Single Camera Techniques

In this essay I will be looking at the techniques used in single camera productions and how they differ in a multi camera production. During this essay I will cover Camera, Lighting, Sound, Editing, Genre and Format.

Camera

Single Camera Productions:

As you probably guessed by the subject of this essay, a single camera production is any production shot using only one camera. These types of production allow for the director to have more control over how a scene is shot, allowing it to feel more in depth and fluid this allows the audience feel more involved in the production, especially with action scenes this because as there is only one camera you have the freedom to move it around and get as close as you need to. Production costs of single camera are generally lower than a multi camera shoot this is due to less camera crew being needed, however if the production is being shot on film and not digitally the production costs will be higher. Shooting single camera means that scenes have to be acted out multiple times in order to get all the shots/angles needed, this can also lead to even more repeat shoots as actors will struggle to keep returning to character. The only exceptions to the single camera rule would be high action scenes such as explosions, this is due to having to keep replicating the explosion would be very expensive and may turn out differently so the footage may then not match up. An example of a single camera production is Arrow an american superhero action crime TV series aired by America's CW network.

Multi Camera:

Multi Camera productions use multiple cameras simultaneously to get multiple angles of a shot, although it reduces the amount of  takes needed, to get the footage needed, you have to make sure none of the cameras can see the others in shot which reduces the room you can use. When using multiple cameras you need to make sure the lighting is even across all points of view which can make scenes look dull and negatively impacts the setting and tone. Multi camera will impact on logistics as it will be harder to transport all the cameras and other equipment. Though multi-camera allows you to film a lot more at once, you cannot achieve the same depth as a single camera production, as you can only move the cameras slightly before another comes into the shot. An Example of a multi camera production is the sports based comedy panel A League Of Their Own.

Lighting

As there is only one camera in a single camera production lighting can be done individually by shot. this is important as it give more control over the lighting which can be instrumental in setting the mood and tone of the scene, low light  can easily be used for dark scenes dark scene, brighter lights can be used for lighter tone scenes like happy or heroic scenes.

In a multi camera setup more light is needed as each camera needs the same amount of light otherwise continuity of tone etc.. can be messed up. Unfortunately having even lighting can make scenes look fake and flat as if the shot was filmed  in a studio. Below is a picture of the set of Whose Line Is It Anyway? showing the amount of lighting they need to keep the stage area evenly lit.

Sound

In any production there's always audio that is added in post production such as music and Foley sound. General sound like dialogue will often be recorded separately, especially in single camera productions, through the use of a boom mic, then during editing the audio can be lined up with the corresponding shot through the use of a clapperboard at the start of the take. This way the editing scene can splice different audio/visual clips together to make them better. In a multi camera production each camera will have its own microphone recording the scene and the best parts of the audio from each camera can be put with the scene. In regards to sound in a multi camera production you can run into more difficulty with sound, as there is less room to keep mics out of shot, to work around this actors may wear small lavalier mics (lapel mics) or other such hidden mics. In a single camera production, with only one camera you can more easily hide a boom mic above the shot to record the sound.

Editing

Editing for multi-camera productions can be slightly easier than editing for single camera productions. This is because the footage can be edited live through use of a vision mixer. This is often used for live broadcasts such as the news as everything is filmed and edited at the same time. Other multi camera productions like comedy panels will be filmed live and edited in post as the different cameras can record the reactions from other panelists and the audience at the same time they're recording the person speaking.
Single Camera productions have to be edited in post, this is because filming can take longer and be more expensive than that of multi camera as with only one camera you have to get the perfect shot to use in post whereas in multi camera if one cameras shot doesn't work, the shot from another of the cameras may work despite being a slightly different angle

Genres

A handful of genres commonly associated with single camera productions are:

Crime Dramas:

This genre generally focuses on law enforcement solving crimes, but will occasionally will focus on the criminal side of the story. Crime dramas are shot using Single camera techniques as they often have dark themes which utilise low lighting which is easier to film with a single camera setup. Crime Dramas tend to have high production values compared to other productions, single camera achieves this by allowing more in depth scenes and tones which allow he view to feel like part of the situation.

In TV some examples of Crime Dramas are:

NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) which revolves around the Major Case Response Team of NCIS' main Washington D.C. HQ as they solve Naval related crimes,

Agatha Christie's Poirot based of novels and short stories written by Christie which followed Hercule Poirot a retired Belgian Police officer living in London as a Private Investigator.

Horror:

Due to single camera production being very useful for creating non-naturalistic and tense feeling scenes it is very often used in horror productions, most notable those that follow the notion of "found footage" in which the production is "filmed" by the main character(s) via a handheld camcorder. An example of a Horror series is American Horror Story which is also a anthology series, this means that each season consists its own self contained plot rather than continuing from the last. American Horror Story is shot as a single camera production.

Comedy:

Comedy productions such as sitcoms will be filmed multi-camera as they're usually filmed on a studio set, these are also often filmed in front of live studio audiences. Comedy panel shows will often be recorded using multi camera and in front of studio audiences to be able to get multiple reactions at the same time. Sitcoms are an example of a comedy production, with the word being a portmanteau of Situation Comedy. They are called this as they generally focus on a fixed set of characters for the entirety of the show

Red Dwarf is a character driven Sci-fi Sitcom first aired in 1988. The show follows Dave Lister the last human alive; Arnold Rimmer, a Hologram and Lister's dead bunk-mate; Cat, a human like creature evolved from cats (Felis Sapien); Kryten, an android and; Holly, the ships computer with a supposed IQ of 6000, as they travel through the depths of space, getting into all kind of shenanigans.
The first 4 series were filmed as multi camera productions in front of a live audience for the shows laugh track. The 5th to 9th seasons had laugh tracks added in post to allow more variety and locations in the episodes, these would've been filmed using single camera techniques. As of the shows 2012 revival, series 10, 11, and 12 have been filmed using multi camera techniques and a live audience.

Formats

Series/Season:

A series or season is a run of episodes that follow the main character(s) every episode, but with each episode having a different plot, it is also possible to have a subplot that lasts several episodes or even most of the series. An Example of this is in each series of CW's Flash, the main series baddie is introduced in Episode 6 of the season and then seen periodically in cameo subplots as well as occasional episodes focused on them. Other than the "big bad" subplot the flash's normal season episodes center around Barry Allen aka the Flash (Protagonist) discovering a new "meta-human" criminal and has to overcome obstacles throughout the episode until they defeat them at the end of the episode. Occasionally a TV series will include a "two-parter" episode, which is more serial-like in nature as the episodes main story is set over 2 episodes with the story unfolding in both segments. The Flash is shot as a single camera production, this is most likely as it makes it easier to add all the special effects needed, and will allow more depth and fluidity during action scenes which are prevalent in every episode.

Serial (British):

In a serial the plot gradually unfolds over the course of several episodes. A notable example of this is the original/classic run of Doctor Who (Pre 2005 revival). Mainly each serial story would run over a course of 4-6 weekly episodes and each Series would consist of a handful of serials such as the 19th series (below) starring the 5th doctor (Peter Davidson) which consisted of 7 serials, with 6 of the serials consisting of four 25 minute episodes and one of the serials consisting of two 25 minute serials. This series is also shown to have run over 2 years. These "Classic" Doctor who episodes were shot as multi camera productions, though "New" (2005+) Doctor Who, which is aired in a episodic series format is shot single camera.

Serial (Soap-Opera):

A soap opera is a "never ending" serial run. These often use multi-strand narratives with ensemble characters and no "main" character. Due to the never ending format content needs to be churned out quickly these will almost all be filmed multi camera due to its benefits in filming more content in shorter time than single camera. Some examples of a Soap-Opera are EastEnders and Coronation Street. Though multi camera is the better choice for churning out soap operas, some are/have been filmed using single camera techniques, this is as it allows for feature film techniques to be implemented into the episodes. Some examples of Single Camera soap operas were The Addams Family (1964) and M*A*S*H.

Single Drama

Single dramas consist of a self contained story in a one-off episode. These are sometimes also known as TV movies. To count as a single drama a production must be more than 5 minutes long but does not have to be in a single episode, some can consist of up to 3 episodes though these can be also be referred to as mini-series instead.