3 Ways to Assist Your Videographer From a Videographer’s Perspective Part 2: During a Deposition
Legal videographers are the strange, often quiet magician sitting on the other end of the table away from everybody else surrounded by a wall of electronics. It is no surprise then that the needs we have from the others in the room to do our jobs are often overlooked.
In following with the previous blog, here are three additional ways for attorneys and their deponents to better assist in ensuring that the video is of the highest quality.
1) Please wear your microphones.
While syncing a video recently, I heard an attorney begin to ask a question while not wearing the microphone. In this situation, the videographer onsite asked him to put on the microphone, because he was barely audible. The attorney retorted, “You mean these microphones can’t pick me up?” He put on the microphone and immediately the difference in clarity was stunning.
When the audio becomes difficult to hear, it not only makes hearing the on-record conversation more difficult for the jury, it also makes syncing more difficult. We use programs that perform algorithms based on clean audio. When we have to go back and manually sync the transcript back up to the video, it incurs costs that are inevitably reflected in our pricing. It is in everyone’s best interest if we have clean audio, and that is why it is imperative that an attorney mic not only the witness but themselves before beginning questioning.
2) Turn and cough.
Imagine someone put a speaker by your ear that initially plays a man talking. Then abruptly and unexpectedly they turn up the volume as it plays a man hacking and coughing. Though unintentional, this is essentially how it sounds when a videographer wears his headset and an attorney coughs, laughs, or sneezes without covering his mouth and turning his head.
These noises can mask what’s being said on the video record. A sudden loud cough could cover a portion of the witness’s answer. In some cases, the court reporter is listening to a direct feed from the videographer, so these interruptions can possibly be reflected on the written record as well.
Please keep in mind that the microphone you are wearing is running into a mixer, which boosts the sounds you are making while talking and goes to the videographer’s headphones. So, every time you cough, laugh, sneeze, or yell into your microphone, you have the potential to damage not only the video’s audio, but also the videographer’s hearing. Please be courteous and aware while wearing the microphone.
3) The boundary microphone is not part of the table.
The boundary microphone is the failsafe for the videographer and usually sits in the middle of the table between the attorneys, the deponent, and the court reporter. It records everything. For that reason, it is usually kept at a low setting so as not to pick up every single noise or conflict with the witness and the two primary attorneys. It is kept loud enough that those in the room who are not wearing a mic, such as the court reporter, videographer, and any other attorneys, are able to be heard on the video record.
Therefore, when papers are stacked on top of it or shuffled through over it, the microphone becomes less of a functioning tool and more of a noisy hindrance. Objections, including your own, may not be heard over the rustling of papers. It is best if you can keep all microphones unobstructed, especially boundary microphones, and keep paperwork away from it.
In the end, the video we are shooting is for you, and our requests are meant to help make the video of the highest possible quality while creating a safe environment for the deposition and minimize stress for all parties in the room. If you do your best to accommodate us and are open about your needs for the deposition, we can better assure a smooth day and an impressive video for you to use in trial.
Frank Holmes is a legal videographer employed by PohlmanUSA Court Reporting where he focuses his experience on the St. Louis, Missouri, metro area. Frank is also a successful trial technician and works in the trial services team at PohlmanUSA.
