Conducting Site Inspections in Mainland China

During the discovery process, site inspections are used to gather evidence relating to an ongoing matter. Conducting a site inspection in China can be intimidating — and possibly disastrous — if a qualified professional is not engaged. The videographer you select must, of course, be experienced, professional and reliable, but must also understand the nuances of conducting a site inspection, including the proper utilization of lights and microphones.

Planet Depos Asia was recently retained to provide videographers and certified interpreters on a number of site inspections that took place in multiple parts of the world, including Mainland China. The following is information that can be used to ensure that your site inspection in China, or anywhere on the planet, goes smoothly:

Proper planning is critical.Aside from the technical aspects of the videotaping of the site inspection, there are logistical, linguistic, security and travel arrangements that are necessary. Over the course of a week, Planet Depos Asia was retained to conduct four site inspections at separate locations throughout Mainland China. Each of the locations was, at a minimum, 50 miles apart and required travel via a large passenger van, as well as air transportation and hotel accommodations for the legal videographer and certified Mandarin interpreter.  Additionally, all travel logistics had to be coordinated with counsel’s travel arrangements and the operating hours of the plant.

Proper planning also requires providing the vendor with information about the facility and the specific area where the site inspection will take place.For instance, is there ample lighting?What is the noise level?Will someone be narrating throughout the inspection?Who will be talking?How many people will be speaking?Will a video assistant be required to mic additional speakers, monitor audio levels or maneuver cables?Are electrical outlets readily available?This kind of information is critical to ensuring that the end product is of the highest quality and delivers exactly what you need to support your case.

Other considerations:

• Will the site inspection be stationary, or will it be mobile?

• Will you need wireless or boom mics?

• Are the time and date required on the recording?

• Visas are necessary for all non-Chinese citizens.In this case, having a Planet Depos videographer living in China eliminated the need for a visa.

• In these remote areas, there were few, if any, English-speaking individuals at the plant or in the nearby hotels or restaurants.Our certified Mandarin interpreter, in addition to providing interpretation services on site at the plant, was also able to assist the parties with finding restaurants and communicating with locals to get around efficiently.

• Redundancy is critical. Raw footage should be saved to external storage devices and burned onto DVDs. For further redundancy, consider having the footage uploaded to a secure repository.

Ensure that your site inspection is met with no surprises by considering these general guidelines. The experienced team of legal videographers at Planet Depos is available to answer your questions. Call us at 1-888-433-3767, or email scheduling@planetdepos.com.