Single Camera Techniques

In this essay, I will be writing about the techniques involved in single-camera productions to develop a better understanding of the process that these products go through from script to screen. I will first be focussing on production techniques and then linking these ideas into the scripting process and the genres, formats and narrative structures that these techniques may apply to. To further consolidate this understanding, I will compare the single-camera techniques with those used in multi-camera productions.

Techniques

Single-camera productions only use one camera except in some cases with a particularly difficult scene (this could be a scene with a stunt or one that is heavy on dialogue).That is so both characters can be caught at the same time, improving the quality of the audio and reducing the time for shooting. With the example of a stunt, financial and logistical issues could mean that you could only do a stunt once; this means that multiple cameras would be used to capture as many interesting angles as possible. The purpose of this is to create a more intimate feel for the scene and to give the audience a greater sense of realism. When filming a scene for single-camera production, that scene is re-acted multiple times with the camera being placed differently to capture a variety of angles and shot lengths. If using film stock, this repetition makes filming much more expensive; such a problem would not be relevant if shooting digitally. From a director’s standpoint, a single-camera production is advantageous as it gives you the ability to set up every shot individually. Lighting is also easier for a director to control as you can also light each shot individually. This intricate process allows individual scenes to develop a lot more in terms of the tonal and stylistic features that you can apply. This contrasts to a multi-camera set-up such as American sitcom, Friends, which can appear flat and unrealistic due to the lighting requirements that need to be set up for every camera in the scene. If this were not done then lights would be visible, further spoiling the sense of realism for the audience.

The sound element of a single-camera production is often done using a central microphone such as a boom mic. When recording sound, it is important to leave an amount of overlay to guarantee that all of the audio for the scene is captured. It is often the case that a single take of audio is used over multiple shots of film. As with any production, sound effects can be added or enhanced in the post-production stage of the process. Multi-camera productions can be edited quite simply, even live using a vision mixer. In a single-camera production, however, all editing must take place separately to the filming in an editing studio. Editing can take a long time due to the amount of footage that needs to be looked through but many scenes can be edited individually. That is because most scenes that have the same logistical requirements (such as equipment, cast, crew and location) will be filmed at and around the same time.

 

Scripting

As with any production, planning is essential to make sure that everything runs smoothly. If you do not get the right coverage for a scene then you may have to either reshoot it or cut it all together; both of these scenarios can create huge problems. Single-camera television scripts follow the same formatting conventions as a film script and separate shooting scripts are also created to help the production stage run more smoothly. On set, any changes that are made are checked by a script supervisor whose job it is to make sure that everyone on set who needs a correct script has one in their possession on set. When building a story, it is important not to overlook any elements that are integral to making it believable and, more importantly, enjoyable. The first elements to think about are the plot and characters involved in your story because these are the initial building blocks. A story that is too short is not ideal, particularly for a script because you need to keep your audience interested. Therefore, it is common practice to not make your plot or characters too linear; the more intricacy involved in the construction of them, the more to the story there is overall. Sometimes the best stories are ones that mess with the conventions such as when Pirates of the Caribbean portrays pirates (who are notorious characters throughout history) as the protagonists. As a story develops, it will gain its own style and once it does, it is important to keep the rest of the story consistent with this.

When building a story, you also have to build every scene individually. A scene is made up of five main parts. You need to establish what part of the story the scene is serving and the way in which it will develop your story in the direction that you want. These elements of a scene enable you to ascertain a definitive purpose so that you can figure out what ingredients will be needed to help the scene fulfil that intention. These will come in the form of the characters and locations around which the scene is going to be based.  

Genres and Formats

There are many genres connected with single-camera production that are broadcasted to huge audiences every single day on the television. Period Dramas use the props and costumes of the specific historical period (around which they are based) to fuel the realistic atmosphere and style of the production. In some ways this can be likened to Drama Documentaries which also use factual information combined with creative interpretation to stimulate their audience into learning about certain issues. Crime Dramas (such as CSI and Silent Witness) also have an element of a didactic purpose to their subplot regarding morality; they are more focussed on the intrigue that surrounds law and order, whether they are from the perspective of the criminal or their pursuers. Many comedies use multi-camera techniques, however many use single-camera techniques to capture a more intricate style to the media text. A prime example of this is Peep Show which has a documentary-style of shooting, using overdubbing and setting up every shot as a POV.

These single-camera productions will also follow a format in preparation for how they will be broadcasted. This will be the basis for story from its conception. When pitching and planning a story, it is important to decide whether it would work most appropriately as a single, a series or as a serial. A single drama, as the name suggests, is a stand-alone story which is told in one episode. An example of a single drama is Dirty War (2004). This differs to a series which has several episodes put together each with their own self-contained narrative. However, a series will also have an overarching, continuous narrative that runs for a particular amount of episodes such as Derek. Both of these formats differ to serials because a serial does not run for a certain amount of time because they are continuous. Soap operas such as Eastenders are examples of serials. However, many serials use multi-camera techniques due to the rate at which they need to be filmed as they are broadcast so frequently.

Narrative Structures

There are a variety of narrative structures that a production can follow and this is still the case with single-camera productions. Linear narratives are perhaps the most basic of these structures as they follow the beginning-middle-end format and go through the story in chronological order. This differs greatly from non-linear narratives as they do not follow a direct sequence of events; this can include numerous pieces of flashback narration. A prime example of a non-linear narrative film is Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994). Some media texts may follow a realist narrative which has the purpose of offering a realistic portrayal of its subject matter; this can sometimes mean that the action takes a long time to get started. Contrary to this, an anti-realist product does not try to present itself to the audience as non-fiction; it is openly fictitious like Spongebob Squarepants.

The way a media texts ends is crucial to the tone and impact of the product’s narrative on the audience. They can be closed endings or open endings. A closed ending offers a resolution for the audience, characters and storyline. This means that the audience can get the full enjoyment out of the film in one sitting and the story goes no further. However, an open ending does not offer this sense of closure, opting instead for no conclusion. This could be to allow room for a sequel or a deliberate technique employed to keep the audience thinking about the story after it has ended.

Multi-camera Techniques

If a media production is not shooting using single-camera techniques, the other option is to use multi-camera techniques. This means that a director can get the maximum coverage for the editing process. The use of multiple cameras also means that a vision mixer can be used to broadcast the show live such as with News broadcasts. One of the main benefits of using multi-camera techniques is that products can be generated at a much higher rate than ones that are shot with single cameras. Also, using more than one camera limits some of the constraints you may have with single-camera shows such as continuity errors as all of the same action is captured from a different angle at the same time.

The issues with media texts that are shot with multi-camera techniques are related to the creative control you have over the individual shots, even as a director. You need to ensure that the lighting is sufficient for each and every camera that is shooting which can cause a set to become saturated and gain a flat, anti-realist feel to it. An example of this is Friends which has very few locations due to the logistic concerns of using multiple cameras; all of these locations have very saturated lighting so that all of the action is easy to see and take in no matter what angle you are seeing it from. Other logistical concerns include equipment restrictions due to the financial limitations you have for filming; this can include locations as well. However, using single camera techniques enables you to film in a greater variety of locations with less equipment and crew which is ideal when filming a low budget media product.