We're Going to be Rude to Your Blackberry

This is the second in a series of blog entries about how to maximize your video deposition experience, whether as questioner, defender or deponent. Yes, it's been a while since the first one, that's just how things go sometimes. To be honest, I'm still getting the hang of this feature, and only just recently attached it to my website, despite having published the first entry months ago. I do plan to make future entries on a more frequent basis. But now: Blackberrys ....

The one technical skill any participant at a videotaped deposition is going to have to master is how to sit in the same room with someone who's wearing a microphone. This rudimentary task involves one step: Turn your Blackberry off. Note that I said, "Off," and not, "Silent." Yes, I realize what I'm asking; basically cutting your umbilical cord. (Try to think of it as simply putting the cord into a tight kink, which you can unkink at breaks and all the information will flow back into the device again.) The reason: Your Blackberry transmits via a signal frequency that seriously interferes with the audio on the videotape. This signal is transmitted not only whenever it sends an email, but whenever it receives an email (or any other ping), and acknowledges it with a message of its own. This is why the machines must be off completely.

You may have heard this interference on your speakerphone, especially Polycom conference speakerphones. I have heard of Blackberrys causing interference with computer speakers. I have even heard the interference several times on broadcast news shows, usually when they're at a live event or have a panel of commentators, and one of them didn't follow the stage manager's instructions to turn it off. These guys don't get asked back.

Note also that I said Blackberrys, and not any other brand. I was not speaking generically, I am referring only to Blackberrys proper. Other devices, iPhones, other cell phones, other PDAs, do not transmit at the same frequency, or by whatever technology it is that causes the interference, and as such are not a problem. (I have read that Nextel and Bluetooth devices can also cause problems, but I have only had issues with Blackberrys.) However it is still polite to put them on silent. Or maybe you should turn your other devices off in solidarity with the Blackberrys. You're in a deposition after all; perhaps you should pay attention to the matter at hand.

Technology to shield the interference exists, although its effectiveness is unknown:
http://www.crownaudio.com/kb/entry/163/

I've never seen it used, but if you want to build and carry one of these things around, I'd like to know if it works. Please drop me a line.

I've heard rumors that the Blackberry people are working on new models that don't cause this level of interference, but could not find any reference to them on the web. I did have one Blackberry user who said her device didn't cause the interference, and sure enough, I heard no interference from it all day. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was just her particular model of Blackberry, the name or number of which I didn't get. It was red, if you're going to go look for one.

Next in DCMblogger: How to wear a lavaliere microphone with style and skill.

Deposition Video 101: The Setup

I felt that it would be appropriate to start off my blog by a series of entries which offer a general overview of the deposition video process. Not so much a "How-to," but rather some insights into what's going on at a video deposition that can affect how the video ends up looking and sounding, and why some videographers, or at least this one, do things the way we do. Today I’ll look at how a conference room is set up for a video depo.

The Basic Set-up: Amongst videographers, heated arguments often break out over what is the “Proper” setup plan for a deposition video. The options are: lengthwise along the table, camera in the corner, or camera somewhere along the long side of the table. The correct answer?: Whatever the conducting attorney prefers. Every videographer should defer to their client’s preference. I always assume that an attorney has a good reason if they go out of their way to indicate a preference. If you have a preference, please let the videographer know when you schedule, or when the videographer arrives (which should be one hour before the start time). Changing the setup after we’ve started can cause a delay.

So, what’s the “real” answer? Well, my answer is: In the corner, my back to the window, furthest from the door, shooting across the table. (See illustration.) There many reasons to prefer this design:

1) This setup is exactly the same as when the videographer is not there. The attorney and deponent sit across from one another, the reporter is on the end; everything can proceed in the familiar way.

2) By setting up next to the attorney, the camera gets the best angle on the witness: full frontal. This is much better than ¾ profile or profile for registering emotions (or lack thereof). How would you feel if your witness had a facial tic when he lied, but that tic was obscured by the camera angle?

3) The videographer can communicate easily with the conducting attorney and the court reporter. We need to do this to notify the conducting attorney of tape changes and for other technical tasks.

4) The distance across the table is best for photographic reasons: With the light from the window coming fully toward the deponent, we avoid half-lighting. The shorter distance gives us a deeper depth of field, meaning there is a wider range of distance that the subject is in focus (can be useful with rockers and rollers*, especially in a darker room.). Also, the shorter distance means less of a zoom, which means that camera movements appear smoother.

5) Finally, by setting up in a corner furthest from the door, nobody is tempted or forced to walk over my equipment on the way out of the room, which is undesirable for obvious reasons.

With this in mind, you might want to consider the following tips:

A) Please don’t put a potted plant in the far back corner near the window: Most office plants can do with partial sunlight. Please don’t put anything in that corner, if it can be avoided.

B) Please put the hospitality service at the end of the room nearest the door. This is helpful to the person bringing in the coffee, not just the videographer. They don’t have to walk across the camera shot or wait for a break to refresh, and no one else has to walk across the camera shot or around my equipment to get their coffee. If the credenza is at my end of the room, consider placing the coffee service at the end of the table nearest the door. I’ve never heard anyone complain that the coffee was too close to them.

Some might object that videographer, sitting between the reporter and the attorney, is in the way. But this is not so, with the proper setup. In the diagram, notice that the videographer is almost fully on the corner of the table, and the distance between the reporter and attorney is almost the same as without a videographer. The camera is also set back, which takes less space at the table and doesn’t obstruct the flow of exhibits.

A lengthwise setup in not preferable for the converse of all the reasons outlined above: inferior camera angle, separation between attorney and videographer, less depth of field, shakier camera movements and people walking over and around the equipment. However, it is not impossible, just not preferred. (Perhaps some people just want the videographer the hell away from them.) If you have to use a lengthwise setup, follow these tips for a better video:

1) Place the court reporter at the first seat at the table, between the witness (on the end) and the questioning attorney. If the questioner is sitting further down the table, then the angle of the witness’s face will be more head-on.

2) Pick an internal room that is well lit, if you can. Sidelight from windows mixes poorly with room lighting, giving the witness an unflattering appearance. (Maybe giving the witness an unflattering appearance sounds like a good idea to you, but it is ultimately distracting from the testimony itself.)

As for the setup in the middle along one side of the table, it is the worst of both worlds. You get a slight profile, and while the path between attorney and reporter is “unobstructed,” the path between the attorney and her associates is completely obstructed. I won't illustrate that one.

Again, if you have any preference for your setup, be sure to communicate it early. I'm happy to take your mail or a phone call. Even a simple diagram left on the table for me to find when I start my day will help me provide you with the conditions you need for your deposition.

Next DCM Blogger: Microphones, Blackberrys and Other Noisances