What does it mean?
Single camera drama means that it is only shot with one camera (pretty simple really). It is used in soap operas and some television series.
What are the differences between multi camera technique, and single camera technique?
When a production company use more than one camera (multi camera), it is usually on a set with the three walls and then the cameras acting as the 4th wall, just like on a stage att he theater, the cameras will be the audience or the background. When single camera is used they can go into small rooms and shoot all around, it gives the fell of you actually being there, whereas in a programme like "Friends" you can see everything from one angle and that is it. You never really see the apartment from another angle. On some occasions they will use a camera that is over by the window but other than that you only ever see the action from the 4th wall.
In Multi Camera you can do a scene once and not have to worry that you missed something or you got the place where you were standing in the wrong place. With Single Camera you can quite often tell when something has been moved or they have done it after or before because hair will have moved, one moment they will hold something then they wont and then they will be again. It is clumsy mistakes like that which is why quite alot of tv shows use the 4th wall technique.
You can see that all of the shots in multi camera are roughly the same. They will usually have one camera which focuses on the whole set and then they will assign the other cameras to either each character or they will assign them to a part of the set so that none of the action and reactions are missed.
In Multi Camera you can do a scene once and not have to worry that you missed something or you got the place where you were standing in the wrong place. With Single Camera you can quite often tell when something has been moved or they have done it after or before because hair will have moved, one moment they will hold something then they wont and then they will be again. It is clumsy mistakes like that which is why quite alot of tv shows use the 4th wall technique. In High school musical 2 the final song "Everyday" sung by Troy and Gabriella was a good example of how single camera is used. Because there is alot of movement and the actors have to remember alot of things they sometimes forget which hands they used in the previous shoot...
First He is holding her hand in his right hand and the mic in his left...
...He then switches the mic to his other hand however...
...He forgets to do it when they did another take so he is moving the hand that had the mic in the shot before.
This sort of thng happens all the time and i didnt notice the first few times watching it, but i did notice when i was looking for it.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of the single camera technique?
The advantages of using single camera drama are that you can get so many more angles from the location and you can also get a more interesting angle. For example in "The Eye" (Jap version) in the Lift, There is no way you could get all those angles in there without doing it with only one camera. There were around 50 shots and all so small however it wouldnt of had the same effect if it wasnt done like that. the disadvantage of using single camera is that it can look very amateur sometimes. When there is a slight movement in a prop or even if the actors outfit/hair has moved people may not pick up on it straight away but some people will see these things and it can distract from what is actually happening in the scene. With single camera the editing is very short and snappy and when it is a very active scene it can work really well but when it is a slow easy going scene sometimes is can be very annoying. For example when the scene shows two angles shot seperately (such as an over the shoulder) you can pick up on the fact they were shot seperately.
The advantages of using single camera drama are that you can get so many more angles from the location and you can also get a more interesting angle. For example in "The Eye" (Jap version) in the Lift, There is no way you could get all those angles in there without doing it with only one camera. There were around 50 shots and all so small however it wouldnt of had the same effect if it wasnt done like that. the disadvantage of using single camera is that it can look very amateur sometimes. When there is a slight movement in a prop or even if the actors outfit/hair has moved people may not pick up on it straight away but some people will see these things and it can distract from what is actually happening in the scene. With single camera the editing is very short and snappy and when it is a very active scene it can work really well but when it is a slow easy going scene sometimes is can be very annoying. For example when the scene shows two angles shot seperately (such as an over the shoulder) you can pick up on the fact they were shot seperately.
What techniques can be used to give the impression that more than one camera is being used. Can you give some examples?
There arent many techniques that are used to give the impression of Multi camera other than to do the scene more than once in the differnet angles. When watching a film, you would always asume that there is more than one camera because of all the different shots and how it ran together so well... every now and again there will be little things that make you think, well the mixed these two takes together because her hair is differne there than it is there, but you only notice that sort of thing if you are really looking for it. For example I never noticed that the microphone had switched hands the first 3 times I watched HSM but then I watched it the other day, after I knew all about this and I noticed it straight away. It is actually quite annoying now that I know about it because it distracts me from what is actually going on in the production.
Floor Plans/Stage Set up...
Multi Camera Set: Typical News Room
this is the set up that a typical news room would have. it would have the desk and the sofa and all the props and then within the set would be cameras, there is a line that the cameras aren't aloud to cross obviously, just so that they don't get the other cameras in the shot but the line is usually set to each camera...
Multi Camera Set: Typical Comedy Set
This is the set up that a typical comedy set would look like, such as "friends". On a stage set like this there is usually a set line that you cant cross because that is the edge of the stage and it wont be crossed by the actors...
...This picture shows the friends cast thanking the studio audience after they have done a shoot. In the picture you can see the edge of the set and the tape that is down. The tape is the marker for each camera.
This is the set up that a typical comedy set would look like, such as "friends". On a stage set like this there is usually a set line that you cant cross because that is the edge of the stage and it wont be crossed by the actors...
Single Camera Set: Scene From "Get Carter" 1969
In this you can see that the cameras are all crossing over eachother and that is this was shot with all those cameras on set then it wouldnt work. That is one of the first give aways of single camera, that you can get so many close up angles and long shot ones all in one scene at all the different angles imaginable. The downside to this means that they had to do the scene 4 times, thats if it was perfect each time which is highly unlikely. This sort of camera work can take hours longer than a multi camera show. Which isn't good if they are doing a shoot outside because there is lighting and changes in surrounding sounds. This was filmed on a roof top and there are windows all around but you can ony really see the windows in two scenes, so they were probably filmed one after the other just incase it changed. When shooting a single camera drama you have to take all these things into account.
Single Camera Set: Scene From "The Eye" Japanese Version
This scene was when the girl gets into the lift and she then sees a floating ghost of a man drifting around at the back of the space. The first give away that this was filmed in single camera is the fact it was filmed in a lift, and that sort of space can hardly fit 5 people in it let alone those 5 people with cameras and booms and all that jazz. I think the short shots and the close ups were what made it work overall, the angles were also very creative and added to the whole feel of it. Because it was a horror film, it helps to have the suspenseful close ups of the eyes, hands and the surroundings so having them all put in as a montage, along with the soundtrack of silence... it really did make it look and feel alot better. BOOK RESOURCES
R.Lindheim & R.Blum wrote the book "Inside Television Producing" in 1991 and it was published by Focal Press which are based in both London and Boston.
They wrote this about single camera drama...
G.Millerson wote the book "The Technique of Television Production"and there were 11 editions. I looked at the 11th edition published in 1985 by Focal Press
He wrote this about single camera drama...
ONLINE RESOURCES
"The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, is a method of shooting films and television programs. A single camera—either film or video—is employed on the set and each shot to make up a scene is taken individually..."
"In single-camera, if a scene cuts back and forth between actor A and actor B, the director will first point the camera towards A and shoot shots number 1, 3, 5, 7, and so on. Then they will point the camera toward B and do shots number 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on. In the post-production editing process, the shots will be assembled into their final order..."
"In television, single-camera is mostly reserved for prime-time dramas, made-for-tv movies, music videos and commercial advertisements..."
"In the case of situation comedies, which may potentially be shot in either multiple- or single-camera modes, it may be deemed preferable to use the single-camera technique especially if specific camera angles and camera movements for a feature film-like visual style are considered crucial to the success of the production, and if visual effects are to be frequently used..."
"In the early days of film making the director would not have the choice of using the multi-camera setups and editing suites that we have today. He or she would have just one camera to shoot all the shots needed and then when it came to the editing process, all the shots would need to be selected, the different frames sliced apart, and spliced back together in the desired order. As you can imagine this was a time consuming process, and although this appeared to be a big limitation on some television genre's at the time such as sit-com and live broadcasts, it allowed the film industry to flourish. The use of the single camera drew the director into a more creative role leaving open the opportunity to work more closely with actors, and to get the best results from them..."
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