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Deposition Videotaping
Videotaping depositions is the most common
service in legal videography. Consider the
case which requires a particular person's test-
imony. If that person cannot appear at trail,
the next best alternative is a videotaped depo-
sition. Voice inflections, mannerisms, and
general deportment cannot be conveyed in
the reading of a transcript. But such things
can be presented through a properly video-
taped deposition.
Day In The Life
Actually the phrase "day-in-the-life" is a
misnomer. It is not practical to try to record
an entire day in the life of an injured plain-
tiff. The purpose of this type of video is to
show how the life of a person has changed
as a result of the incident in question. It can
also be called a "life change documentary"
though the phrase "day in the life" is most
popular.
A professional legal videographer is highly
recommended when a day-in-the-life is
needed. One of the dangers of amateur
videography is in white balance problems
which might cause a video to be kept out
of court. Amateur videotaping is usually
much inferior to professional camera work
as well. Subjecting a jury to a video which
was recorded poorly is likely to cause nega-
tive reactions at worst and slackening of
attention at best. It's better to videotape
a day-in-the-life using a qualified camera
operator. A professional should not only
have a steady hand technique (when hand-
held work is appropriate) but should have
a thorough understanding of issues such
as composition and continuity of shots.
Settlement Documentary
A settlement documentary video is made
to be viewed by opposition attorneys and
insurance adjusters rather than a jury, as
is the case with a day-in-the-life. This
means it is not bound by admissibility
issues. A music background can set the
mood. Interviews with family, friends,
and experts are often used. When this
type of documentary is done well, it can
have a dramatic impact on negotiations
or on a settlement. To have a major im-
pact on one's opposition, however, it
requires a true video professional who
is skillful not only in technical details,
but in communicating through video.
Location Videotaping
Videotaping an accident scene or building
site might not seem as challenging as other
types of legal video services but there are
pitfalls for the amateur videographer. Let's
consider an example:
Two attorneys need to videotape a country
road by driving by a location. This seems
simple enough. One person drives while
the other one holds the camcorder. The
two of them try it. They check the video
and find there is too much motion. It's
not only hard to see anything clearly but
it almost makes the attorneys car sick to
watch it. No problem. They do it over
but this time they put the camcorder on
a tripod and the passenger holds it down
firmly to the floor. Again they check the
resulting video. This time the interior of
the car is rock solid but the country road
is almost a blur of motion. It's worthless.
They've spent a good deal of time learn-
ing the hard way. Or have they? Do they
now know how to do it? Did they forget
to turn on the image stability button on
the camcorder? What's going on?
If they had consulted an experienced
professional videographer they would
have saved themselves a lot time and
frustration. The proper way to record
this video is to have a skilled camera
operator do "hand held" videotaping.
The arms of a professional can act as
a cushion from the bouncing of a car.
Camera image stabilization is useful
for short, quick motion irregularities,
but the kind of long slow movements
caused by driving a car over a country
road are not caught by it. It's best left
to a camera operator who has spent
years holding cameras in many kinds
of situations.
Animation
This may be the most underused type of
legal video service at the beginning of the
21st Century. The cost of quality "3-D"
animation is only a fraction of what it was
20 years ago. One of the most common
examples of using animation in the court-
room is in supplementing the aural testi-
mony of an expert witness. When there
are complex motions needing to be under-
stood by the jury, the three-dimensional
visualization can be far better than only
aural testimony. Including slow-motion
can also be extremely effective and at
very little additional cost. Most of the
work involved with 3D animation is
in constructing the virtual scene and any
objects that might need to be constructed
from scratch.
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