Need advice on videotaping legal depositions
 

I've been a professional videographer for almost 15 years but have never videotaped a legal deposition. I just got a call from a law firm looking for someone to be their videographer for such things, but I'm somewhat clueless. What should I charge? What is involved? How do I find out more?

There was a lengthy discussion on this a while back. My search turned up:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...gal+deposition

Not sure if the link will work but search for Legal deposition and read what Paul Tauger posted. Very helpful stuff.

If you have a neutral grey background to place behind the witness/deponet, use it.
Use a tripod. Place so table vibrations won't affect it. Set exposure. Manual focus. Once your roll the tape, don't touch the camera. Set camera to record time and date. Use fade-in/out (if you can) every time you start and stop the camera. This is only for "going off record", which can only happen upon the request of any of the attorneys present, and all must agree.

You will need at least three microphones. I use four. Table mics with shock mounts for the attorneys. Lapel for the deponet. One hand held with switch for me. I also use a four channel audio mixer.

In most states you must introduce the event. This means stating the event is a video deposition of the witness with very specific reference to the Case name, it's Case Number, and the Name of the Court where the case is being heard. You must identify yourself as videographer. You have no association with the individuals involved. You must identify the court reporter. You must then ask all attorneys present to identify themselves. Then you instruct the Court Reporter to swear in the witness. After that is done you state that the proceeding is "on record".

As your video tape approaches its end, announce end of tape at 7, 5, 3, 2, and possibly 1 minute.

Other than fade-in and fade-out for beginning, end, and "off/on record" moments, you can not edit the tape in any way, shape, or form.

The depositions are usually presented to the noticing attorney in the form of a DVD, but can be VHS. Their preference. If a DVD, chapter it every 10 minutes (makes locating specific comments a bit easier).

The attorney that hires you pays the bill. Beyond your hourly rate, you can charge for tape stock and any copies you give to the court reporter. All other attending attorneys must purchase copies from you.

However your charge for your time, do not, for any reason, deliver any copies until payment has been received and cleared!

Lastly, remember that you are creating a legal document. You must keep all records and all original video tapes forever, or legally sign them over to the noticing attorney.

Interesting. What is the purpose of doing this?

Great post, BTW. It was extremely helpful!

Hi Bill,

I've done a few of them over the years, so here's my 2C's worth:

the info you've received and been referred to, is good stuff.

be ready to go for 4 to 8 hrs plus on the really tough ones. ( like enough tapes, drinks, snacks, kleenex, etc. )

I used cards with the "Time to Tape's End" times to show all, so I did not have to speak it out loud.

I used a cassett tape recorder to make audio tapes for Court Reporter to have at the end of session.

Take a GOOD seat pad and back support, as you may not get a good chair to sit in.

Be very sure you can (are able) and want to sit very still and quietly for hour's on end, and can "hold it" if the "call" comes. I discovered on my last Deposition that my older body did not like sitting that still for that long (8 hrs) I could barely stand and walk at the end of the day. Knees and hips stiffened up and got very sore. Great stuff to listen too, but sitting so still and quiet for so long can be tough on your mind and body, especially if you consider doing doing this kind of thing day after day.

Harold

What's the going rate?
 

I've been curious about this.

Simply to advise the attorney time to end of tape. Sometimes attorneys get on a line of questioning and forget the passing of time. I had one attorney ignore my warnings until the camera ran out of tape.

The will depend upon where you are, the competitive market, and who hires you.

Large court reporting firms who have corporate contracts like to subcontract deposiitons for $50.00 to $75.00 per hour and will usually cover incidental expenses like parking fees, etc. They generally won't offer a guarantee of a minimum fee if the deposition is cancelled. From my perspective these firms either accept my stated fees or they can find someone else.

Most independent court videographers expect to earn around $700 a day. My rates are based upon an "appearance fee" which is applied to the first three hours of a deposition. Then an hourly rate thereafter. Additional fees are tape and DVD stock, mileage, parking, back-up audio tapes/discs for the court reporter and other incidental costs. The attorney who hired me gets a complete copy of the depo on dvd as part of the package. All other counsel must purchase copies directly from me at $40.00 per hour of content. In metropolitan areas a legal videographer can earn a very good living. One can not only document a deposition, but prepare the video for presentation if the case goes to trial (which is a much more detailed process).

Being certified as a legal video court reporter is worth investigating if the work opportunities look promising. An internet search on "Legal video" should bring up a number of certifying agencies. I've been told by one career cour reporter that the certifying agency in Casper, Wyoming is quite good. In my area the local population is not large enough to justify certification. A good year in legal video for me is 8 - 12 depositions. A metro area should provide that quantity of work every two or three weeks.

In any case, make your video and audio the very best possible. If the quality of the video is poor the noticing attorney can make you pay for a second deposition, which includes anything and everything associated with rescheduling the deposition. That could amount to several thousand dollars.

Lastly, don't let anything out of your hands until you have been paid!

Can you record digitally?
 

I wasn't sure if there is an issue with this?

Absolutely. Ask the attorneys requiring copies how they would like to have the video delivered to them. Most are fine with DVD. Some want VHS. MPEG1 is also a possibility. A few will want the video paired with the court reporter's transcript. That takes a specialty program. Most of these are for PC's. A few run on the Mac platform. I don't know any more, as I've never been asked to have a video prepared this way.

No 2 people do it the same.
 

and it can vary by state based on rules of procedure and rules of evidence. (that's one reason the NCRA and AGCV exist...to establish standards for their members and attempt some enforcement of them.) Be aware that an attorney who wants to be very picky could have a video deposition excluded as evidence with relative ease.

I know a few folks who do legal. "Pairing" can involve hiring a local independent steno person to make a copy of the transcript as a text file, then synching and displaying that as sub-titling or closed captioning. That can sometimes lead to court presentation and better, i.e. more, $$, and can be done by the indie stenographer right from a copy of the audio track.

What to use for live PiP?
 

Just stumbled across this thread. Great info so far, guys.

For over two years, I've been in the business of synchronizing legal video depos and presenting them at trials, hearings, etc. Just recently, I've considered branching into the deposition videography end of things, but as a somewhat newcomer to the procedures/equipment used therein ,here's something that's been stumping me:

In this video link, I'm aware that the videographer used a Canon GL2 for recording the primary video of the witness, and an Elmo document camera for the x-ray images. Obviously and at a minimum, some kind of video switcher was used to alternate between the sources.

What, however, was more than likely used for the PiP effect that's shown at the 35-second mark? FWIW, I transferred this video from the original miniDV tape.

I ask because I foresee many of my potential clients requesting this technique where the document is in the background via the elmo camera and the deponent is in the PiP foreground? Is some kind of video mixer used? If so, what kind? Does the GL2, itself, have the ability to accept secondary video and key it in as PiP?

I'm stumped.

Chris Davis
DigiSync, Inc.

Beats me but what makes you think the PIP wasn't done in post using footage from a cutaway cam? I know running legal depositions through an NLE is a big no-no, but that's what it looks like to me.

The commonness of it (I receive many untouched miniDV depo tapes with this technique) makes me think it wasn't done in post.

I'm 95% sure it's done onsite. Just not sure how it's done & with what kind of equipment.

Thanks for the response, anyway, Rick!

Chris Davis
DigiSync, Inc.

A video switcher would provide this capability for PiP and the switcher's output would be what gets recorded to tape.

-gb-

Got any low-to-mid-end examples of such a device, Greg?

Chris Davis
DigiSync, Inc.

$$$$
 

just checked B & H and they have one but it will cost you >$800US.

not cheap, but it sure is a nice little starting setup. 4 cameras with s-video in (would be nice to have an all digital in one for that price).

jason

Yep, just stumbled across (and ordered) the Edirol V-1 at B & H late last week. I presume that's the one you mention. Judging from the online manual, this might fit the bill perfectly!

Thanks for the guidance, Jason.

-Chris

not DV of course
 

No prob. just don't expect the same high quality out of that device because it is not digital. But for that low of a price (compared to other switchers) it will do what you need.

you can also use that for mixing live events too so have fun.

jason

legal depositions in canada?
 

Does anybody know if video depositions are done in Canada? Is this a vialable business here? I've been unsuccesful to find local info.

call a lawyer
 

best way to find out is call a lawyer, or talk to the prosecuting attorneys office in the court house.

jason

Back from teh Dead!



Someone mentioned NLE's being a No-No. So you output directly to a DVD recorder?

What about recording to tape while capturing live to your hard drive and delivering the DVD immediately?

I got certified by one of the 2 most known certifying agencies.
 

Some here may disagree with me, but...

A few things vital to depositions:
1) it must be an exact record of what happened during the deposition. Use of an NLE hints that editing of some sort may have taken place, which would almost certainly get the deposition excluded from use at trial.
(Unless all attorney's present agree to go off the record, i.e. to stop recording, the tape constantly runs). While often interesting, it can be VERY boring.

One of the organizations espouses that the "master" should ALWAYS be recorded to VHS. (It's analog, and easier to detect changes that might have been made). It allows recording to digital, but still strongly recommends a VHS master.

2) depositions are supposed to be shot by "a disinterested third party", i.e. someone with no stake in the case or suit. If you're an "employee" of a law firm, technically, any depositions you shoot should never make it to court...the idea being that the accuracy/quality of your footage would be to enhance your employers' standing, hence their case, raising questions of fairness. If you want to do legal, independent is the way to go; you face different, not necessarily fewer, risks.

Recording to tape and capturing to DVD for immediate delivery?
Be aware that each attorney present, or at least the attorney(s) for each party that is represented, will likely want a copy, as will the court (at least in my state). I copied one dep (medical malpractice suit) where there were 5 parties represented; each lawyer wanted a copy, and a single copy consisted of 2 tapes. All that, and 1 extra copy for the court.

Ultimately, you deliver what the client (the attorney) wants: VHS, DVD, miniDV, whatever. Some even want MPEG.

The important things to know are your state's "Rules of Civil Procedure" and "Rules of Evidence". If challenged or uncertain, learn the Federal rules.

Also, prevailing wisdom is similar to what many wedding shooters do: turn over the product only AFTER you've been paid. If you don't get handed a check at the deposition, don't hand them a tape or DVD, unless they are old and reliable clients of yours and you trust them.

While I've never actually shot a dep, I've sat in on some, and have made copies when other videogaphers were too busy. I've already had to make 5 copies of a multi-tape deposition, all VHS. That can be pretty time-consuming. I have 5 VHS VCRs, set up just for that purpose...all the same model so I can control all 5 with a single remote.

The guys I know who do legal get between. $ 100-125 per hour. VERY FEW average more than 1 per week. The hardest part is breaking in. In my state, about 90% of depositions are handled by court-reporting agencies, then subcontracted to video firms, who then look for shooters certified by the same org they got certified with.. None of those guys are willing to "give someone their first job." (IMO, a bit arrogant, as they had to do the same things others did to get certified). Obviously, I'm bitter; I've had this certification for more than a year and haven't shot one dep yet, becasue no one will give me that "first job." Everything I've had in that time has been event work. At least in my neck of the woods, it's tough to break into the field. The reporting agencies seem to have everything sewn up. I have to make a more concerted effort at marketing/advertising that side of the business.

Good luck if you try it. I haven't given up yet.

That must be frustrating. How much was the cert?

I'd always heard/read that the original camera time/date stamp be recorded with the video signal... or does this vary by state? If using a separate VCR for recording, how would one accomplish this if one was basically shooting with a DV camera & NOT running tape from camera to get around the 1 hr. loads?

Of course if one was to be running tape in cam (an XH-A1 in my case), I could use the data superimpose function from video out into the deck, but that would defeat the purpose of having a separate VCR... still having to pause every hour for tape change.

Just curious
Bill

AsI recall, it was approx $ 700. And, to keep the cert, there is a yearly membership fee...not big $$, but required to keep membership active.

In addition, I "studied" on my own, taking the "home study" course; took it seriously, so I spent quite a bit of time reading/studying/practicing. I was told I rec'd one of their highest grades ever for home study, but that hasn't helped me yet. Some think these things are merely a way for the orgs to generate income for themselves. I found it helpful, in that I learned things that I hadn't seen in other reading material, e.g. keeping log sheets, how a video dep could be excluded due to bad lighting/audio, other forms/procedures (like "chain of evidence", etc).

It wasn't a waste, because I learned quite a bit, but I certainly haven't recouped my investment. I did make some contacts, and got/get occassional copy work, AND I'm on other's lists as a backup if they get overbooked, but that hasn't happened yet and I'm not holding my breath.

Again, at least in my state, the court reporting agenices seem to have this locked up, and if you're an "outsider" it's tough to get any work in legal. You pretty much have to do it on your own by contacting attorneys, and often, your best shot at getting started is to do video wills. Get a few of them under your belt and the door opens just a crack.

Also, "legal" includes more than merely depositions, e.g. "day-in-the-life", settlement brochures, pre, mid, and post-construction videos, and forensic (which is probably the toughest to land, i.e. think taping a crime scene...lots of details to tape and identify, without damaging/upsetting evidence.

This may generate some disagreement.
 

I've heard others say this varies by state. I was taught that it does. I learned to follow the federal rules, so date/time stamp are considered necessary. If, by some long-shot, the case reaches the federal court level, the federal rules become all the more important. (I have an HVX, and the date-time stamp are not output via firewire, so the Firestore is out, as is the CitiDisk, and any other firewire options. That's why I was SO anxious to get a CinePorter, and SO disappointed when it was pulled from development).

Also, the HVX user manual specifically warns against recording miniDV in LP mode. That, coupled with the lack of date-time stamp via firewire, my choices are to record to miniDV in SP mode, P2, or composite-out to VHS or HDD. P2 is impractical, and miniDV limits me to an hour. Direct to VHS allows for the fewest breaks to change tapes.

I run the composite-out cable from the cam to the VCR input while simultaneously recording to miniDV. I often use a combo CRT-tv/VHS recorder, so it serves as both a monitor AND a VHS VCR. I was taught that, as long as you make no changes/edits, you can copy a digital recording right over to a VHS/S-VHS VCR. For that, I use a JVC miniDV/S-VHS VTR. I don't have a DVD/hard-disk recorder. I'd like one, I just don't own one yet. So, I still need to break at the 1-hour mark to change miniDV tape.

A couple guys I know record only to a miniDV in LP mode, then copy/transfer to VHS. That gives them longer record times, which the attorneys seem to like, (fewer breaks to change tapes), as do the court reporting agencies. They buy custom-length VHS tapes to coincide with the length of a miniDV shot in LP mode. (90 mins, +/-). It also means fewer VHS tapes that comprise the "final" product, lower costs, (both material and shipping/postage), and compatible record times among media. (Though they admit they SHOULD record the "master" directly to VHS). Recording miniDV in LP mode can cause problems in copying, as my miniDV/S-VHS VTR cannot read miniDV tapes shot in LP. When I get a job to copy/transfer an LP miniDV to VHS, I have to use a palmcorder to play those back.

Regarding the "data superimpose" function, I don't face that with the HVX. The HVX writes date-time stamps only to 3 places: P2, any in-camera miniDV, and the component-out. So, as long as my menu settings are correct to display and output the date/time, I must use one of those media.

If the date-time stamp are added after recording has occurred, rather than output drectly from the camera, that could easily be argued to be "editing". If a sharp (picky? pita?) attorney knew that was the case, they could argue (probably with success) that the dep had been changed and have it excluded from testimony/evidence. (If I were an attorney, and I knew that to be the case, I would certainly make that argument).

A mistake like that would likely result in never getting additional work from those attorneys. That is the type of thing legal videographers are responsible to know. While the attorneys are familiar with the procedures/requirements, the videographers should know these things going in.

Waldemer,

That was one of the best information posts on depositions i've seen, thanks for your time.

One other piece of information is that you can be called to court to testify. If so, make sure you have an hourly rate in your contract.

I deposed about 100 people for a class action law suit and spent about 6 days in court testifying. We charged the attorney our hourly rate with a minumum of 3 hours.

I would also be carful when charging for depositions that you have a minumum amount of time. It's common to get a 1 or 2 hour deposition. One week, I had 40 hours of depositions.

RE: Time stamping etc

Our Enosoft DV Processor will let you add the time/date stamp to the video portion of a live DV stream and then send the stamped DV stream either to hard disk or an another DV device. All of this occurs in real-time.

A number of possibile configurations are possible:

1. DV Camcorder-->Enosoft DV Processor-->DV AVI file (Type 1 or Type 2)

2. DV Camcorder-->Enosoft DV Processor-->DV Recorder (e.g., DSR-11)

3. DV Camcorder-->Enosoft DV Processor-->DVD Recorder with FireWire input

4. DV Camcorder-->Enosoft DV Processor-->DV Recorder--Analog O/P-->DVD Recorder

For option 3, you need a DVD Recorder with FireWire input that is recognized by Windows as a DV device (some are, some aren't). If not, use the analog outputs from a DV recorder and connect them to the analog inputs of the DVD recorder (option 4).

If needs be, you can add a title to the video, too.

The software can easily achieve real-time performance on a 1.5GHz laptop running Windows XP. You will need a processor that supports the SSE2 instruction set. The installer checks for this.

The software is publically available at no cost for non-commercial use and, if you use options 2, 3 or 4 above, there will be an occasional 'spoiler' frame every 10 seconds or so. You can use the non-commercial version for evaluation purposes.

Naturally, the commercial version doesn't spoil the output and also takes advantage of multiple processors.

Please see the web site listing in my profile.

Regards,

John.