Strengths and weaknesses of shooting multi-camera

Strengths of shooting Multi-camera; less time consuming, as there would be more than one camera capturing different shots and angles instead of having to record the whole scene to capture reaction shots and the performance would be greater than single camera, as they would not have to retake the scene as the actors wouldn’t be able to keep performing the scene over and over again as it would affect their performance and it wouldn’t be to a high standard.It also helps continuity, as the whole scene was filmed at the same time, instead of the scene retaken like with single camera production, even though it looks better.As it will be less time consuming, for this reason only, it means that it would be cost effective as the filming process would be quicker, where single camera would take up a lot of your production time and depending on who are the actors would be paying be more money for them to spend a longer time on set, but it would allow actors to give to repeat their performances, where could benefit them in terms of their first performance might not be to their best ability.More easier to edit, you know what camera captured what, and the scenes would be simpler to reconstruct the scenes, whereas single camera would take up a lot of the time, as all the shots have been shot with one camera and it would appear to be less reliable for filming and it would cause stress as they may be a confusion to what may have been shot, as they might not be in order.

The weaknesses of shooting multi-camera is that you would take extra time to set up as there would be more than one camera and the other required equipment, but single camera production has an advantage for being less time consuming for the set up as only one camera is being used, but the set up has to be repeated.Multi- camera is generally shot on-set, but hardly off location, so this could result it to become less appealing to the viewers, and it would make it impossible to film off location because multi-camera is used for live shows, talk shows, sit-coms ,quiz shows, game shows and mainly soap operas, However single camera gives the camera operator more freedom in terms of moving around in the location and the lighting would look at a better quality as its natural, also there are no cameras in the way and they wouldn’t be captured in shot that’s why it’s mainly used in Documentaries as it makes it look more realistic due to the fact it’s not being filmed in the studio.

Eastenders is a British soap opera which first aired on the BBC on the 19th

February, 1985, it’s scheduled on a Monday& Friday 8pm, Tuesday & Thursday 7:30pm, and Sunday on BBC 2 as a repeat of the whole week, also it comes on BBC Three at 10:30pm after the episode has aired out.The target audience is generally females aged 16-34, as they have more interest in social dramas, with the BBC and ITV1 being popular channels, also those who have children or don’t tend to watch TV in the evening, as its seen, as their own time, where their kids might in bed or be sitting with them , so they would see, as a time to relax and watch TV and at this time, so, they are available between 7- 8pm, and the kids also engage in watching Eastenders if they were sitting with their mums, but it also has a wider audience appeal, as the cast are from different social backgrounds, religions and ethnic groups which would reflect on the viewers.The ratings for this show were 7-8 million viewers, but since 2012 less people are tuning in, so at the present time is between 5- 6 million views.

A medium and over the shoulder shot has been used to capture this frame, as a conversation is happening between the 2 characters, also this shot focuses on one characters emotion, and the another ones presence.

Over the shoulder shot has been used on the other individual, so the facial expression can be exposed and it displays the continuous of the conversation.

An over the shoulder shot has been used again, as a viewer, it seems like it’s a serious matter, as the characters face looks serious.

Another over the shoulder shot has been used for this scene because they are still at each other’s throat, due to the fact that they haven’t resolved the issue that they are discussing, also to show the facial expression of the characters, so it would seem more realistic.

A medium shot has been used to structure this shot because, the doorbell has range and she is, excusing herself from the exchange of dialogue to go and answer the door.

When the conversation ends the camera is tilted towards her and a medium shot has been used to express her reaction at the end of the conversation, so as the viewer we would have an idea of how she is feeling, this shot only lasts for 5 second as the other character left the room to open the door.

A medium shot has been used again, to show her closely the door slowly, to show that she is not comfortable and ready with the how she’s going to deal with the person that’s ringing the doorbell.

The previous shot is a tracking shot that leads the camera zooming in and it stops to create a medium close up shot , to show the character is about to open the door.

This quick shot is a close up of the door, while it’s been opened at steady speed, because the shots captured previously portrayed the character of being on edge.

When the door is open a medium shot has been used, to show the location, the characters, what he may do next, in terms of whether he may confront her about something or just ask her something, this medium shot has been used to concentrate on his body language and facial expression.

A medium shot has been used to frame her because it, indicates that the character is uncomfortable with showing half of her body and not opening the door completely.

The shooting style of this programme is brilliant, as every shot of emotion has been captured well, with suitable shot, depending on whether the character was going to ask for something, put in an uncomfortable position, or having a conversation, the right shot was used to make it each shot seem credible, as the environment that its being shot in is a studio, so they would mostly rely the actors performance, by achieving that they would use a multi- camera production, knowing that they wouldn’t have to retake scenes as the emotions and body language, as wouldn’t seem genuine and would affect the production and notoriously with this format they don’t have time to retake scenes, with a hectic schedule of preparing 2 hours of this programme to be aired in a week.This programme relates to others of the same format such as; Coronation Street and Emmerdale because they all have hectic schedules, which is why they use a multi-camera production and they are expected to air out 4 to 5 episodes a week, so they audience doesn’t turn away, also from a soap the audience want gripping narratives, so they would be engaged, with multi-camera, where it can be achieved first time round in the majority of times, so they wouldn’t miss an excellent act and the storyline would match the ambiance.The TV scheduling for this programme and the others mentioned above, tend to set their set at times where their target audience is free, also the timing is different, as they don’t want to go in battle of ratings because they will lose viewers, so they have a schedule, where the start of prime time isn’t similar to other soaps so they would avoid a clash.

8 out of 10 Cat Does Countdown is a British game show that first aired on the 2nd of January 2012 on channel 4, it’s scheduled on Friday night at 10pm, and also it comes on repeat channel 4+1 at 11pm , but only comes for a couple of episodes a year.

The target audience is males aged 16-34, from a C2DE, social backgrounds, who enjoy watching entertainment and sitcoms, so when the last day of the working week approaches, TV at a Friday night is filled with entertainment shows as they know that at this particular time, the targeted audience wouldn’t have work for the majority as it’s the weekend, so staying up late and having a laugh would seem like something favourable by a young man , as comedy and entertainment is combined together with this show, which would lead them to engage in the programme and not turn away. The ratings for the game show is an average of 2 million.

A medium shot has been used, this a popular shot, when it comes to presenting as it shows his posture, as his sitting down and addressing Rachel

After Jimmy Carr stops speaking Rachel responds and the other camera that focus on her is on air and medium shot is being used again to cover the appropriate frame, as she is only sitting down, it’s not needed to have her whole body in shot, as she is speaking and we wouldn’t be able to see her face, as clearly with a medium shot.

Then another camera from behind the audience is on air provides a wide shot, as someone is being introduced by Jimmy to the studio, this gives a reaction from the audience in terms of cheering and clapping and the surroundings of the studio

When this man is on the air, a long shot is used to frame the composition of the 2 individuals, mainly showing us what he is dressed in and the way Rachel is reacting towards him, as its humorous, the audience are laughing in the background.

Camera 1, then turns on air, with Jimmy’s reaction, and exactly the with a medium close up shot that’s been used when his on air, he makes a remark about the strangely dressed individual, with in the background the audience laughs.

Another medium shot has been used but the camera is slightly panned out, as when he is speaking, he keeps on waving his arms and it gives us as a viewer an insight of what he is wearing, also Rachel pops up in the shot to see his outfit.

A medium 2 shot has been taken to frame these 2 regular guests, as they mock the strangely dressed individual, as seen above.

A wide shot has been used, this time it shows 2 members of the audience staring at him, also he is talking about a particular part of his costume, as his head is down and Rachel seems to be looking at it.

Another medium 2 shot has been framed, where the 2 guests are staring at him and mocking him, also this shot lets us see an expression of amusement on their faces.

This is the same wide shot that has been used previously, with a slight difference of the individuals head is up, as he exchanges dialogue with the guests above and the audience members bring their attention also towards them, while Rachel’s still remains in the same position.

A medium shot has been taken, so when the presenter is mocking the man up above, you could see his facial expressions, as the camera shot concentrates on Jimmy.

The overall shooting for this game show is great, as it covers every angle of the programme, so as a viewer you would feel like you are part of the audience, who are exposed to the surrounding of the studio, different shots have been used to cover the right part of the individual, depending on what he or she is doing, also covering wide shots of the audience makes it feel more natural.Other shows of the same format such as Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Juice relate to the show, as the pace of cutting is fast which shows how energetic it is and they both have an audience, who are always laughing, game shows that have humour and competition, both elements of comedy and entertainment combined together, also the presenter is the one who is always making the hilarious jokes about the guests.The audience expect a great game show, with unexpected incidents featuring in the show which showcases the entertainment factor with humour, also great rounds, where, as the viewer we would be able to participate from the sofa, as a way of interacting, so the viewer would end up in boredom and the jokes and comments made to each other have to be amusing and new, these expectations are quite hard and requires brilliant scripting, as males aged 16-34 tend not to watch a lot of TV, as they are always out and they’re hard to reach out to.These programmes are always scheduled at 10pm or more at near to the weekend, as this time the TV is free, with not having other members of the household wanting to watch something or maybe they live on their own, but other programmes are not to their taste, they see it as their own time for relaxing and putting your feet up after a busy week and it’s a clever why of reaching out to this particular audience.

The Big Bang Theory is an American sit com, which first aired on CBS on the 24th of September, 2007, but later started to air on Channel 4 on the weekend at 12:25pm& 12:55pm and E4 airs the episodes from Monday –Sunday 6pm- 7pm and at night time at 11pm, the scheduling for the programme always changes, but for the time being that’s how it is.The target audience for E4 is usually men aged 16-34, as they generally love watching entertainment and comedy, so after work or college they would be out or playing on the PlayStation or surfing on the internet, either still living with family or on their own they would tend to watch TV at night time as the sit-coms mostly come on that particular time. The ratings is 1.13 million combined with the viewing figures from E4 and E4+1.

A long shot and a tracking shot was used to frame this clip, so it would show the 2 characters walking into the room, and we as the audience would be aware of their whereabouts, while dialogue has been exchanged between them, as they are walking towards the table.

Then the camera zooms in to create a 2 medium shot to establish the characters position, body language and facial expressions, while she is speaking.

Although this is the same camera shot as above, there seems to be a slight change, where the camera is more concentrated on him than her, which suggests that the camera was tilted towards him more as he is reading the leaflet, while she carries on chatting.

This is slighting an over the shoulder shot from her side, which indicates that she is still speaking and he is preoccupied by the leaflet, but from his side the camera is more of a medium shot, so we can see that he is reading the leaflet and has not responded, without that shot, we, as the audience wouldn’t know what he was looking at.

Still maintaining the same camera shot as above, he has replied back to her giving his view about the topic she was speaking about, as he put down his leaflet and moved slightly changed his posture, as a form of contact.

A Medium shot has been used again to capture this shot, but its more concentrated again on him, as he stopped speaking and picks up the leaflet, she then addresses him, with this shot, it gives us the idea of the lack of interest he has in what she is saying as he gives her no eye contact and brings his attention toward the leaflet.

A medium shot has been used to frame the scene, mainly the male character, as he is speaking to her, also, the spotlight diverted towards him reveals if he is in a good mood or not.

A wide shot has been used because a new character has entered the scene, plus you can identify each characters reaction towards this person, e.g; the female is looking toward him, while the male character doesn’t acknowledge his existence, as he still reading the leaflet.

A medium shot has taken towards the new individual, with the other character side in the frame, as they address each other.

Over the shoulder has been used to, show us the facial expression of the characters that’s speaking, also the female behind who doesn’t look too sure whether she agrees with his response.

Slighting over the shoulder and medium shot taken, as an on-going conversation seems to be going on also, as the camera is focused more on the new guy, you can see he doesn’t seem to be getting on with him, as they both differ on the issue that they are debating.

The overall shooting style of this sequence, I felt it was limited in terms of this particular sequence, as the position of the characters remains similar to each shot and the amount of medium shots that we used to capture it, but nonetheless theses shots were needed so, as the viewer, we would see his lack of interest and what he was doing to suggest how he felt and what mood he was in.It, also relates to other TV programmes such as How I met your mother and My Family, as they have the same format, in terms of content, where there are only a little number of characters, the background laughter that you would when a character makes a humorous comment and the locations are always indoors, also there would be one character who has the leading and seems to be always the centre of the narrative, as his character spends more time on air than the others.The audience would expect great scripting, which delivers the witty side to the sitcom and brings these characters more to live, in terms of different personalities, in where they would be able to show their hilarious reactions in different situations, so as the audience would be able to brand each character from another, another point is they want creativity and flair to be shown, with exciting narratives and funny remarks, so they would turn on the TV and watch the programme.

The genre for this programme is hard to deliver, as you need to make your audience laugh and by creating these different personalities you would need them to communicate with differently, in terms of the way they address each other, whose smarter, naïve and cunning, also they must have something strange about one and another.The scheduling for these format are mostly during the evening, and older episodes come throughout the day, so as the viewer would be able to catch up, their scheduling does change, but this doesn’t affect their audience consumption, as with adverts to inform the viewer, and the non- stop repeats of older episodes that reveal that it repeats well, as they have an audience , which is shown by the percentage of viewings.