Single camera production Techniques

Introduction

I will be talking about the single camera production and how they do differ from multi-camera production. The main point I will talk about are the use of cameras, lighting, sound, editing and the single camera genres and the formats.

Camera In single camera production the director will use the camera to make an audience feel more

in the action of the scene to show the viewers and get them more involved to make them feel happy or sad.

Sometime it is a little difficult to shoot heavy dialogue or that has a lot of stunts. This may annoy actor/actress but it helps them get into character.

The director has more control over a single camera film than a multi-camera film; as with a single camera production the director can control the movement of the camera so the scene goes smoothly, it does also make filming better as there is no other cameras or equipment in the way. When doing multi-camera filming the will other camera be placed and when filming the director would have to make sure that they are not getting any of the other cameras in shot and that they do not have much control over the other cameras filming.

If on filming on film it can be more expensive than digital filming. An example of a director who uses the single camera production method is Alfonso Cuaron.

On the film ‘Children of Men’ he created a mount to go around the car they filmed in. This mount he had created was powered by a go kart so the camera can go all of the way round the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBfsJ7K1VNk&t=360s

Lighting Lighting on single camera single camera film is much easier to control as each

shot can be lighted differently so it captures the mood of the scene. Each scene can be lit differently to create a tone or atmosphere as can go from

dark to light to make the scene go from a gloomy mood to a cheerful mood. When using the multi-camera way of filming the light in a little more difficult as if

you switch the angle of the camera it can look flat. It also could look quite fake and unrealistic as it would look like it had been filmed in a studio.

This is an example of a basic lighting set up. This set up can change and move to create the desired style or mood.

This scene from Sherlock is a good example for low key lighting. This can help create the mood of the scene which it is taking place at a scene of a crime .

Sound

When recording sound on a single camera production film there will be overlay so the transition for the next shot isn’t jumpy and that you can’t see that there is much of a cut.

With some single camera productions they will use a second camera to help record the sound, scenes with loads of dialogue or to record scene that may be difficult to get with just one camera.

In a multi-camera production it is easier to capture sound because each camera has a microphone and the microphone a would be allowed to be visible in the scene. Where as in single camera they would aim to have the microphone in the centre.

Editing

In the editing stage of the single camera production it will take a lot longer to go through every clip to get the bits they want. In multi-camera production it is easier to find bits that need as there different angles and shots that they can use so it will get created in a shorter time.

In multi-camera production they can often edit/ mix on live shows as you see the footage jump between different cameras. With a single camera it is not possible to edit live and all of the editing will come after the scenes have been finished.

When the footage is going into the editing stage it would be very handy to have shot logs as you can view the shots that were picked for editing and then also view the shots that were off and more problematic. Each shot will have a comment next to it on whether it turned out well or not.

Single camera genres and formats The genres that work are associated with a single camera production but are most likely been filmed by the multi-camera way because of factory like turn overs

and the amount of time they have to film in are period dramas(costume dramas, crime dramas, horror, comedy. Period dramas are normally set in a past era and most often a romance and can be linked with adventure texts. Filming in this way can help make the time

period it is set in come to life by its sets, props and the costumes and so it can gain the required mood. An example of single camera and multi-camera is the Game of Thrones scene of Jon Snow going into battle (aka Battle of the Bastards). Link for clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsFeIVJfKsA .

Crime dramas are there to focus on the people with authority and the criminals. They mostly use the low key lighting set up as it create a certain mood that can make the view want to continue watching to find out what happens to either the people with authority or the criminal at the end. Sherlock is a good series for the crime drama genre as it uses the low key lighting and has got the good authority figures in the form of Sherlock and John Watson and the criminal as Moriarty and Culverton Smith. A scene that stood out to me is the one from the end of series 2 . This is the scene between Sherlock and Moriarty. Link for clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l963C4HKL0 .

Horror film use the single camera production method as it has the ability to create a sense of realism and make it more ‘personal’. They do this to get the views in the heat and make them feel scared and again like a crime drama leaving you wanting to know what is going to happen next. The film Cloverfield is filmed in the way of a of a handheld camera. It shows shots bits that have been recorded on tape but has been recorded over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocb7pXndlug this clip shows one of the characters Hud meeting the creature that they are trying run from

Comedy shows can be filmed in studios with a live studio audience making the show more like a multi-camera production where as others may use the methods of a single camera production. This is because when in a multi-camera show a joke can come across as more natural as it can be captured on many cameras where as one a single camera the joke response can seem a little forced as they have to move the camera to get the reaction of the person who is being told the joke. A good is sitcom is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It uses the single camera production method . When watching the jokes look quite natural so lit looks like a multi-camera but it really is done by a single camera . This clip shows some of the best moments from season 3 and it shows the camera work well. Link to clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg5u3tIwe2I .

Soap operas are most commonly filmed with the multi-camera way because of the rate it needs to be filmed/produced. Sometime there are soaps that are done by a single camera as if filming a real house which doesn’t have much moving room so it can use its limits well. Eastenders is film as a multi-camera production as there is new episode every night. They have been going since 1985 to current days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaEsKBlvmBs this clip show one of the characters Laruen escaping from house. The different camera can show the other character in the scene coming to see what is going on.

Single camera genres and formats

Series run as episode with the same characters but a different story which there will be a subplot that will also last over some of the episodes. Normally you would want to watch from the first episode so you can get what is going on.

A serial will either run for a certain time period or always on going such as a soap. There will be a story that will develop over episodes they will often involve the same characters then after that storyline has finished it may involve more characters after that. Due to no main protagonist there will not be ultimate closure again always on going. Normally these are multi-camera as they have to be produced quickly as there is a episode evrey night.

A single drama consists of one story that is told in a one off episode which is an equitant to TV movie. The running length is normally the minimum of 5 minutes and they can run over two to three parts.