Introduction

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Many videographers and some lawyers today do not realize that legal videography is far more than just video recording depositions with a “talking head” shot.  Much to the contrary, legal videography includes such things as video recording scenes of incidents, proof of damages, evidence of insurance fraud, video wills and pre-nuptial agreements, day-in-the-life documentaries, pre-construction surveys, settlement documentaries and much much more.

Recognizing the requirements of Rule 30 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, the Rules 1000-1008 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, in addition to the State and District Court rules, and understanding there are certain things which cannot be included in legal video evidence that will be introduced into a trial, the AGCV has dedicated itself to training professional legal videographers in all aspects of video recording visual evidence, including the final preparation of the evidence so that it cannot be impeached and thrown out of court.

Today, there are no courts in the country that require the legal videographer producing legal video documentaries must be certified, but we are convinced that certification of legal videographers is going to come just as sure as stenographic court reporters must now be certified.  In fact, right now there are over forty states that do not require that there be a stenographic court reporter present in the taking of testimony under oath (depositions).   This simply means the videographer, if a notary public or if the videographer is named in the Notice of a Deposition, they can administer the oath to the witness and "take the testimony."

The present potential for legal videography is unlimited!  The vast majority of the courts in our country today are going high-tech and using legal video evidence in almost every major trial.  Every attorney (just under 1,000,000 in the country) needs to have a fully trained and certified legal videographer on call (presently less than 700 available) . 

The critical shortage of “properly trained legal videographers” will not change for years to come and now is the time for professional videographers to move into the legal video field and take advantage of the “professional” fees that this profession affords.

The attorneys that are going into the courts and not taking advantage of the newest methods of visual presentation are the ones that are coming out the loser. This is where the fully trained and certified professional videographer plays a major part in getting a favorable settlement for the attorney’s clients. Keep in mind, as of today, not one court in the nation, including the Federal courts, are requiring the legal videographer be certified, it’s the attorneys that are demanding it! It goes without saying, they all require the stenographic court reporter be certified and hopefully, in the very near future, all courts will also require the video court reporter be fully trained and certified.

The AGCV stands ready to offer the service of training and certifying any professional videographer that desires to take advantage of this exploding video opportunity.  Your name and contact information should be in the Rolodex of every attorney in your service area.  When certified, your company information will appear in our “International Directory of Legal Videographers” (www.legalvideographers.com) and can be sourced by any attorney the world over. 

The AGCV highly suggests that you not even attempt to produce video evidence under oath (depositions) unless you have gone through the formal process of becoming certified.  The only reason the uncertified videographers get by with sub-standard legal video is that the attorneys expect the videographer to be the “expert” and not themselves.