Research Texts - Single Camera Techniques

Single Camera Techniques

This essay/blog post is about single camera techniques. I will be talking about the advantages and disadvantages of single camera shooting to multi-camera shooting.
I will be covering;

• Lighting
• Camera
• Sound
• Editing 
• Formats 
• Multi-camera techniques

Camera 

In single camera productions the camera can only be used to do one take at one point. This has its perks For starters, single camera productions gives the actors more chance to experiment as they will be doing the same scene multiple times. Having just one camera gives the director full control and can tweak the settings to really fine tune the shoot that they want. This is time consuming however.

The footage is shot on one camera meaning the organisation of the footage is easy, ranging for simply swapping out SD cards if ones memory is depleted. This gives film makers more time to focus on other aspects of the shoot rather than the technical aspects. This also can reduce the chance of lost footage.

This scene can not be done in a multi-camera production as you would see all the other cameras in shot or the other cameras would see this one in shot. That also goes for wide shots as you will see the cameras in shot which would break the fourth wall.

An example of a something a single camera production can do that a multi-camera cannot is this sort of camera work;

Lighting  

In single camera productions the lighting is easier to adjust and get the look you want. With multi camera production you need to ensure the lighting is the same across all the cameras in order to not have odd looking shots.

This means may have to sacrifice a certain look to get all the shots looking the same.

In single camera productions directors can change the lighting with ease and not have to worry about how his/her decision affects the other shots. This; like most aspects of single camera productions. Gives the director more creative input and also can give the scene the feel the director wants.

Sound

In single camera production's sound is easier to control as you only have one camera. If the video

source is from one camera you only need one sound source. This saves money and time when it comes to editing.

In a multi-camera production audio has to be recorded on both cameras, this has perks and also its faults. If one audio messes up for some reason unknown to the users of the equipment you always have another audio take to use. Issue then lies on the cost of two mics and the synchronizing in post production.

When I say from the camera, I mean if the camera has a input mic. You can buy directional mics that plug straight into the camera to automatically sync the audio up. A good example of this is the Rode Video Mic. I know that this mic works from experience and it plugs straight into a DSLR or other camera. But even if you just have a boom mic it is equally as easy as if you have a straight input mic.

Another way to record audio is Lavalier microphones. Lavalier microphones are attached to persons under their shirts. This way you capture the audio of the individual clearly if the weather conditions cannot allow you to record decent audio this cancels that probably. An issue with this is that the mic can clip the shirt and create a rustle sound.










Boom microphones are widely used professionally and are the mics to use for good quality audio. They are usually held above the actor and captures their audio. Boom mics usually have an extendable pole which can help increase the reach of your audio capabilities. A down side to boom mics is the cost and also the size of them. They are the more expensive side to sound recording and also the biggest.


Here is a web series episode of 'Zirus' To which a rode video mic is used and is a single camera production.



 

Editing

When it comes to editing your short film/film etc, the advantage of single camera production is that you do not have too much organising to do. For example you can plug in your camera or SD card and drop and drag the footage and organise it into scenes. You are only using one camera which in turn means that you don't have the issue of memory size of two cameras worth of footage.

This is good because it saves you the jump straight into editing without spending hundreds of hours moves hundreds of clips into different folders. For example uploading two sets of footage has double the size of memory and also double the amount of organisation required. Handing just the one SD card to another computer. Editing is a lot easier and simpler in a single camera production due to less organisation. 

Single Camera Genres

Single camera productions however, are not for every genre of production. for example high paced action films with a lot going on in one scene isn't fitted for single camera unless its a dialogue scene. Action films are high budget to pull off amazing pyrotechnics etc, so you want you capture as much as you can with multiable cameras and therefore saves you money.

Most single camera productions are dramas;

• Period dramas
• Crime dramas
• Dialogue driven stories

Single cameras don't require high paced action scenes. They don't need scenes filmed from four different points of view as it is just a conversation. That is why most single camera productions are dramas and story driven pieces of media that dive into deep issues.

Most BBC dramas are single camera. For example "Sherlock" is a hit BBC drama that is single camera. Single camera is most suited for deep stories with action but primarily dialogue.

The main advantage of single camera is the editing and filming process is less stressful because you do one take with one camera and that's it. Making transportation of equipment easy and not stressful.

The disadvantage it more takes are required and repetition of the same scene multiple times for each angle can be stressful and in some cases boring.

Multi-camera techniques

Multi-camera is the complete opposite to the single camera. In multicamera you kill two birds with one stone in the sense that you can get two shots or maybe three in one take. Multi-camera is used when their is a main action that occurs in the scene. With that in mind many action movies use multi-cameras in order to save money and time.

A example of a scene that most definitely have used Multi-camera shooting.

With that in mind however, the cost of the actual equipment would be an investment at the start and later on down the line you would save the money.

The main advantage of multi-camera shooting is the coverage. you get a lot of footage which means if a angles audio corrupts you can fall back on other shoots which is a security net.

Multi-camera products are far more suited for soap operas that can churn out four/five episodes a week. Much like Eastenders. Because you don't have the time for single camera production as doing all the takes individually would take too long. So for volume and speed, multi-camera would be much more effective.

A main disadvantage for multi-camera productions is the organisation skills needed and also the transportation/cost of more than one camera and microphone. You have to transport multiple equipment and then pay for the travel etc. All this depends on the size of the film itself and how much of a budget you have.

Conclusion/Summary

To end, what I've learnt is that both multi-camera and single camera productions both have there advantages and disadvantages. 

Single camera gives you an easier job as you only have to care for one camera and one microphone etc. But if your footage corrupts and contains errors you have nothing to fall back on. Also single camera means multiple takes are required to gain adequate coverage.

Multi-camera however task you to be more organised but gives you twice as much coverage.  You can experiment with angles. And you also have a security net if your footage corrupts.

Different genres require different shooting types. Dramas are more suited to single camera but multi-camera productions are more suited to action scenes that cost dearly so more money would be wasted if it was a single camera production.

My personal favorite and preferred would be single camera as the whole pre/post production is just easier and also my preferred genre to film would be dramas and emotional pieces.