Pre-Deposition Statement

• Many courts require videographers to make certain statements and identifications before a video deposition begins. For example, Judge Castillo of the Northern Illinois District of the United States District Court mandates that before depositions begin, videographers state their name, the name and business address of the videographer's employer, the place, time, and date of the deposition, the name of the case and the name of the witness. In some courts, the videographer can not have any connection to the case. Additionally, the videographer must make clear for whom the deposition is being taken and if any "stipulations" have been agreed to by the legal parties. This statement must be made on each disc or cassette used to record the deposition.
  
  

Depositon

• The videographer must record an officer of the court swearing in the deponent (deposition's witness) by oath. Once the videographer starts recording the deponent, she must record with complete accuracy the statements and appearance of the deponent. The videographer must not distort the visual appearance of the deponent, nor can she filter the sound of the recording. Throughout the recording, a stenographer (court typist) will be recording a written transcript. If the parties in the case decide to speak without the stenographer reporting, then the videographer must turn off the camera as well.
  
  

Editing.

• After the recording of the video, the opposition's attorney may raise an objection to some parts of the of the recorded deposition. In his guide to video depositions, Oregon-based trial Attorney E.J. Simmons cautions that when judges rule portions of the recording inadmissible, "re-editing may be needed." While an original and complete copy of the recording should be maintained, clips meant for courtroom presentation cannot contain inadmissible portions of the deposition.
  
  

Distribution

• Courts usually requires the party who initiates the deposition to keep the original recording of a deposition in their possession. For example, the state of Pennsylvania's rules for video depositions, require the attorney who hired the videographer to take custody of and be responsible for the videotape of the deposition. Additionally, this attorney must let the opposing attorneys view the recording at any time or obtain a copy at cost. For this reason, videographers have to be able to make quality copies of the recording.