Table of Contents
In a previous article, we’ve covered post-deposition workflows in Storybuilder, including how to upload and view transcripts, link exhibits, and create testimony. In this article, we will discuss how to upload and view synced videos alongside your transcripts and create exportable video clips by highlighting a snippet of testimony in your deposition transcript.
Upload a synced video
You can upload a deposition video when you upload a transcript, or afterwards. To upload synced videos, you will need to upload a sync file that cross references transcript line numbers with video timestamps. Everlaw supports two sync file formats:
- .dvt files, which include transcript text and so are uploaded and treated as a transcript, or
- .mdb files, which are uploaded as a separate sync file.
Often, video depositions come with multiple video files. When uploading deposition video, you must upload all corresponding video files at once. Everlaw will use the sync file you provide to order the video files. Uploading video depositions will not increase a database’s billable size. In addition to common video formats like .mp4 and .mov, note that some audio formats are also supported, like .mp3.
Once you have uploaded the files, a progress bar on the top right of the transcript view of your deposition will indicate that your files are transferring. Note that you must keep this page open while the video files transfer. Once the progress bar on the top right is replaced by a “processing” indicator, you can leave the page and will receive a message once the upload is complete.
You can also upload a deposition video to existing depositions that already have a transcript. Simply select the “upload transcript video” on the top right of the transcript view. In deposition settings, you can also replace an existing depositions video, but replacing transcript video will alter the timestamps associated with all highlights. Likewise, replacing a transcript will remove existing highlights.
View a synced video
After you upload a deposition video, you can view and play the video from the top right of the transcript view of a deposition. While synced, a blue highlight and a blue bar indicate the currently playing segment of the video. To jump to the corresponding timestamp in the video, click on the transcript line on the left margin of the transcript.
While synced, the transcript will automatically scroll forward with the video. If you scroll to a different part of the transcript, the video will continue playing and the “sync with video” button becomes clickable. To jump back to the transcript line corresponding with the video and continue with auto-scrolling, you can click the “sync with video” button.
The controls below the video player allow you to play, jump forward or backward, or speed up the playback. To expand the video player and stack it on top of the transcript, select the expand icon on the top right of the video player or use the keyboard shortcut “v.”
Create and edit video clips
When you add a transcript highlight, a corresponding playable and exportable video clip is also automatically created. You can view these clips under the new “video clip” section in the popup that appears when you click a testimony highlight. The clips are named according to their timestamp and length. To quickly export a single video clip from here, click the export icon on the top right of your highlight’s dialog.
Clicking the edit icon for a highlight will let you review and edit a video clip’s start and end time alongside the highlighted lines of the transcript. You can manually enter starting and ending timestamps, or use the “Mark start” and “Mark end” buttons to update the video clip’s timestamps as the video is playing. If a clip’s timestamps are edited, a banner appears below the editing controls. You can click the “Re-sync” option in the banner to restore the original timestamps. Finally, changing the highlighted text on the transcript will also re-sync the video clip to match to the newly highlighted range.
You can navigate and filter on transcript highlights in the highlights panel to the right of your transcript. If you have “Autoplay clip on selection” toggled on, jumping between highlights will also play the associated clip.
You can create clips of the video to add to your Story. Throughout Storybuilder these clips are playable via the play icon, including on the timeline and in exhibit lists displaying testimony.
Export video clips
In addition to exporting a single clip on the fly, you can also export multiple clips at once from a single deposition or from their broader Story. To export clips from a single deposition, select export annotations from the export icon in the toolbar.
From here, you can choose whether to export video clips, whether to export as a single combined clip or multiple clips, and whether to burn in captions. Exported video clips will be .mp4s. Exporting will set off an export task accessible from the batches and exports column on the homepage and through an Everlaw message.
When exporting, you may filter to include only clips with certain labels. You will also be able to see the total video clip length for their selected clips.
For exports across Storybuilder that include testimony, you will have the option to export video clips for that testimony. For example, when exporting the Timeline to PDF, or when exporting an exhibit list, you may include video clips of the testimony included in your export.
0 Comments