Single Camera Techniques

In this essay I will be looking into single camera productions and techniques and I will be explaining how they're done and examples of productions which use this technique.

Camera

The footage is shot by one camera, primarily an establishing shot is taken first to show the whole scene. Then the close ups are filmed afterwards so its easier to cut between the establishing shot and the other shots. Directors usually favourite single camera productions because they have more control over the camera and also they can film over and over again, choosing the shots they want to put in post productions. Filming with a single camera means the actors have to be filmed over and over again meaning they can get into character further along in the process. It also allows mics to be visible in the scene, such as the BBC news. They allow the separate mics to be seen in during filming.

Lighting
In any single camera production the lighting as to be adjusted in every different shot to make sure each of them look the same. Depending on the type of production, high key and low key lighting can be crucial to making the production look realistic or purposefully 'fake'.

For instance in crime drama and horror films, they use low key lighting which is a lot easier to control. This type of lighting can make lots of different scenes feel creepy and dark, it changes the whole mood and atmosphere of the scene. For instance the video below is a horror short film called 'Red Balloon'. The lighting used at the beginning, showing just the house and the floor (which is rainy) automatically makes the audience think that its a horror. At 1:18, the only light showing is from the TV and little lamps scattered across the room, this is an example of low key lighting. There's not much lighting in the scene and the only light you see, creates shadows. This scene can make you think two ways, it makes you think it's nice and cosy to begin with, or the fact it's really creepy and something is going to happen later on in the story line.

 Usually for films, low key lighting is the most popular. It uses the 3 point lighting system just like any other, which has a lot of control. Especially for crime drama and horror films, you can create dramatic shadows also known as 'film noir'. The video to the right shows us the film noir look used in many films and productions. It shows us the 3 point lighting system which is made up of key light, back light and fill light. In a nutshell, to create film noir, you only need the key light (the main one) and the back light. The fill light is there to fill in shadows which you don't need to fill in when creating the film noir look. This is a very easy lighting look which most single camera production work and even multi camera tend to prefer so they create a professional, cinematic look to their work.

Sound
Sound in single camera productions has it's advantages and disadvantages. For instance, a disadvantage for sound in single camera productions would be that if you were to use the built in microphone in the camera for a professional film etc then the microphone would pick up a lot of the background noise meaning you wouldn't be able to hear the characters or the people involved properly. This would be acceptable if a documentary was made since it is meant to be a depict of real life. The advantages of sound in single camera productions is that you can attach a microphone onto the camera with no struggle and edit it in post production but you have to get up close to the characters for the sound of the characters to be louder than the background noise it's picking up. This may not always be a good choice because the microphone attached onto the camera would either pick up no background noise or a lot of background noise because of how good the microphone is. A boom mic is usually more favouritable in these productions. You edit the sound and film separately and the boom mic is directly above the character avoiding majority of the background noise from the scene and to make the character louder. This can make a production look more professional and the whole production look much better.

Editing
A single camera production is usually edited as and when the scenes are filmed together. There may be a lot of footage because you have to film scenes over and over again, whereas multi camera productions have less footage because they can film one scene in many different angles. It makes you think more about what is needed in the production and what isn't.

Single camera genres and formats

There are many different genres and formats of single camera production. Each entail different areas. For instance, period dramas are sometimes known as costume dramas. They are set in a specific era in the past and for this to be able to look good on camera, you have to have the right props, costumes and the correct sets. A good example of this would be Downton Abbey, which is set in the post Edwardian era. Crime dramas are another example of the different genres you can have. Most crime dramas are about authority figures such as police and lawyers. They utilize the low key lighting, makes the scenes look eerie and serious. An example of this would be any of the CSI's. Each one are different to eachother because of location. CSI: NY, the lighting is darker, the locations are grungier and the overall feel of it, feels serious. Whereas if you compare it to CSI: Miami, you have both the mixture of high lighting in the interview scenes and where Horatio is outside. And they also utilize the low key lighting when the science scenes are filmed to make the tone look serious. Horror single camera productions have the ability to get the audience involved with everything. Making it feel more personal. An example of a horror production would be American Horror Story. They utilize the events which people have thought to be real and make put it into their show to make the audience feel realism. Comedy's such as the Big Bang Theory utilize real life social statuses around them. They make nerds the normal people and anyone else (Penny) the outsiders. We get a look on the inside of the 'nerd' culture, which is what makes the show funny.There isn't a specific section which makes comedy's a comedy, the lighting is pretty light because of the mood and the editing are put in place to provide laughs for the audience.

Multi camera techniques

References