01
Capture
Recording the deposition, the scene, the evidence. Officer-of-record protocol, room setup, the signal chain. The lawyer's mental shortcut for "production day."
Free orientation course
Legal Video Career Path
Not a credential. The free, sixteen-lesson course that explains the legal video profession — the litigation lifecycle, the Three Phases of the work, and how each AGCV credential (CDVS, CEVS, CTTS) fits the path. The orientation we wish we'd had before our first deposition.
Who this is for
If you're new to legal video — even if you know cameras, even if you know depositions — start here. LVCP is the orientation course AGCV wishes existed when its founders started. It costs nothing, it takes a weekend, and it gives you the vocabulary you need before your first paying job.
What you'll be able to do after the course
- Describe the litigation lifecycle and where legal video fits inside each stage.
- Use the Three Phases (Capture / Prepare / Present) and the Three Growth Pillars (Knowledge / Reputation / Bottom Line) as working frameworks.
- Explain to a litigator what a legal videographer does — and why it matters to their case.
- Map your existing skills onto the AGCV credential set and pick the right next step.
- Build a starter kit and a starter rate card for your first paid bookings.
The lessons
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01
Welcome & orientation
How to navigate the course. What the credential set looks like. Why we exist.
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02
The litigation lifecycle
Investigation, discovery, pre-trial, trial, appeal — and the litigation support pyramid that explains where the volume actually is.
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03
What is a deposition?
The formal definition, the rules behind it, who's in the room, and why video gets added.
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04
Three categories of legal video
Deposition video, evidence video, trial technology — and the kinds of work each one supports.
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05
Three Phases
Capture, Prepare, Present — why we use this language instead of pre-/production/post-.
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06
Knowledge
How videographers grow expertise that attorneys rely on.
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07
Reputation
How standing actually accumulates inside a tight legal community.
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08
Bottom Line
Day rates, booking frequency, and the math of an independent practice.
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09
Get started
The next-step decision tree based on where you're starting from.
Why this is a course, not a credential
The Legal Video Career Path explains the work and gives you the vocabulary. The credentials — CDVS, CEVS, and CTTS — are what you earn at each stage of the path, and what shows up on a rate card. LVCP is how you figure out which credential to pursue first; CDVS is almost always the answer for newcomers, because the volume of legal video work happens at the deposition stage.
You don't have to know what you're getting into to get started. You do have to know it before you charge for it. The Legal Video Career Path is the bridge.
— from the LVCP curriculumFramework 1 — How lawyers think about your work
Capture. Prepare. Present.
Most videographers think in pre-production / production / post-production — the language of film and broadcast. Lawyers don't. Lawyers think about three things: capturing the deposition, preparing it for trial, and presenting it in front of a judge or jury. LVCP teaches you to map your work to the way attorneys actually buy it.
02
Prepare
Reviewing, editing, syncing, archiving. Cutting deposition video for trial use. The lawyer's mental shortcut for everything between filming and the courtroom.
03
Present
Playing the video at trial, at hearings, in mediation. Hot-seat operation, exhibit handling, the moment the work becomes evidence. The lawyer's mental shortcut for "the verdict-driving day."
Framework 2 — How careers grow in legal video
Knowledge. Reputation. Bottom Line.
Most career paths run "start a business → find clients → repeat." That doesn't work in legal video. The work flows on referrals, and referrals flow on credentials. So the order is reversed: gain Knowledge, build Reputation through that knowledge, and the Bottom Line follows.
Knowledge
Understand the work. The federal rules, the local rules, the standing orders, the gear, the signal chain, the deliverables. Become the expert resource the attorneys you serve already wish they had on speed dial.
Reputation
Translate that knowledge into standing. AGCV credentials — CDVS, CEVS, CTTS — are the visible proof that you have the knowledge. Word travels in a tight legal community: a credential signals competence at a glance.
Bottom Line
Reputation drives bookings. Bookings drive day rates. Day rates drive the kind of work you get called for next. Knowledge and Reputation are the inputs; Bottom Line is the result, not the starting point.
Frequently asked
Common questions about the Legal Video Career Path.
Is this really free?
Yes. No credit card. No upsell at the end. The Career Path exists because the field has almost no public visibility and we want anyone who'd be good at it to find their way in.
Do I get a credential?
You get a completion certificate, but LVCP is a path, not a credential. Earning CDVS, CEVS, or CTTS is what shows up on a rate card.
How fast can I get through it?
Most people finish over a weekend. The lessons are short and self-paced; the longest is ~25 minutes.
Take the free Career Path course.
Sixteen lessons, self-paced, no charge. The fastest way to find out whether legal video is for you — and which credential to pursue when you're ready.