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How A Cinematographer Built A Business Filming Court-Testimony
Courtroom drama looks glamorous on TV, but the real pressure often sits behind the lens. We sit down with David, a cinematographer who traded background roles and commercial shoots for a surprising specialty: filming legal depositions where you can’t fix it in post and every second counts. He unpacks the rules of this world—timestamps, chain-of-custody mindset, neutral framing, and flawless audio—and explains why a job with zero edits can sharpen your technical instincts more than any high-gloss brand gig.
David takes us through his winding path from Texas music dreams to Atlanta sets, into Full Sail’s digital cinematography program, and finally toward a business built on reliable workflows. He shares the gear that matters for admissible video—backup cameras, wired lavaliers, UPS power, and portable LEDs—and the software side that keeps hybrid sessions smooth, including OBS for time-and-date burn-ins and Zoom distribution. We talk file sizes, codecs, and why 1080p and small bitrates are your friend when a testimony runs for hours. We also get real about etiquette: arrive early, dress for court-adjacent work, announce off-the-record moments, and deliver through secure, encrypted portals with clear retention policies.
There’s room for creativity too. David’s developing Dino Puppin’, a kids’ education series blending animation with live action to support pre-K through early grades—an idea shaped by time in the classroom and a love for engaging, movement-based learning. That balance between procedural precision and playful storytelling shows how a filmmaker can thrive across very different demands. For newcomers, David’s advice is simple and strong: start where you are, plan your shots, master sound, respect pacing, and finish projects. Upgrades come later; skill comes from doing.
If this conversation sparked ideas or gave you a new path into filmmaking, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Your feedback helps more creators find the guidance they need.
Hello everybody. Welcome to Auto Focus. We are here today with our friend David. David, why don't you tell us a little bit about you and who you are and what you do?
SPEAKER_00:Well, uh, I'm a cinematographer and I'm the owner of On Record Video. And we just opened up in Springdale, Arkansas. Um, and I've been doing cinematography uh since 2016.
SPEAKER_02:Nice. Yeah, how'd you get started?
SPEAKER_00:Uh so I started in film um through music, actually. So I grew up in Texas and um I wanted to be a rock star uh like I think most teenagers, but um, so I did this competition and it was an acting modeling talent competition, and they kind of make you do everything in that competition. I ended up doing better uh like in the uh acting category than I did in the music performance category. So because I was 18 at the time, and so I got put in with uh the adult group.
SPEAKER_02:And so I went with and how old, like were you like the youngest one there?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so there was tons, there's tons of, I mean, it's a big competition um nationwide, and so there's just thousands of people that if you get accepted in the competition that you compete against. So I was in the adult category, so I was you know playing against with music against uh really well-established. Yeah, people that are doing this forever. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's no excuse. They were just way better than me, but uh, but I also did really well in the acting, which I was totally surprised in because I didn't I didn't act. And so I was in the top 25. Um, and I got a call back um in acting from one of the talent agencies that was at the competition, and they were in Atlanta. So uh I moved to Atlanta and right after high school and started doing kind of like the acting thing. Uh mainly did a lot of like extra work for things like uh Teen Wolf and Vampire Diaries and stuff. Oh, that's fine.
SPEAKER_02:So like C CW son of stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, because they're doing a lot of filming there because in Georgia, um, there's great tax incentives to film. Um, and so a lot of the film industry has moved out to Georgia and stuff. But uh, I think other states have realized wow, that's really bringing in a lot of uh business, so we need to have some good tax incentives and stuff. So um it's getting better in other states now. But yeah, so they were uh shooting out there and I was just doing, like I said, extra work, um, which was kind of paying the bills, but it wasn't what it wasn't what the dream was. You know, I wasn't right like doing a whole bunch of like lead roles. And at the time I had really long hair, and um so they kept kind of my agent was like typecasting me for uh like hippie roles and things, you know, very specific roles that uh I didn't there weren't a lot of lead roles for those types of um type stuff. And so um, anyways, I was doing the acting. Um, it got me on some big sets, which was very cool, and that's when I got to see like all of the production that goes on behind the scenes. So I got to see, you know, producers and directors and assistant directors and just uh, you know, line producers and gaffers and best boys and the whole thing. Like it's just a huge team, huge, you know, and it's just it was so cool. And I just see that there's so many jobs and roles in cinematography and um and acting is just like just like a tiny little piece of the whole puzzle. And um, and then I realized you really don't get to kind of um, even when you're acting, you don't really get to determine the character. The writer does that, and you're just portraying what they wrote, you know, and stuff. So and then the director really tells you how he wants you to portray that role even further. So you're very limited. I mean, so um, you kind of just uh as far as a storyteller uh position goes. And I kind of at that time realized I think I want to take on more of that role um as a storyteller. Uh so I was interested in learning uh how to get into filmmaking. And I ended up going to school at uh Full Sale University, um, which is in Winter Park, Florida. Uh, but I did their online program and got my degree in digital cinematography. That's cool. And then uh graduated in 2017 and started my own production company and just started uh making my own. That's really cool. Um cinematography works, commercials, videos, things like that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. How did you do so? You did it online and it's like full sale is like one of those, like they're teaching you how to do like like the the the big like production. And so what kind of equipment do did you have to have to like get to to to do the online classes?
SPEAKER_00:So the uh they set you up if you um if you get accepted into their online program, they'll send you uh a camera, they'll send you a mic, um, they'll send you a laptop. Uh you do have to get through like I think the first semester um without all of that yourself, you know, because the first semester is like your basic courses and stuff, and they also kind of want to make sure like you're gonna be able to do that. Are you serious?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Before they send out all this equipment, because they will send you some nice stuff. Like when I was going there, um I got an FS, a Sony FS 700, which is a a great um starter cinema camera for somebody to have, you know. Um, and at the time uh it was uh it was extremely very expensive or would have been for me, you know, to get on my own. But I got that as part of my tuition. Uh, I don't know what kind of cameras they're doing now, but I'm assuming they probably upgraded. Um, and I think they're still in the Sony line of cameras. Uh so they give you that, then they'll give you a MacBook, um, and then like I said, they'll give you uh a mic and uh I think and then did they give me they might give you like a tripod. I think they do. They give you a tripod. Tripod. I mean, do you get any lights or anything? I don't think I got lights. I think I had to buy the lights myself. I can't remember. But uh, if you go on their website, you definitely can check out and they'll tell you on their online program um what all their little studio package stuff is. And it's the same for the music people too. So they have like a music program and then they'll send them kind of whatever equipment they need to kind of get them started. Yeah. It's uh really cool because I think unlike a lot of other degree fields, like you just end up going through and you have to get the stuff yourself, and then you get the training and and a degree if you finish, but you don't get to walk away with like equipment, which I did, which was kind of cool.
SPEAKER_02:Do you get to keep it? Yeah. Oh see, that's really cool. Yeah, that is super cool. Awesome. All right. So you started off, you know, wanting to be like a filmmaker probably. So and then and then and then what how did that evolve? Like, how did you end up here in Northwest, Arkansas and doing what you're doing now?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so all of that, um, during that time I kind of traveled quite a bit. Uh my most recent kind of home base before moving out here was Missouri. And uh I was doing uh all my uh production company stuff there through a company called Hot Air Productions, where I made commercials and did live events and um and it introduced me to uh another type of cinematography work, which I learned about in school as well, um, and stuff I just didn't wasn't exposed to it before. But once I had my uh production company, um I learned about uh legal deposition videos because I got some of that work offered through a company that would help um find creative works for uh people and then like you know, send them out on jobs, thinking they were creative circle or something like that. That's cool. Um and uh and so I got sent out on a few of those and I was like, wow, this is a very interesting line of cinematography. And I was uh pretty excited about it because um, you know, it doesn't have all of the the glitz and glam, and it's not a huge production like some of the other stuff. So when you're doing that all the time, um, you know, it's nice to take a nice little break from from that and kind of just pull back all the gear a little bit and and just shoot and stuff for a job. And and that's kind of what it was. And then um, and then it's just on this whole very official legal thing. I just wanted to learn more about it, so I did. And then when um after I've did a few of those, I moved out here to Arkansas and I was like, well, I'm gonna start my production company, but I kind of want to specialize in this area. So that's really cool. That's why I did on record video.
SPEAKER_02:So what is deposition video? Uh people don't know.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so uh legal deposition videos are videos from witnesses that have to give uh you know their testimony in court, and it acts as like uh their official testimony as if they're in the courtroom because a lot of them can't show up in the courtroom and stuff. So uh you'll have a um a video recording that will play as evidence and their testimony in the courtroom. So you have to have like an official uh court reporter swear them in, you know, the attorneys are there, they ask their questions, you know. Like both sides. Both sides. Both sides. So I was like, how do they how do they like yeah, do like a counter, you know, and they do objections, just like I mean, it's kind of like having just that witness on trial right there in a in a uh video environment. You know, so uh that's uh you have to be very professional when you're there quiet the whole time as the photographer, but just making sure that all the equipment's running and um you know everything's going smoothly because this is gonna be their official um testimony on on the trial.
SPEAKER_02:So what happens if something goes wrong? Because like that's normal in like any kind of technology like technical set.
SPEAKER_00:Uh so you want to make sure, I mean, if you're just starting out, you you can start out with some pretty basic equipment, and that's one of the great appeals of doing that type of cinematography. You just need a very entry-level camera, um, and then you need some kind of audio recording. Um, it's useful to have a laptop because a lot of them are kind of like hybrid um, you know, online and in-person recordings. Um, so through like Zoom and things like that. Uh so you can get started with some basic equipment, but uh as you do more, you're wanting to make sure that you have those redundancy things put in place with your equipment. So you will want to have like a backup camera, you want to have, you know, uh backup battery support that's like, you know, uh hooked in if their power goes out that you're running on some extra power because it is their official statement. The last thing you want to do is like have to cancel the whole thing and then reschedule or something. So you want uh, you know, just tons of back backup um equipment running so that you don't have to reshoot.
SPEAKER_02:And can you pause it if you're if something goes wrong and be like, hey, like I'm running into an issue? Can we pause this for a second?
SPEAKER_00:You can. You you just have to make like a statement saying, you know, you refer to the council and be like, uh, apologies, we're gonna have to go off record, and the time is two o'clock PM, and uh we'll presume here in a second we're having some technical difficulties, and we'll like fix it and then get back on. But you really don't want to do that. Um you show up, you know, uh preferably at least an hour beforehand, set everything up, run your checks, you know, make sure your backups are good, good to go. Um, and that's you know, you've got uh all of your recording media plugged in and it's you know uh empty and ready to uh to record to, and then um you have your backup power power and your cables are good and all of that. And then your framing for your setup is great too. Because uh that's another thing is you have to like um have a very neutral background for your witness. Um the witness is the only one on the camera, so you're just kind of like keyed in on them and frame them out properly, and it's a nice clean shot. It's so you just want clean audio, clean feed, and zero editing. So no.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, because there's no editing, you can't edit anything. And so, like, and like the other people, so like the lawyers have mics, but they're just off camera.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so you have to have multiple mics. It seems like because it seems so simple. Like it seems like you could just like you just show up with like a cell phone, you can just hit record and just go, but it's not no, no, you definitely cannot do that um because it won't be admissible on court.
SPEAKER_00:Like you you've got to be able to hear everyone um that's speaking. So you want the attorney's mic'd. Um, you want to make sure that uh your mic'd when you say uh your little intro and exit thing so that that's heard on the video. Um, you want to make sure again that it's not something that it's so different than other cinematography work uh with that I've done because everything I do, I usually can go, oh, I'll just fix it in post. Yeah, right. You know, it's like, oh, we'll just retake it, you know, let's just reshoot. And you don't really do that with uh legal deposition videos at all. There is no fixing in post. It's just this is the finished product. So it's their start over.
SPEAKER_02:Like if they messed up, they can't start over. You're just like they just keep going.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, uh I mean, unless there's some kind of like um technical issue, you don't stop and you don't stop it at all, or if they go off the record or if they want to take a break, because the witness sometimes because then this can go a long time. So that's um so if they need to take a break, uh you know, you can take a break, you just have to um go off the record and then go back on the record later.
SPEAKER_02:So that's what you and that's what you're there, and that's why you're micked up. That's why it's like looking at the time. That's so crazy. How is it okay? So how is it super different from what what you do? It seems like you don't have to, there's no creativity, you know. So you're just you're just literally just showing up, making sure the tech works, and that's why you're there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. And I think that's really um it a really cool aspect is it really makes you focus on the tech, you know, and not not so much on creativity. And and what I do and other stuff, it's kind of the opposite. I'm just there about like, let's tell a cool story and and like, well, it's what's your brand? What do you want um uh your audience to see? And let me tell me your vision and help I'll help you make it come to life. Because I do that kind of work too, um, and stuff, but it's just two different sides of filmmaking, yeah, creative and technical. And um, you know, when you're doing the legal deposition videos, it's there's like no creates all technical.
SPEAKER_02:I know, like nobody cares. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um, you know, it really helps make you more efficient with your setups um and your framing and exploring, you know, different pieces of equipment you probably wouldn't think about, you know, uh using before. Um and yeah, so I think uh and the importance of just like monitoring, you know, what's on screen and really being uh you know in tuned to to your setup the entire time it's running.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, so you probably have to like pay really close attention to what's going on too. So it's not like you know, I think we've we shot an event yesterday, and so it's like I could just hit record on like the audio and the and you know, and like whatever happened happened, and I'm just like letting it go, you know. Yeah, and then I can actually start paying attention to what what what what they're saying. I'm not like I'm not like watching, you know, like oh my gosh, this is like like is this looking good? Is that looking good? You know, because like you know, I'm like they're live. Like it's not like you can stop it and and and go back at all, you know, but it's like but it's something messed up, it's not the end of the world, you know? I don't like it's not someone's like testimony, so right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and it's like totally different when I'm on the other end of of the spectrum with work, you know. I'm usually I get set up. I mean, not that I'm completely oblivious to to the setup, but once I get it set up, I'm ready to focus on the talent and and making sure they're portraying the story or creative vision that I want. And I might be focused more on like camera movement and stuff. And again, no camera movement in this, you know. Um, you know, there's other things that you have to like uh do with the cinematography. Sometimes you have to like uh film, you know, uh some specific like evidence things. So those are the only times that it's not like the the just the witness or a person. Uh like one example um with the illegal deposition video work that I've done before um wasn't actually like a testimony witness thing. It was um I did a a video for a class action lawsuit against a car dealership and I leave them on named. They were having a recall on a uh on a product. And so they were having um yeah, a mechanic, you know, replace the part. And so all I was doing was filming that was him replacing the part.
SPEAKER_02:Replacing the part just so you could see the what happened. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Um and so there was so you might have a few of those types of jobs and stuff. Um and but most of the time it's a very straightforward, like in the room setup, uh and clean feet on of a witness. And then like I said, maybe some collecting some video of uh particular evidence they may show. This is exhibit one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. That's crazy. That's so fun. What kind of equipment do you use? Like, you know, I know you like you have cameras, you have mics, do you bring lights?
SPEAKER_00:Like, yeah, I do um I bring some uh these little portable newer LED lights, uh, just just in case, because um you can't uh the usually the location's always changing. It's usually at like some kind of law for firm or um, you know, at the court in one of the like uh conference rooms or something like that. Uh but you never know what their lighting setup's gonna be like. Sometimes you can't rely on um, I mean, sometimes it's outside. So I mean, you might have to have uh some ND filters or something, um, which is for your lenses to if it's too bright outside. So very, very rare that that's gonna happen. But I do bring a couple of lights because if it's too dark in a room, um, I use a a black magic pocket cinema camera, uh 6K, and that does really well uh in low lights with uh with a a good decent lens, you know. So um I don't worry about that too much, but on the off chance that it is just really dark or something, I have uh a couple of lights that I can um tea light the the witness and stuff.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, do you ever had to worry about? Okay, so at the event that I was at yesterday, I was fighting the sun because like there was like this wall of wind windows and it faced west. And and the events and like two of the sessions were at like you know the afternoon. And so like you could see the sun setting and like the light, like just changing, yeah. Oh yeah, and changed like throughout it was just it was a 30-minute session, it changed so much, and I was just sitting there watching it, like, oh man. Yeah, you know, you're just like, do you ever run into things like that where you're like fighting the sun or you're fighting in the light?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So the uh I went to a deposition this week and the law firm had like these big windows, like the whole um wall, back wall was just all windows, and that was where the sun was peering in. Now, if the deposition had gone really long, you would have had that change in light. I didn't, I fortunately didn't have to set up because it was so bright, didn't have to set up any lights or anything in there. Uh, but that would have been something if it was later in the evening. Let's say I was shooting at like 4 30, because this definitely would have run into that's when I was shooting. You know, I would have tried to put some blinds up. The blinds were up. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Oh they were down, like the blinds were down, they were down all day. Yeah. And I was in, I was like, I was like, well, I and I metered for like what it was right as they started, and then you just like watch the sun, just like like the light as it came down. Like it was just like it was weird how like the reflection from a building came up and it just went up their legs, and I was just like, Well, that's blowing out the entire shot. Yeah, when got everyone on stage, and I was like, as long as it like it like they stop before it gets to like their face. No, no, it's like it's live, and you're like, Well, this is live, this is what's happening, and I can't go up there and stop it, so it's fine.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I mean, uh, you just kind of have to be aware of like the time of day. Um mine are usually most of the time right in the afternoons, you know, or early morning, so I don't have to run into that. Cause usually like office hours for legal deposition videos most of the time. Um and uh, but for other work, you know, but even then you still you don't know if it's gonna be cloudy or something. So you just gotta kind of check the lighting and bring your own, be prepared. So um, and uh yeah. So that's I think uh the lighting is is probably one of the like back, I mean the last pieces of equipment if you're gonna kind of get into that kind of work that you need to worry about getting. The the first and foremost is make sure you have uh at least an okay camera that can um uh timestamp the uh the deposition because they need a running timestamp and a date. Um if not, there's uh a workaround through if you record through a video recorder or that can timestamp or or put it on like OBS and then get the timestamp burned in there and then record through that. You know, that's a a good way to do it. Um so if your camera doesn't do that, there are workarounds, but yeah, uh if you can get it just to do that uh on there. And then audio equipment. You want to make sure that they're mic'd up. You have plenty of mics, you can you know, properly mix all the mics. And it's preferred to have like a wired um, you know, lawfully or mic, not a wireless one, just in case the wireless, you know, you're wireless goes out, or if there's like batteries because if they're long, yeah, or some kind of interference with the signal. You just you don't uh uh you want it just wired and plugged in, minimal interference and yeah um easier to just make sure that you're getting uh um a good solid audio feed from the attorneys and witness. You have a lob and then they're wearing a necklace and it's just like here's a necklace, yeah. But you you will do that. I mean, because we use lava layers, but I use just the wired ones and then I run like straight into the mixer. Um I have like an extension cable for my lava layer, and then uh so uh that's one way to do it. And um, you know, there's plenty of different ways. I mean, I guess technically you could get by with the wireless one, those little and those are great mics, but uh you know, the like I said, these uh depositions can go long sometimes. So those battery lifes on those you want to make sure can go the full length of the video. And that's another thing is the video file itself needs to be just like the bare minimum on nothing fancy, like mine shoots in 6k, but I'm not shooting in 6k with the you don't need 6k for a deposition, yeah. It's like 1080p is fine, and then just make the file size as small as possible because your recording could be going for hours.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, that's insane. Okay, what kind of equipment would you recommend to someone just starting out? Like if they're like, I'm gonna try this out.
SPEAKER_00:Uh yeah, so I would get um any kind of uh camera that has a clean out uh feed out. Um you can get uh if you want like a Canon or something like that, that's affordable in your butt. It kind of depends on your budget. Like my setup I like the Black Magic Pocket Cinema camera. Um, and then I have a secondary camera, which I just got, which was the Holly Land Live uh Venus Live air. Um I haven't tested that one out yet, so but it seems good. It seems like an easy setup and it's smaller than my other setup. Um, but it's good to have a backup camera. But I would start with something that you is within your budget, and then make sure you have the laptop and then get familiar with OBS and then try to do your feed out from your camera into OBS, do that kind of recording, make sure you have the time and date stamped. Um, because you're also probably going to, like I said, a lot of them are are uh kind of hybrid. Um, you'll have like what is the term Zoom meeting. Yeah, so you'll want to make sure that you are familiar with that setup anyways, because you need to send that feed out to them on the Zoom call. So they're getting the clean feed of just the witness as well.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How do you okay? So OBS. So we we've we've explored a lot of that. And then like what kind of computer do you need? Because like some computers just like just die when OBS is on.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so uh it needs to have at least I think eight gigabytes of RAM. I I use a laptop, an HP laptop. I mean, it's nothing fancy. Uh and but I only use it for this.
SPEAKER_02:And it's only like one angle. Uh, we were trying it with like five different angles that was all coming in, and you and it it was not yeah, so it was not good for a simple setup.
SPEAKER_00:You can get by with uh a pretty basic laptop with just at least eight gigabytes of RAM and that that can run OBS without completely crashing or something. And then um, yeah, I I wouldn't put too much feed into it or too many different things running at the same time. You think maybe you can run OBS and then the zoom and stuff, but um yeah, yeah. If if you're gonna do more multi-camera for any other type of work, you definitely have a better laptop than like a$400 one or something to get at Walmart.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we were trying that. We're saying, you know what? It's fine, we're gonna do something else. Like we're getting the switchers.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Uh but yeah, okay. So what tips do you have for someone that was like, if they're just gonna start out, they're like, okay, like what like what mistake did you make that you were like, just don't do this.
SPEAKER_00:Just remember that the environment is professional. Like uh if you're a cinematographer um that does other work like a lot of us do, um, you know, this is not creative at all. You're you're dealing with uh attorneys and court reporters and somebody that's giving, you know, sometimes a very like um sensitive witness testimony and stuff. So um, you know, be professional when you show up, you know. Don't um don't show up, you know, just like a regular Tuesday shoot, you know, with a bunch of creatives to to have fun or something like that. So dress up a little bit, you know, make sure you've got you look provet professional and presentable. Um try to be there early. Uh don't think that you can, oh, this is an easy setup. I'll throw it up in 30 seconds and be done, uh, because it's gonna take a lot longer. And then um, especially if there's like a hybrid Zoom call thing, you gotta get that all set up. So show up, you know, early, uh, about an hour early. Make sure you check all of your stuff. Like make sure you have um plenty of space on whatever recording, if if it's a SD card or um if you're recording to SSD or whatever. Make sure you got plenty of space for a long shoot. You have plenty of uh charge on your camera. Uh, you've tested your mics. Um yeah, so you've uh got all of that ready to go. And then um make sure you're paying attention like the whole time. Don't kind of zone out because you're not uh doing much after a while. You gotta uh keep your eyes on the feed at all times, make sure the audio is coming through clear the entire time. Um, and uh make sure that you have headphones. That's another thing you might think not think about bringing is headphones, but you need to be monitoring monitoring the whole time. So yeah, that's that that's my tip um for for those that are you know interested in in getting into that. That would be crazy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, just the yeah, I think just the audio alone, so much can go wrong, like just while you're not watching. I think it'd be hard for me. I'm like one of those people that like I like I just I I get distracted real easy. I'm like, oh yeah like watching baseball, like baseball is like the hardest sport, you know, because it's like there's like nothing, and then all of a sudden there's like all this action.
SPEAKER_00:And then you know, they are giving a testimony, so you're kind of like drawn into this legal courtroom drama stuff that's going on. Yeah, you can't let that phase you or like what yeah that happened. Objection.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you're like, oh, everybody's guilty.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you can get wrapped up in it, but yeah, just stay professional the whole time and um make sure that that it's running smoothly and stuff. And then, you know, when you give the um file to the attorneys that that request the files, um, you know, you also another thing is is you're in a lot of cases you want to keep um a record of that for you know a certain amount of time. Sometimes it's six months, you know, uh sometimes it's a year, kind of depending on uh the attorney or what their request is. But a good like rule of thumb is like six months, it's pretty, pretty good.
SPEAKER_02:How how do you share the files? I didn't think about that because like you know, do you do it in a Google Drive? Like, or does it have to be more secure?
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, you want to make sure you have like an encrypted secure um uh way of transferring the file. And uh so there's a portal um usually that I will transfer files through um and uh yeah, directly to the attorney or through whoever um core reporting agency that they use. And so I just upload it there. Um and uh yeah, because you it they are secure files and you want to make sure that they see secure.
SPEAKER_02:I was like, oh yeah, you don't want to put on like a Google Drive so anybody can be like, oh thanks.
SPEAKER_00:So like also, and that's another thing. Don't just go around sharing all that stuff because it's uh you know it's in a court case. Yeah, it's in a court case. It's uh admissible in court, it's like a legal thing.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, you can't put it on LinkedIn. Like this is what I'm doing today. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so even on my website, like I had to like film a mock little setup, you know, the and then put a disclaimer like this is not a real just so that you know it's not like I'm out here sharing people, you know, what's people's tests are testing on it through to leak legal cases, yeah. So there's like that end of it. It's it uh be very professional, realize that you're dealing with legal evidence and things. So um, yeah, make sure that it gets to them on time, check for uh you know how many copies they want when they want it. You know, usually a couple a day turnaround is um you know 48 hours is kind of I would say it's not a standard for me. I can do that, you know.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, there's not you don't have to do anything to it, you know. You're literally just like putting it in the secure place and making copies.
SPEAKER_00:But some will want like in the next couple of hours. So some attorneys will you can expedite it, like send it right away. So um, yeah, and then it's just like Like making sure, okay, yeah, sure. Let me just do that real quick.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, that's crazy. I mean, the longest thing is like upload times.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yeah. That's crazy. And again, your goal is to make it as small as possible that file, because it is um it is going to be a a large uh interview. So and as you know, the longer it is, the bigger the file is, especially if you use nicer equipment.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, awesome. That's crazy. Okay. So that's really, really awesome on the deposition. But let's talk about your personal pro uh project. So you got into cinematography to uh topography. So what other projects do you do?
SPEAKER_00:Um, okay, so uh other than stuff for clients like commercials and live events and things like that, uh, you know, I've I wanted to start uh my own uh kids' education um channel um and show called Dino Puppin'. That's something that I'm working on making right now. So uh I spent a couple of years in Missouri as a teacher. And so I taught um K through 12 and I got to see all the like video-based um resources that a lot of teachers use um to help um with education and in the classroom and um even fun things, just like brain breaks, little games and stuff where it gets the kids to get up and run or move over, have a break from just you know, reading and writing and things like that. So uh I wanted to start this uh kids' education program, um video supplementary kind of uh show uh called Dino Puppin. And I'm gonna start through from pre-K material, and then I I think I'll take the character uh he'll he'll go through school each year and all the way up to I think about fourth grade, because about fourth grade I feel like is uh fifth graders like they get less and less um interested in that that kind of uh material. They're just like, oh I don't I don't need the brain breaks, they they don't care about all that.
SPEAKER_02:They still need brain breaks, yeah. That's different.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, not that the like these video like looks bra and you know. That's cool.
SPEAKER_02:That's really cool. So what is it? So like what is this character? So like uh when did how'd you come up with that?
SPEAKER_00:Uh I you know, there was a YouTube um creator uh that named Danny Go, and all the kids um in my classroom uh loved watching Danny Go. And so I kind of like saw some of his work and what he was doing, and um, you know, I thought this would be fun. But I uh at the time, I think my nephew was really into dinosaurs, and then I had another one that was like really into uh um puppies and things, so I was like, oh, just make a dinosaur puppy dinosaur puppy thing and he could be the main character of this little education thing, and he can run the the um brain breaks and learn along the you know the basic uh fundamental educational stuff, you know.
SPEAKER_02:That's really cool. So how's that going? Are you do you do you have enough time to work on it?
SPEAKER_00:Uh I since I moved out here, not as much. I have the characters like I have um uh their designs made and uh I started uh on some of the curriculum that they'll be going through and stuff, but I moved out to Springdale in July and so I had to get on record video up and running, and so that was taking a while to get set up and stuff like that. So uh it has taken unfortunately a little pause because I've been focused on this, but I'd like to get back into that and get that going because um I think there's uh uh you know it'd be fun to do. Uh it'd be nice to have like a show that I can control and do um on a regular basis and stuff. And once I get some of these characters, like all of their builds ironed out, then it's just like scripting it and creating it.
SPEAKER_02:Are you creating it? Like is it um like like animations or yeah, so okay.
SPEAKER_00:I'm also gonna kind of try to play through uh different medias with with this character. So um, so and most of it will be animation, but you know, some of it I think I'll try to uh incorporate some uh live action with the animation. Um so that that would be kind of cool.
SPEAKER_02:It's gonna be like blues clues kind of thing, really.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. Something blues cluesy, yeah, as yeah, fun.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's so cool. Um so how do you like northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I love it. Okay, it's it's been great. So I moved from Missouri, which Missouri is is uh great too. If you're like if you like your peace and quiet out in the middle of nowhere, a little farm thing uh going on, the Missouri's all about it. I mean, of course, they got some bigger cities like Kansas City and St. St. Louis, yeah. They're you know on the opposite sides of the state. Everywhere else is pretty much just farmland and nice and peace and quiet. Um and I was kind of out there in in the middle of nowhere, Missouri, and it was uh um not much going on, and I kind of wanted to get back to being around people and stuff. And and I've been all over with uh doing cinematography work. Um so I've lived in Atlanta, in uh California, in New Orleans, and Alexandria, Virginia. Um, so I've kind of moved around quite a bit, and uh uh I like being around people and stuff, but I've learned that uh, you know, there's uh kind of like an atmosphere that that I enjoy more than others. And Northwest West Arkansas seems to have um, you know, a great mix of everything that um uh that I like, which is there's plenty of stuff to do, but it's just not so crazy. And you know, like they call it a big small city. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And things are spaced out well and people are nice, food's good.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, Northwest Arkansas has been um wonderful. I've only been here for a few months.
SPEAKER_02:That's cool. Have you gotten in with the with all the other um, you know, the filmmaking scene?
SPEAKER_00:No, not not yet. Quite not. I mean, uh, I met uh you guys through through Bang and stuff. Um and uh um so I think y'all were like the first creatives that uh uh that I've got to interact with. Um I've heard about the Bentonville Film Festival.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, yeah, Bentonville Film Festival.
SPEAKER_00:Um see, I don't uh I I don't think I've met any other uh Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:There's like we there's like a there's a there is a there's a community here. And so yeah, it's a it's it's it's small, but it's definitely growing and and yeah, definitely, you know, like it's like I I haven't really done a lot with them, but like I've definitely been around like all of these people.
SPEAKER_00:So I did see like a you know pretty mid-sized production company like shooting what looked to be some kind of like TV production or featured production in a neighborhood close to mine in Springdale, which I thought was pretty cool.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's what okay, yeah. This one that one of my friends did, they did like a lifetime movie here. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:It was like a three-day shoot, and I was like, oh, that that's a pretty solid production that got on on and yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It might have been that one. Yeah. Well, good. Well, thank you so much for being being in here. And so every time I end my show with the question is what advice would you give to someone who is just starting out, like as a video producer, what advice would you give to them?
SPEAKER_00:Hmm.
SPEAKER_02:Well, so as far as like if they're gonna make their own stuff or yeah, like it just think about it as like, yeah, like they're like they're like, I really want to make my own um, you know, video productions. What should I do?
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Uh start from where you're at, no matter where you're at, you can um you can start telling good stories. Even if it is if all you have is a phone, you know, um, you can tell a great story with with your phone and then grow from there. Don't feel like you have to have uh, you know, um a red cinema camera right away because chances are you're probably not even gonna know how to use it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's a learning area.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and it's it's just gonna be a big waste of money. Start where with where you're at and learn how to tell a good story um with what you have. And then uh as you develop your storytelling skills, um, you know, you can also hopefully be bringing in some clients, making some money off of it, and then upgrade your equipment as you go. But uh learn to tell a good story and um and that's and start well from where you're at.
SPEAKER_02:That's where I would. Yeah. And when you start getting equipment, YouTube university is like will teach you everything you need to know, like editing and everything.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. And um, you know, don't think that uh, you know, this one piece of equipment is gonna uh be the solution to to your cinematography needs or whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Right. It's yeah, like it's just that this is that one piece of equipment is the this one's gonna what's gonna make me like talented. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:It's like you you do have to learn how to frame, how to light, how to, you know, cover your bases with sound and things like that. Um so learn learn the process of you know, everything that goes into making a good shot, telling a good story, uh focus on your pacing. Um, that's another thing that a lot of people you know disregard is is the pacing of something. Because then whether you're going to just make it and hand it to a uh an editor, you need to consider pacing and then um before you hand it over to them. So try to tell the story um before you start filming. So whether that's storyboarding or shot listing, you need to have a vision in mind ahead of time and then prepare for the worst because it's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02:It will happen. Yeah. Everything will go wrong.
SPEAKER_00:And then just shoot and be once you've once you're done with that, uh, so you've finally shot it, you edited it, you've polished it off, and it's like beautiful, you know, uh forget about it and move on to the next thing. Yeah, right. Yeah, you'll go from there. Just take the the things that you learn from that and continue to grow from from that project on to the next because you'll just continually get better and better over time.
SPEAKER_02:So before we leave, David, do you want to tell us a little bit more? Like where can people find find you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. If you want any cinematography work done, you can go to my uh website, onrecordvideo.com. Pretty straightforward. Uh, and you can check out uh some of my previous work and my rates and things like that, and all my contact information is there.
SPEAKER_02:All right. Is there any other socials that you're on that they can find you?
SPEAKER_00:Um uh right now uh I don't have on record on social media uh yet, just just the website.
SPEAKER_02:All right, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you.