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Picture-perfect settlement videos: with thoughtful questioning and careful editing, you can use videos to convey emotion and character as you seek a fair settlement for your client.

Article Excerpt
Videos that succinctly lay out a case can strongly influence settlement negotiations. Properly done, they nail down liability and demonstrate the real impact of your client's injuries--not just with photos, but also with compelling words spoken by family members, teachers, friends, and even experts.

The steps to producing successful settlement videos are simple but essential. They fall into three categories: preparation, videotaping, and putting together the finished product.

Preparation

Select the videographer. Your first move should be to hire a videographer, preferably one who has editing experience and who comes recommended by other plaintiff attorneys. Ask prospective candidates to show you samples of their work to ensure the video they produce for you will meet your needs. Sample videos should be professional and clear, but not slick.

Prepare interview questions. Compose open-ended questions that avoid a simple "yes" or "no" answer. For instance, rather than ask, "Did Scott love the outdoors?," say, "Tell us about Scott's love for nature and the outdoors, his hiking experiences with you, the times you spent around the campfire talking about life ..." Ask for examples that show the point being made, and make sure the interviewees use your client's name, rather than simply "he" or "she."

Tell the people you're interviewing that they should avoid giving answers that sound as if they are responses to questions. For example, they shouldn't start a response with "well," "yeah," or "OK." The speaker's statements must be independent sentences or paragraphs that tell the story by themselves--the...

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