Recording testimony for trial is one of the original uses of forensic video production. Objections are ruled upon prior to trial by the presiding Judge, therefore jurors are not distracted by the legal arguments and objections, and the testimony runs without interruptions. The edited testimony then allows fact-finders to see and hear the deponent's actual testimony and demeanor rather than a third party reading the transcript of the testimony into the record. Many nuances of communication are documented on videotape, including inflection, tone of voice and many other non-verbal expressions.

Great Tool for the Fact-Finding Phase

Taken during the pretrial discovery phase of lawsuits, depositions give lawyers a chance to question deponents under oath. The sessions often involve endless legal parrying, since many lawyers advise clients to reveal little and take time before answering. But now, those tactics are changing because they can so easily make a witness look evasive on the video recording. Also fueling the revolution is new technology that lets lawyers pull up footage in seconds and use laptop computers to package video clips on the spot. The ABA this year even endorsed the practice of splicing clips from several witnesses into one smooth presentation, so jurors can compare testimony on the same subject.