Learning aim a

1. Learning Aim A
Understand single camera productions.

2. INTRO TO SINGLE CAMERA PRODUCTION
WHAT IS SINGLE CAMERA PRODUCTION?
This setup is used by taking various shots and camera angles using the same camera which would be moved and reset
each time to take a new shot or angle. If shot-reverse-shot is used the director will first point the camera towards the first
actor for either part or all of the scene then shoot the scene again however pointing the camera towards the second actor.
HISTORY
The single-camera technique originated in 1910’s Hollywood cinema, quickly becoming a staple in television and cinema
production alongside multiple-camera productions. It is still being used today in popular shows like Brooklyn 99 (2013) and
The Inbetweeners (2008). Popular shows like this show the prevalence of single-camera techniques in mainstream media.
MULTI-CAMERA PRODUCTION
Multi-camera production is one of the only ways that a single performance by an ensemble of actors to a live audience can
be filmed from a variety of angles. It often takes a lot less time to film for directors and is fairly inexpensive.

3. SINGLE CAMERA ADVANTAGES
- Less equipment.
There isn’t a need to hire a range of camera materials and their accessories ie. tripods, microphones, lenses, dollies,
this means that the budget can be spent elsewhere or can be used to meet the pre-established budget.
- Simpler filming process.
The camera set up can be substantially simplified for the shoot, meaning that there is no need to worry about other
cameras potentially in the shot. This also means that less time is spent setting up the multiple cameras and the
lighting needed for those extra cameras.
- Shot Sequence.
Shooting with a single camera does not mean that every scene has to be shot in order of script appearance, it
becomes a lot more time efficient shooting all scenes in a certain location in the same day or time period so that
there is no need to go to and from each location multiple times with there being only one camera.

4. SINGLE CAMERA ADVANTAGES
- Less facilities.
There won’t be a need for as much transport for the equipment or a facility to hold the equipment in
between filming especially if the equipment is larger or heavier then heavier-duty transport might be needed
which will cost a lot more money.
- Less staff.
Needing less equipment means that there will be fewer jobs needed to install and operate the equipment
which in turn makes it cheaper for the production company as they don’t have to pay for more wages. This
also means there are less staff needed to transport the equipment too.
- Director control.
The single camera allows directors to take more control over their shots, it also allows them to take their
time with everything to make sure it reaches their ultimate goal with the project, it also makes for accuracy
and you can reshoot scenes if needs be.

5. SINGLE CAMERA DISADVANTAGES
- Time consuming.
Having to shoot one angle at a time can become tedious and can take up a lot of precious shooting time for
a project. This means that there needs to be multiple shots of the same scene from different angles if the
director wants angle variation. Despite it meaning the director can have more control it means that it also
takes a lot longer in general.
- A challenge for actors.
Shooting the same scene multiple times can be physically taxing on actors meaning that they may have to
work harder and tire out easily. With one only actor being in the frame at a time acting can come across as
quite forced or disjointed.

6. SINGLE CAMERA DISADVANTAGES
- Time.
Working with just one camera is extremely time consuming compared to the time taken using multi-camera when it
comes to angles. Just because it allows for creative freedom doesn’t inherently make it better, due to the
overwhelming amount of time it can take to shoot using single camera.
- Potential cost.
With just how long shooting using single camera can take can mean that with the extended time may come extra
costs to rent out equipment, to pay workers and rent places too. This added time could potentially ruin the production
if it goes extremely over budget to the point that they can’t fund the project.
- Continuity errors.
With the constant change of camera movement for different angles and it could even be several hours later in
between different angles leaving plenty of room for continuity errors to be made. Especially if a time of day is needed
and shots take a while to get it could be several days of filming just to complete one scene.

7. EXAMPLE 1 - PEEK-A-BOO BY RED VELVET
Peek-a-Boo is a song by the South-Korean girl group Red Velvet,
this was released in 2017 and uses a single camera to tell a story
through the music video. The video itself comes across
reminiscent of the horror genre, with it’s menacing theme and
constant jaunty shots. This is a single camera shoot, after looking
at so behind the scenes footage and looking at the shots and the
continuity errors I came to the conclusion it was single camera.
The music video plays with themes of occult and classic horror,
making some of the continuity errors seem meaningful and placed
there to go along with the story that the video portrays. The video
portrays a house of five girls who live together, they appear to be
an all-female cult of supernatural beings who murder pizza
delivery boys to display their shirts in glass cases around the house. They lure the pizza delivery men into their house,
scare them so they run away and just when they have a false sense of security they are murdered to be displayed.

8. PEEK-A-BOO ANALYSIS
As a music video, Peek-A-Boo uses a variety of
very interesting camera techniques throughout.
For example, at 1:29 there is a scene that can
only be described as ‘the stairwell scene’ it
lasts for approximately 2 seconds but it one of
the most interesting scenes through the video.
It uses a 360 degree tracking shot downwards
downwards in a square spiral staircase, the
camera follows one of the members of the
group down the stairs from the centre and
makes a very interesting shot.
The shot itself is slightly unnerving and weird because it is a square staircase and a shot going in a 360 degree circular
motion as it goes downwards. The whole music video plays with weird techniques and odd camera angles to add to the
theme that something is severely amiss with the girls in the music video. The lighting in this scene is also quite dark,
however there is natural light from the left, as seen reflecting off the wood bannister and Irene (the girl in the scene)’s
hair, the artificial light being provided from the ceiling. The camera angle used is also a very high angle to give a
disorienting effect.

9. PEEK-A-BOO ANALYSIS
Multiple times throughout the music video there
are ‘training scenes’ where the members would
fire crossbows, shoot guns, throw axes and
knives. Using the ammunition and weapons
would cross in front of the camera allowing for a
seamless cut to be made. In this scene Yeri, (
the short haired girl in the screenshot ) is in a
mid-shot being calm while holding an apple that
is being fired at. This use of cuts and the eye contact that she keeps with the camera allow us to see a variation of angles
that again are rather unsettling.
The director has also used focus so that Yeri herself, the apple and the arrow are all in focus however nothing else around
them really is, this instantly draws our eyes to the arrow so that we will pay more attention to the change of scene that the
arrow cutting across the screen brings. The use of a panning shot from the arrow being fired to it hitting the apple is the
work of a tripod, tripod’s are great pieces of equipment as they allow for a steadier shot than one that would be taken by
hand.

10. PEEK-A-BOO ANALYSIS
At about 0:52 the scene opens
with a close-up of Joy ( the
lady seen in the screen-shot
crawling across the table. )
This shot is actually a tracking
zoom-out shot as she crawls
across the table it goes from
close-up all the way to a wide
shot that shows her crawling
on the table towards the pizza house. It then goes to a still zoom-out shot where the camera doesn’t move
at all except the zoom out from a wide shot to a very wide shot of the room.
Overall the music video itself effectively shows a horror cult classic theme throughout that takes an almost
game-theme much like the title creating a fun and unsettling use of a single-camera setup that makes it
refreshing and creative with the variation of techniques and angles used throughout.

11. EXAMPLE 2 - PUKKA TEA ADVERT
This advert is a single-camera advert that advertises the brand
pukka tea night time blend. The advert has a very calming and
relaxing effect, compared to the last example it shows how
single-camera techniques can be used to achieve different
effects for different genres and across different sectors. This
also shows that you can use single camera techniques to
achieve a different effect on audience and a different response.
The advert is appealing both visually and auditory, with a
purpose to relax and ease the audience. The advert uses a
variety of interesting techniques from wide-shots to overlaying
images. They use clever and interesting editing techniques to
show the nature aspect of the tea and the company as a whole. There aren’t that many camera techniques
however the ones that were picked were appropriate and made the advert feel much better, the lack of camera
techniques were most likely to mimic the slow pace associated with sleepiness which would make the audience
want to buy the product.

12. UNWIND WITH NATURE ANALYSIS
In the first scenes of the advert we see the main
character in a medium close-up shot with a pull
focus technique used to draw all the attention to
the character who is holding the product. The use
of the natural, lowkey lit sunset to backlight the
character creates a warm and autumnal feeling
much like that of tea. The whole theme of this
advert is to make people watching it feel
comfortable and relaxed so they use familiar
motifs that we as the audience can relate to.
The motifs of the sunset, the tea and the cardigan create a warm feeling that is needed at this time of year
as it is approaching colder months, which is why this was advertised at 8pm in September. The time as it is
a night time tea meant to help people who do struggle to sleep and the month because tea is a typically
warm beverage which is best consumed during the colder months.

13. UNWIND WITH NATURE ANALYSIS
The use of an extreme wide-
shot of the sunset goes back
to the theme of the sunset
again, as a sunset signals
the end of the day much like
when this drink would be
consumed, a few hours
before bed to help with
relaxation and sleep. This
shot in general has colours
that are both warm and cool,
with the light blue
and the oranges showing the months are colder but the feeling of the whole thing is warm. The whole
advert very cleverly picks colours as symbols and lighting to show the warmer theme.

14. UNWIND WITH NATURE ANALYSIS
The last scene of the advert is the
main character going to sleep after
drinking her tea, a close-up is used to
feel intimate with her as both are
hopefully tired if the davert has
worked to it’s full intent. The use of
the low-key lighting from her right side
that is most likely natural moonlight
brings back the theme of nature from
before to make the advert appear to
have a consistent theme of
relaxation and nature. In conclusion, Pukka have used the single camera to create a warm, relaxing and
intimate advert for a night-time tea blend, everything in this advert has been very carefully thought out,
from the airing time to the lack of cuts so the video flows more.

15. EXAMPLE 3 - PARASITE BY BONG JOON-HO
This scene of parasite is single camera,
compared to the other two examples, with this
being a film it shows a very dynamic view
through the scenes. Bong Joon-Ho does a
great job at showing the contrast between the
two families by playing with focus and
different shots creating an unsettling feeling.
This shows the ways that how a person uses
single camera can differentiate how the whole
feel of their piece feels, from calming, horror
to pure unnerving it is subjective to who is
behind the camera as to how it works.

16. PARASITE ANALYSIS
Shallow focus is used to draw the
audience's eyes to the pot in the
forefront of the shot, separating the out
of focus events behind which create an
atmosphere that there are multiple
dynamics in this scene. The fact that
instant noodles are very calmly being
cooked while a body is being dragged
into the basement in the background creates a comedic but grim effect. The fact that the two are so polar
opposite makes it seem funny but in a shocking way which makes it feel wrong. The close up also draws
your attention the tap, where you can see the body being dragged, meaning you’re aware of it but
shouldn’t which creates an even more unsettling effect in the first place. The whole film plays with
contrast, with two families of different classes coexisting at the same time and every shot in this scene
portrays that perfectly.

17. PARASITE ANALYSIS
A high angled shot is used while she cleans up
shattered glass, to show that she is lower-class but
also in a vulnerable position as seen when she cuts her
hand on the glass. The close-up used on her face
shows that she is in focus compared to the lavish
background behind her which is out of focus. This
demonstrates that she doesn’t really belong there,
however the floor is not out of focus, showing that she
belongs there as a cleaner. The lighting is low-key
making the scene appear to be very homely despite
everything else that is actually going on in the scene.

18. PARASITE ANALYSIS
Seeing the elderly woman by herself and in
focus compared to the family shows how
distanced they are to each other, this over
the shoulder wide-shot shows the family
are out of focus compared to the setting of
their own house. This shows that the other
family is slowly taking over their own house,
creating an unsettling feeling that they don’t
even belong in their own house anymore, again furthering the contrast of the two families that is throughout this
scene and the whole movie.
The woman being in focus yet so far away and at the centre of the shot shows that she is important and relevant
compared to the upper class family who are blurred, creating a distorted effect visually.