X-Bill_Celnick
Imported Account
Oct 23, 2001, 8:15 PM
Post #5 of 7
(1445 views)
Shortcut
|
None of the depositons I've shot have been edited. In my neck of the woods
they're played to a jury live, although monitored so that they can be muted on demand to comply with judges rulings
Other areas have different practices.
We shoot legal video strictly in VHS for several reasons:
1. The jury sees an original, no generation loss.
2. Sometimes a depositon is played back almost immediately. Might not be time
for dub from a digital format. VHS is still universally available, the party playing back the testimony may not have a digital vcr.
3. In most cases there simply isn't a real need for better than VHS quality.
I would advise you to get something like a Panasonic AG-456, a workhorse.
If you insist on doing these digitally, those cameras are more fragile, and more expensive,
you'll need a back-up camera as well. If you have a camera failure you can't just leave, or your career will be a short one.
Most of the depositons I shoot go for an average of 2 hours. With mini DV you'll
have to change tapes twice as often, which will not please the attorneys either. You'd want a larger format camera like the Sony DSR 250
Don't get me wrong, I love digital cams, and use them for most of my non legal work, but for depostions,
go low tech. Tape is also cheaper and more readily available.
I'm sure opinions will differ. Hope this helps.
: Thank you for the responses. 2 additional questions:
: 1)Out of all the depositions you have done, how many required
: additional editing/modifying?
: Or did you just mainly submit a VHS copy to the attorney on site?
: If you did additional editing, did you do it yourself or at
: a local post house facility? If yourself, what editing software
: are you using/recommend? (How much extra [Ballpark] would you charge
: for this service?)
: 2)I'm contemplating in purchasing a DV Cam. What are your thoughts
: on these choices?
: A) Cannon GL1 ($2,000)
: B) Sony VX2000 ($2,295)
: C) JVC GRDV2000 ($1,509)
: D) Cannon XL1S ($3,659) (Out of Price Range)
: E) Any other "similar" Camera you would recommend
: Thanks again!
|
