Single Camera Techniques

In this essay I will be addressing the key terms of single and multi-camera productions and explaining different elements that go into making them. In single-camera productions the camera is moved within a particular scene to create a personal and more realistic look. The scene normally has to be reset numerous times to tweak and change angles to capture action from different perspectives. In multi-camera productions there tends to be around 4 cameras that are used in total, there may be fewer or more but 4 is how many it usually takes to make a successful production. Three cameras are commonly setup stationary and the fourth will available for the director to use to focus mainly on any key aspects he feels needs to be shot.

Single-camera productions are filmed using one camera, directors feel it is a tool to get the audience into the action and allows the film/programme to have a more realistic/intimate feel. It is known that some single-camera productions film with more than 1 camera on occasion, but normally only if there is a very difficult scene to shoot or if a scene is particularly heavy on dialogue. The majority of directors tends to favour single-camera productions as they are given more control over the camera and are able to take their time to set up each shot one by one, making every scene that bit more accurate. Multi-camera productions can sometimes create problems for a crew in terms of locations due to logistical requirements, however with single-camera productions, you are able to shoot anyway(depending on permissions). As there is only one camera certain scenes may have to be shot and acted over and over again so the director can capture shots from different angles and to re-shoot anything with continuity errors or dialogue issues. With repetition like this makes the production more expensive in total but it does allow for the actors to get into character much easier. "Touch of Evil", a film made in 1958, had an opening scene that last 3 minutes long and was recorded with no cuts at all. This would have meant all dialogue would have to be spot on without any room of error and all acting had to be perfect. To re-shoot a scene of 3 minutes over and over would have take far too much time and money.



Multi-camera productions are best for filming media products that cannot be re-shot without any possibility of continuity errors or live TV. It is most common for actions films to include more cameras in production, especially during a large stunt or explosion as they will rely on multiple cameras to cover the event from numerous angles. this keeps costs down as they won't have to keep making the same explosion again and again. Aswell as this, scenes do not have to stop and start continuously to get the right shot and to ensure audio is correct, more cameras mean there is more of a chance to get shots you want without needing to re-shoot. One of the best things is that with more footage to deal with, you have a wider option of clips to choose from when editing, which is always handy. This scene from "Rush Hour" is a great example of this as more than one camera would have been set up to capture it from different angles, resulting in no time or money being wasted to reset the scene.



Lighting a single camera production is way more easier to control than multi-camera as you are able to light each shot individually, this allows for a more professional look as no shots will have any unvaried lighting or a flat look about them. You have the power to give your shots extra tone and a more intricate style to make them look the best they can possibly be. With multi-camera setups however, the light needs to be suitable for every shot, when done right it will look like every shot was recorded at exactly the same place but if done wrong there is a chance some shots will look flat and unvaried , making it seem like it was shot in a studio.

Sound is mostly used in the same way amongst both types of production, it is essential to use external microphones such as Rode shotgun mics to capture the full potential of your audio. Relying on built-in microphones is a bad thing to do as quality is lower and they often include much more background noise which is not something you want. Sound effects like Foley, dialogue any ambient sounds that are used are added or tweaked in post, for both types of production. In single-camera productions you will be using one, maybe two cameras and one microphone, because of this you need to include some slight overlay - meaning recording just before and cutting just after the scene. This will ensure that all of the audio was captured for that specific scene which prevents any jumpy starts. Having these awkward pauses in dialogue or any other audio can make a production seem very un-professional which is why overlaying is a great idea. As mentioned before some of these productions do need a second camera when particular scene is heavy on dialogue or any other scene which requires more camera.

With multi-camera productions it can often be easier to record dialogue as they can allow for the mics to be seen during the scene, like the "Jeremy Kyle Show". In this programme we see many camera setup around the studio and in the off-chance any people on the show run off stage, the camera normally follows them around the studio where we can see audio equipment being used to capture what they are saying. In soaps however, like "Eastenders", they attempt to hide all of the equipment by using very minimal long shots to prevent any cables or microphones showing, there may be a few long shots we see but on an average episode it is extremely rare to even see one long shot - this is because it can sometimes take a lot of preparation to setup the equipment so you can't see it. The source of audio isn't always seen on-screen, there are times where there will be a voice over accompanied by cutaways, this means the audio and footage doesn't always have to be recorded at the same time, which is quite common for single camera productions.

The editing stage (also known as post-production) is the time after filming where you gather every piece of footage to look over and add/tweak parts of clips you want to edit, this maybe changing the colour grading of a specific shot or adding CGI of a car. During this time you will have a lot of footage to get through to find whether the shots work or if you will have to re-shoot. In single-camera productions it's common to film every shot you need in a specific time frame and location and once you have the shots you need, you finish for the day. The trouble is you normally only film the shots you need which leads to you not having any extra footage if the certain clip you filmed isn't in focus or just doesn't work. It is always best to film more than you need so there is no worry of having poorly filmed shots. Unlike multi-camera productions you are not able to mix footage together live, all editing needs to be done once filming has finished.

Multi-camera productions can be mixed and edited as they are shot, so for example; the News. There are many cameras situated in the News studio which are controlled by the operators and then mixed together by people that work in the mixing room. They determine which camera is to be shown at that time and switch between them when necessary. The same goes for any live event, like live sports such as football matches and shows like "Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!". Everything is done there and then, edited whilst it's being filmed. However, for the moments that weren't recorded live, they would have used the same technique for single-camera productions and stitch together the chosen clips after they have been shot. Both productions sometimes use things called shot logs to help keep record of which footage was successful and what wasn't. It also helps if you have forgotten to shoot anything in which you will have to plan to shoot again.

The main two formats for single-camera and multi-camera productions are;

• Series
• Serial

A series consists of numerous episodes which include the same characters but a variated storyline in each episode. Although there is only normally one established plot in the episode, there can also be many different sub-plots that carry over into many other episodes that can sometimes be resolved in the last episode. Like in the series "Inbetweeners" there is a main plot per episode, but with Simon fancying Carly, this complication follows through into almost every series, allowing the audience to have more to follow and make a further connection with that certain character or even the show as a whole. This format is usually recorded in a single-camera production to enable it to have a more personal and realistic feel to it. It tends to be easier for series formats also as episodes tend to be shorter and hardly an intense scenes which require more cameras.

A serial is a collection of episodes that has one main storyline which develops across the each episode. "Harper's Island" was a TV series broadcasted back in 2009, it featured the same characters in every episode until one by one each character was killed off, and the same story continued throughout the whole season until we come to the conclusion of who the murderer is. These episodes can of course include multiple subplots to keep it more engaging, but the main plots proceeds continuously. Soap Opera's such as "Hollyoaks" and "Coronation St." also fits into the format of serial production but uses a form of narrative labelled 'Multi-strand', this is the overlapping of numerous storylines, a huge cast and no actual ending to the narrative. These and other soap opera's do not end, soaps run continuously for years or however long they are able to run for. This video shows just how important it is to have multiple cameras on set for serials like "Hollyoaks" as it's very efficient for what they have to shoot.


Some soaps like "Dallas" which was shown in America had to bring the soap to a finish and were faced with a hard decision of how to end the soap altogether, it was finally concluded that they would bring all the characters together in one building and have a bomb kill the whole lot, very cliche. Coronation St. has been running for about 57 years, the first episode broadcasted live in 1960. This being the first soap on television, many others have been created since then aiming to relate to lots of varied audiences like teens and adults. Hollyoaks started in 1995 which is quite a while after Corrie but it also aimed itself at younger adults and teens instead of adults and middle aged people. Serials are often shot using multi-camera techniques as there is mostly a lot more going on within scenes and are more heavy with dialogue.