‘Verbatim’, A Dramatization of a Legal Deposition Featuring a Lawyer Arguing About the Definition of a Photocopier

The New York Times has posted the short film “Verbatim”, a dramatization of a legal deposition wherein a lawyer argues about what does does not constitute a “photocopier,” and whether that question is even fair to ask. The dialogue comes from an actual deposition from 2010 given prior to an Ohio Supreme Court trial about the legality of charging $2 a page for photocopied records. Though the actors are presenting their own take and expressions, the actual words are taken verbatim from the transcript.

The short film, produced and directed by Brett Weiner, first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and marks the first in a series of similar videos from The New York Times.