Monday, July 16, 2012

Let's open the mic on microphones and recordings

The digital community's defense to poor recordings creating inaudibles is their system of the use of highly sensitive lavalier (lapel) microphones on a multi-channel system.  This allows them to isolate speakers and hone in on one speaker at a time.  Sounds amazing.  Imagine, being able to hear one speaker at a time.  Huh...that is really amazing.  NOT!!  Let's peel back the layers and set the stage.  Let's go to the civil courtroom setting.  The civil courtroom commands private court reporters hired by counsel.  The digital court recorder comes in with its laptop and sets up at the front of the room.  In this setting, the digital court recorder cannot use their lavalier microphones because of spatial issues with the cords and attorney movement, what with approaching the bench and all.  So they have to use one open microphone. If you can't see where I'm going with the inherent issues, then you MUST keep reading.  If you have ever been in a courtroom, you know it echoes and there are all kinds of noises going on all the time; doors slamming, phones ringing, clerks and bailiffs coming and going, jurors sneezing and papers ruffling.  This microphone cannot isolate voices and hone in on one speaker.  Then you have (inaudibles) all over the place.  What's the point?  No matter how much an attorney pays a digital court recorder, it is too much to risk their case and their client's trust over an inaudible transcript.  Okay.  So that's court.  Let's go to the deposition.

The deposition is a little cozier.  The digital recorder can use lavalier microphones for the attorneys for the multi-channel system.  No worries, right?  (Chuckle).  Let's say Mic 1 is sitting next to Mic 2.  Mic 2 is talking away and making his/her point.  Mic 1 sneezes or coughs really loud.  So the transcriber listening to this turns off Mic 1 and listens just to Mic 2.  Problem is, because they are sitting so close to each other with these amazing little microphones that are so sensitive, it sounds like Mic 1 is right on top of Mic 2.  There is no way the transcriber can hear what is being said.  More importantly the transcriber cannot ask the recording to repeat its answer.  No matter how many times you rewind, you will not be able to ask it to repeat its answer.

Digital court recorders are usually trained within a week to use the recording equipment.  That is it.  The transcribing is left to someone else, most likely in another country.  Being a verbatim court reporter requires much more than that.  Taking down the proceedings in a verbatim manner, not just note-taking, and transcribing go hand in hand in producing the ultimate verbatim transcript.

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