Rule 30.1.Audio-visual recording of depositions

Video adds something a paper transcript can't: tone, hesitation, body language. Rule 30.1 lets any party notice a deposition to be recorded by audio-visual means, but it never lets the video stand alone. A stenographic record has to be made at the same time, and the party who noticed the audio-visual recording pays for both the recording and the transcribing, though any party can get its own copy of either at its own expense. Both records, the video and the reporter's transcript, count as official records of the deposition, and either can be used for any purpose a standard deposition can be used for. The notice and any subpoena for the witness's attendance must say up front that the deposition will be recorded by audio-visual means, and a court can order the recording party to produce a transcript at its own cost.

The rule also lays out how the recording itself has to run. It must open on camera with the operator's name and business address, the operator's employer, the date, time, and place, the case caption, the party taking the deposition, and any stipulations, and counsel must identify themselves on the record. The oath has to be administered on camera, and if the recording spans multiple film or data units, the end of one and the start of the next must be announced. The deposition closes with an on-camera statement confirming it's complete, and objections get made just as they would in a stenographic deposition. Recordings must be indexed by a time generator or other approved method, and if a court orders the recording edited for use, the original can't be altered. Unless the court orders otherwise, the noticing attorney keeps the original recording, any court-ordered edited copy, and the exhibits, the same way a transcript would be kept, and the reasonable cost of recording, editing, and using the video deposition can be taxed as costs in the case.