The document discusses single and multi-camera production techniques, detailing their pros and cons. Single camera production is more budget-friendly and provides better control over lighting and actor performance, but is time-consuming and may lead to continuity errors. Multi-camera production saves time and is useful for unrepeatable moments, but reduces creative control over shots and lighting.

1. Learning Aim A
Single cameraproductionisatraditional filmingtechniquewhere onlyone cameraisusedforeach
shotmeaningthe cinematographycrewhastomove the camera intodifferentpositionsandangles
betweeneachshot.Thisiscommonlyusedinalotof fictional filmsandTV shows.Multi camera
productionisa filmingtechniquewhichusesmultiple camerastofilmone scene.The benefitsof
usingthisoversingle cameraisthat itis a lotlesstime consumingconsideringyoudon’thave to
move the camerasintodifferentspots/angleswhenyouwanttofilmadifferentscene orfroma
differentangle.Multi cameraproductioniscommonlyusedinthingslike talkshows,game shows,
realityTV or evensome sitcomsthatare filmedinfrontof a live studioaudiencebecause theydon’t
have the time to move camerasaround.An example of asitcomthatusedmulti cameraproduction
isMelissa and Joey (2010) whichhad to use multiplecamerassince itwasfilmedlive.
Advantagesof usingsingle cameraproductionovermulti cameraproduction:
- Usingsingle cameraproductionreducesbudgetgreatly.Youdon’thave torent as many
camerasor lensesandyoudon’tneedasmanycrew memberstoworkthe cameras.
- Usingmulti camera to capture as manyanglesas possible limitswhatisin eachshotbecause
youhave to positionthe camerasina certainway so that othercamerasand lightsaren’tin
the frame of a camera whichyoudon’thave to worryabout usingsingle camera.
- Lightingisa lotharder to place whenusingmulti cameraproductionoversingle camera.For
example,whenonlyusingasingle camerayoucanput the lightingasclose tothe actors as
youbut withmulti camerayoumay needtoplace the lightingfarawaysothat it doesn’tget
inframe of othercamerasultimatelycausing the lightingtobe lessvisuallypleasing.
- Single cameraisa lot easiertodirectthanmulti camerabecause a directorcan onlyfocuson
one camera at a time whichcan overall cause the directortoget distractedandcertain
thingsmaymake its wayinto the footage whichnormallythe directorwouldbe able topick
up on if itwas single camera.
- The directorcan give the actorsmore directnotesbecause the directorisonlyfocusedon
theirperformance.Aswell asthis,the actorsmayperformbetterthanusual whentheyare
the camera ison themand onlythem.
Disadvantagesof usingsinglecameraproductionovermulti cameraproduction:
- Single cameracan be a lot more time consumingthanmulti camera.Thisisbecause single
camera usuallytakesmultipletakestorecordthe whole scene.Forexample,aconversation
betweentwopeople wouldrequire recordingthe linesof one actor,movingthe camera,
thenrecordingthe otheractor. Whereasmulti cameraonlyrequiresone take (granted
everythinggoestoplan).
- Due to single camerabeingmore time consuming,itmaybe more challengingforactorsto
stay incharacter the entire time whichmayresultinunnatural reactionsorjustbadacting
causingthe filmtolookunprofessional.
- Reshootingscenesfromdifferent cameraangleswithsinglecameraproductioncancause
errorsin continuity.Thiscanbe noticedina lotof mainstreamfilmsandshowsthatuse
single cameraproductionbecause it’sveryeasytodoand veryeasyto gounnoticedwhen
editing.
- Multi camera productionisa loteasiertoeditthan single camera.Thisisbecause when
editingfootage recordedwithmultiple cameras,youjusthave toswitchbetweeneach
camera at specifictimesbecausethe whole scene isrecordedatonce.However,insingle
camera productionthe scene isrecordedinmultiple takesfromdifferentanglesand
perspectiveswhichmakesitmore clutteredandmore difficulttoedittogetherbecause of
thingslike havingtocutbetweeneachshotat the exactrighttime.

2. - Multi camera isa lotbetterwhenfilmingthingsthatmaybe unrepeatablesuchas
improvisation,animalsorinexperiencedactorssuchas kids.Thislinksbackto how single
camera requiresmultipletakesof one scene whichiswhymulti cameraisa loteasierfor
unrepeatable things.Thisalsoincludesthingslikereal reactionsfromyouractorsor stunts
such as fallingintowaterasitwouldtake a longtime to redressthe actorsand dry off to
thenreshootthe scene anddo the same thingoveragain.
1. The Shining
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W7uKverqX8
In thisclip,a camerafollowsDannywhile he ridesatrike throughthe maze-likehallsinthe hotel.
The technique usedhere iscalledSteadicamwhichiswhen the cameramanhasthe camerastrapped
to hischestso that it stayssteady.Thisisbetterthanjustholdingthe camerabecause itdoesn’t
require the steadinessof yourhandsandit eliminatesthe needtohave tracksand a dollyto take
steadyshots.Theyusedthe Steadicamtostay level withDannyashe ridesthe trike whichis
effectivebecause itputsthe audienceinhisperspective where everythinglooksbiggerthanhimand
he feelssmall comparedtoeverythingandeveryone else,makingthe partwhere he lookstowards
the door, whichhasnegative/scaryconnotationsfromearlierinthe film, scarierthanif itwas from
an average adult’sheight,forexample.UsingSteadicaminthisscene wasverysuitablebecause it
adds tothe eerinessandmysteriousnessof the hotel halls.The Steadicamlastsforover30 seconds
whichiseffective because itgivesthe audience timetoexperience the view of the hotel fromhis
perspective whilebuildingsuspense forwhat’sgoingtohappennextleavingroomforanything such
as a jumpscare. WhenDannystopsand turns aroundto lookat the door of room237, the camera
stopswithhim.The camera thenswitchestoa shotfrom behindhisshoulderlookingtowardsthe
door witheverythingexceptthe doorbeingoutof focus.It thenswitchestoa close upshot of
Danny’sface showinghisfacial expressionandalsoshowshow fasthe’sbreathingwhichultimately
showsthat he isscared.The camera thenswitchestothe original overthe shouldershot.Thisis
knownas shotreverse shotwhichiseffective becausenotonlydoesitshow clearlywhatthe
character islookingat,it alsoshowsthe character’sfacial expressionwhichshowshow the audience
ismeantto feel.Thiscanbe seenhere:
These shotsalsofollowthe rule of thirds.Inthiscase,Dannyisplacedinthe firstthirdof the shotin
the firstand lastshot,and in the reverse shothe isinthe last thirdof the shot.

3. Afterthis,Dannystandsup andslowlywalkstowardsthe door.The SteadicamfollowsDannywhile
still stayingclose tohimwhile he staresatthe door.Once he arrivesat the door afterslowlywalking
towardsit,the camerastopsmoving.Thislastsaround20 secondsand the lackof movementinboth
the camera and character helpsbuildsuspenseandtensionwhilegivingtime forthe audience to
theorise whetherhe will openthe doorornot and alsowhat’sbehindthe door.
2. HighHopesby Panic!At The Disco Music Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPXIgEAGe4U
Thismusicvideobeginswithahandheldcamerashotof a buildingwhichslowlyrotatestowardsa
car that BrendonUrie (the singerof thissong) exits.The camerafollowshimslowlyuntil he outpaces
the camera. The videothencutsinto an establishingshotof the citywhichrotatesin the air withthe
use of a crane.This viewof the cityiseffective because itcomesinthe firsttime the words“high
hopes”are sung and because of the cameraangle the tall buildingsare metaphorsforsuccessand
whatBrendonUrie issingingaboutsince theyare highup.
It thenfadestoa lowangle mediumshotof BrendonUrie whichrotatesaroundhimusingdolly
tracks. The angle switcheshalf waythroughandrepeatsthe same rotationwhichsuggeststheyshot
the scene multiple timessothe angle changedwhenpickingthe bestcombination.Thisangle is
effectiveatthispointinthe videobecause while the singerissingingabouthighhopesthe low angle
that the videoisbeingshotfromlooksupwardsathimimplyingthathe isimportantand successful
and has achievedthe highhopeshe had.
In the nextpart of the musicvideo,there are three differenttrackingshots recordedfromdifferent
angles.There isa mediumclose upshotof the side of hisface,mediumshotfrombehindhimand
mediumshotfrominfront.All 3 of these shotsfollow the rule of thirds.Inthe firstshot,he isonthe
firstthirdof the picture, andinthe othertwohe’sinthe middle.The techniquetheyusedforthese
shotswas Steadicam.Thisisbecause Steadicamallowsthemtohave alot more control overthe
camera anglesandpositionsbecause the cameraisattachedtothe cameramanmeaningit’sjustlike
usinga handheldcamerabutit’sa lot steadier.Thisismuchbetterthanusingdollyandtracksfor
these type of shotsbecause youwouldbe able tosee the tracks infrontof him.

4. Thisnextshotof the skyscraperisan establishingshotwhichisshownfromBrendonUrie’s
perspective.Itisa POV shotwhichwas takenbyusinga tripodand rotatingthe camera upwards.
Theyshowedemphasisonhowtall the skyscraperisbymakingita POV shot whichshowsthe
audience howtall the skyscraperisasif theywere lookingatitthemselveswhichjustmakesthe
audience feelmore in-the-loopandunderstandingof the followingscenes.Theyusedatripodfor
thisshotas itis easyto use a levertorotate the cameramakingit looklike arealistic POV shot.This
shotis surroundedby2 othershotsof BrendonUrie,makingthisa shot-reverse-shot.The director
didit like thistoshowthat BrendonUrie waslookingupat the skyscraper.The shotsof BrendonUrie
were recordedusingahandheldcamerawhichyoucan tell bythe slightshakinessinthe
background.
The nextfewshotsshowhimwalkingupthe building.Thesewere all takenwithacrane because
cranesare an excellentwaytogetsteadyshotsinthe air while still havinggoodcontrol over them
unlike otherin-airtechniquessuchasdrones.Thiswasshotwhile usingaharnessto allow himto
walkup the side of the building.
However,theytookmultiple takesof thisandsome othertakeswhere insteadof usingacrane to
filmhimclimbingupthe building,theyusedagreenscreenanda treadmill tofilmcertainshotsfrom
specificangleswherethe cameraneededtobe still.
There were alsoa couple close-upshotswhile he waswalkingupthe skyscraperwhichwere filmed
usinga steadycameraon a tripodongroundwithoutanythingelse beinginvolved.
3. Apple Perspective Corporate Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9TdA8d5aaU&ab_channel=Apple

5. This medium shot of the main character walking forward was taken using a steadicamto
steadily follow her movement without the unnecessary use of a dolly and tracks.
There’s a lot of shots in this video that cut quickly between each other to match with the
fast-paced theme of the video. These shots for example are all taken with a camera mount
which allows the cameraman to rotate the camera from the same spot.
This shot is taken from a birds eye view. It was taken using a jib arm to efficiently capture
the birds eye view shot with the limitations of being indoors.
This shot was also taken from a birds eye view, but it didn’t require a jib since it was so close
to the surface. They most likely just used a handheld camera or a regular camera mount.
It also uses a lot of close up shots to emphasise on the technology used in the video.