Single and Multi-Camera Production

                        Single and Multi-Camera Production

 

Single camera production explanation

The method of single camera production is sometimes used by film producers when filming one scene or a whole TV programme and movie. Single camera production is when only one camera is used through the pre- production process of filming a TV programme or a movie where each shot and angle is used in every scene out of order and then once the pre-production process is completed then the director, producers and editors will assemble all the scenes together in order during the post-production process (editing).

Examples of formats of production that typically make use of single camera editing techniques

Film producers will primarily use a wide range of filming conventions when using the single camera production method where they will often use the cover shot (or referred as the master shot) which is practically a wide shot showing the whole scene or area of the scene. Producers will usually use the cover/master shot four main things where they will use it to produce the overall quality of the geography (re-establishing shots) of each scene to make it look good towards an audiences and will use it during the post-production process for when a good medium or close up shot is not available as they will cover the action continually. The cover/master shot use used by producers for showing the changes of the basic elements during each scene and to cover the acting of actors such as the entering and exiting. In the perspective of the cover/master shot producers and directors will plan to film a scene from the beginning to the end where once the shot is filmed the camera is reposition for medium shots and close ups of certain actors where they will have to repeat their dialogue one the camera changes position, distance and angle. As this process involves the camera to be re-positioned during each take the setup of the scene like the studio and/ or location has to have changes to the lighting positions, microphone positions and to the changes of actors like make up, condition of their costume and props in order to make a scene look professional, realistic and dramatic towards an audience without any mistakes being revealed out in the open. For instance when filming a shootout when characters would have to have clothes torn and blood stains. Although some directors and producers plan to film their scenes in the opposite sequences where they will begin by filming the scene in close ups, medium shots and then conclude with the cover/ master shot.

Advantages and disadvantages of single camera production

The advantage of using the single camera production is that is allows producers to have flexibility when transporting one camera to a location and positioning the camera on set as they will be able to create a programme with good quality at a very low budget along with a small light kit that consists of a tripod, lavaliere microphones and lighting gear and the camera person who is often the producer. If producers and directors use these tactics during the post-production period they can beneficially save time and money as this procedure is much relatively cheaper than the uses of multi-camera production.

There is quite a long list of disadvantages when using single camera production where it does not enable directors and producers to gain the ability of flexibility as they will have only one camera on set throughout the whole pre-production process where the camera has to be repositioned each time during takes to make up of three cameras and to get the correct shot, angle and distance which can be irritating as the process is time consuming and costly especially if the camera operator does not film a great moment as this can accidently be done and can later disrupt the post production process and therefore receiving negative ratings from the audience who watch the programme. Post production can be affected in another way from the uses of single camera production as it can easily drain away the savings of the filming budget only if there was bad planning involved in the process of pre-production which is expensive because most production companies will spend most of their money and time on editing programmes filmed on one programme. The final disadvantage of single camera production for the company would be the recruitment of camera operators with hardly any skills or lack innovation at filming with only one camera that can make filming mistakes like rough pans/tilts, heavy on the zoom or that they cannot focus on the subject properly which will literally end up with the producers/ directors using the poor footage that was filmed and can later affect the post-production procedures because they won’t be able to fix the editing.

Comparisons between single camera and multi camera techniques

There are currently a large number of comparisons between single camera production and multi camera productions as producers and directors will compare the two over the advantages and disadvantages of using them both before making a final decision on which one is preferable to use for the pre-production of their programme or film.  The single camera production will be easy to transport and position because of the single camera and the small filming kit which can make the process cheap to perform compared to multi-camera action it can be difficult to transport and position because of the large filming kit and the additional cameras which can be expensive to operate when filming a programme or film. The multi camera production will be much quicker and easier to film because of the group of cameras filming a scene all at once which saves time and money during pre-production and makes it much easier and quicker for the filming crew and actors as they have less takes in between compare it to the single camera production which shows that filming can take much more longer to film only one scene as the filming crew need to reposition the camera during each take in order to get the exact correct angle, distance and shot which can be extremely time consuming and costly to perform.


I have research the information of Single and Multi Camera production on the following websites.

http://www.cybercollege.com/tvp062.htm

http://www.makingtv.net/http:/www.makingtv.net/category/production-articles/single-camera-productions/