. Granular temperatures are anisotropic over the range of amplitude and frequency of the vibration studied.