Depositions
Day In the Life
Settlement
Hearings
Environmental
Insurance
Site Inspection
Wills
Accident

Depositions | Day in the Life | Settlement | Hearings | Environmental
 Insurance | Site Inspection | Wills | Accident

Depositions
There are several reasons for videotaping a deposition or Examination Before Trial.  The most common reasons are either that the witness will not be available for trial or to preserve the testimony in the case of a sick or elderly witness.

YesLaw™
Videotape Editing
Courtroom Playback
Prints from Video
Videotape Duplication
Still Photograpy
Aerial
Surveillance & Electronic    Countermeasures
Video to DVD Transfer

The videotape operator arrives on site one hour prior to the deposition to set up and test the equipment.  Legal Video Associates, LLC uses professional quality equipment including:

3-chip broadcast and digital cameras, tripod, individual lavaliere clip on microphones, audio mixer, Mini DV, S-VHS, VHS or Hi8mm video recorders, lighting kit, color monitor and a time-date generator. We even provide the court reporter with a audio cassette of the deposition to aid in transcription. It’s a lot of equipment, but this provides the best possible image and sound to play before a jury.  For extra measure, we record the entire deposition with a second  ‘safety’ VCR.  Since 1983, owner, David W. Garbe has personally videotaped well over 500 depositions.

[Conference Room Setup]

[Closeup of MRI]

When the deposition starts, the video operator reads a statement into the record. This statement includes the video operator’s name, the date, time and place of the deposition, the case caption, the name of the witness and on whose behalf the deposition is being taken. These are as outlined in the Federal rules for videotaping depositions. The parties present then orally identify themselves for the record and the court reporter swears in the witness. Any stipulations with regard to objections are then placed on the record. Unless specified, the camera remains on a head and shoulders shot of the witness and the attorneys remain off camera.

Should an object such as a model, x-ray, photograph or other object be marked as an exhibit, the camera may zoom in to show a particular point of interest when directed. 

Also, every time you go on and off the record, or change videotape, the video operator states the date and time. The date and time are also continuously displayed via a time-date generator across the bottom of the screen. This time-date stamp which displays the month, day, year, hour, minute and second can be used as an easy reference for playback or editing. In the case of Real Time Reporting, it can be synchronized with the court reporter’s time stamp next to questions and answers in the transcript.

[Close-up of Clip on
 Lavaliere Microphone]

The witness and attorney’s microphone levels are controlled with an audio mixer and are monitored during the entire deposition via headphones for the audio and a color monitor for the video.

[Audio Mixer to ‘eq’ out
 Room Noise]

Using an audio mixer with a three-band equalizer allows the operator to ‘eq’ out background noises such as HVAC fans or busy office noise. Otherwise, if a fan is present, a constant hum can muffle the audio during playback in the courtroom

Day in the Life
A videotape that shows the jury what a ‘day in the life’ of a particular person is like.  The day’s events are not altered or staged in any way. Artistic license spells lawsuit in the legal field.  The camera records any physical therapy, care and treatment, and the general environment. Audio is also recorded.  The jury is then shown an edited version of the tape generally no more than 20 minutes in length.  These tapes can be very emotional and often a settlement is made prior to showing the tape to the jury.   Since 1983, owner David W. Garbe has videotaped over 100 ‘Day in the Life’ videos.

Settlement Video
Edit family interviews, expert opinions, home pictures and video into a short video presentation to present to the insurance company. In many cases fault is admitted; it’s the dollar amount that is in question. A settlement video is generally no more than 20 minutes in length.

[Medical cases are most prevalent in settlement videos.]

Hearings
Legal Video Associates, LLC has videotaped many hearings, psychological and physical exams for local and government agencies.  These may be conducted in a courthouse, jail or detention center.

Environmental
This area generally involves a piece of property that has environmental concerns.  Flood or Ice damage, hazardous waste monitoring and new construction all fall into this category.  This may be used in conjunction with aerial or satellite photography and environmental engineering reports.

Insurance
Also see Surveillance-Fraud Investigation.  Legal Video Associates, LLC is often called upon to videotape the contents of a home, business, or office for insurance purposes. Serial numbers are also noted where applicable on the videotape. We also take still photographs of cars involved in accidents.

Machinery
In a personal injury case when you can’t bring the jury to the site, bring the site to the jury via a videotape. The moving visuals and natural sound are much more interesting than still photos. 

We have videotaped all kinds of equipment inspections. Some of the more memorable include: lawnmowers, saws, nail guns, steam rollers, cherry pickers, helicopter blades and lots of assembly line equipment.

A wireless microphone is put on the expert witness as they look at and comment on the machine.  This tape may also be edited down prior to being shown to the jury.

[Mover Inspection]

[Spark Plugs]

Site Inspections
This covers a wide area including environmental, safety, construction and engineering issues.  Many times an engineer or investigator will make notes or measurements on camera and note their findings.  Some inspections require videotape to be shot every week over a period of perhaps a year to document progress or change in conditions.

Wills
Also known as a ‘living will’. A person states his or her will before his or her attorney, the camera and a witness. The lawyer then asks the person a series of questions regarding the will and his or her intentions with respect to the will.  The documents are then signed in front of the camera.  The videotape is kept with the will.

Accident
This covers a wide area. Legal Video Associates, LLC has been involved with accident re-construction cases in providing video of the road or site in question.  To get a POV (Point of View) shot of what the driver would see, a miniature camera is mounted on a helmet that a driver wears.  We can also take still pictures of a vehicle after an accident for insurance purposes.

[Car Accident Re-enactment]

Legal Video Associates, LLC
David Garbe
2604 Elmwood Avenue, Box 331, Rochester, NY  14618
Tel/Fax: 585.271.7990
Cellular Phone:  585.259.7990
Info@LegalVideoAssociates.com

Copyright © 2001-2003, Legal Video Associates, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.
 

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