Did You Hear What I Heard? Oh.. I can do better than that!
Here's a little "video deposition war story" I'd like to share with you:
A few weeks back we had videotaped a deposition for a rather high profile case. If you've ever been to a correctly executed videotaped deposition then you're aware of the fact that there are several "fail safe safeguards" in play. For example, there are generally TWO video recording devices plus an additional cassette recorder that records the audio for use by the court reporter to quality control their transcript, as well as studio-quality microphones for each of the participants to provide crystal clear reproduction of every word, snort and sneeze that takes place during taping.
A few days ago we received a call from the court reporter saying that the opposing counsel accused her of changing a portion the transcript and demanded a correction. The court reporter re-read the portion and question, listened to the audiotape we supplied and politely explained that there wasn't an error.
"Not good enough! I'm taking blah, blah legal, yada, yada action" responded the opposing counsel. "This is an outrage! (And some other forgettable epithets).
So I got a call. "Can you check your video for "Page 46, Line 12" and see what the deponent is saying?" "Sure thing I replied, give me a nanosecond or so". (Well, it was actually a tad more than a nanosecond).... Anyway, I located the deposition, which had the audio synchronized to the text from the transcript as well as having the pages and line numbers indexed which makes finding anything a snap and located the segment in question. Within a minute or so of loading the CD I located the exact spot, exported the portion onto another CD and popped it into the mail to the opposing counsel. I could have as easily emailed it to her if she had a secure email server.
Never heard a peep again from the opposing counsel, nary a peep! (Or an apology!)
And....That's how the pros do it!
Following is a blurb from our website that reinforces the value of videotaping the spoken word:
Video For Depositions
Making the Best Use of Video
In 1980, we were one of the first companies to offer videotape depositions in Southern California. "We used our full-sized Ikegami broadcast cameras and Betamax recorders to provide the highest quality videos," says Video Resources founder, Brad Hagen. "Today, we have compact camera systems that record to tape and DVD, but our philosophy remains the same - provide best-in-class audio and video recordings for the legal community." Our in-house capabilities include taping and syncing video with the written transcripts to provide total flexibility in discovery and the courtroom.
Synchronizing transcripts to videotape recordings is not new, but the capability and quality available today is the ideal for a broad range of cases. Learn more by reading about the technology on our Trial Presentations blog or by contacting Charles Perez to arrange a hands-on demonstration.
- Videotaping depositions at your site or ours, or any location here or abroad
- Practice testimony and training
- On-site complimentary audio cassette for reporters
- Synchronizing transcripts to videotape recordings
- CLVS certified operators
- NCRA members, CLVS certified
- For location recording, we've designed a compact, integrated recording equipment package specifically for use in our deposition services.
See you next time!
Charles Perez - Trial Presentation Wizard Extraordinaire
