What Is Single Camera Drama?
A single camera drama is often a feature film, for which the acting is recorded on one individual camera. Gerald Millerson defines the Single-camera technique as “A production treatment in which a single camera provides all or most of the pictures during a production.” The technique is applied by the team setting up one camera in a desired position – let’s say an establishing shot – they then act out the entirety of the scene being recorded by that single camera. They then move the camera to another desired position – let’s say an overhead crane shot – they then repeat the scene from this angle, and so on, until they have all the desired shots. As stated on Wikipedia “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.”
A Multi-camera technique, is when a soap or ‘Hollywood Movie’ is filmed using several connected cameras. Three or four cameras would be positioned around the actors or scene subjects in a way that the line of shot would not be able to incorporate any of the other cameras. The scene would only have to be played through once - without any mishaps - rather than having to be repeated several times like in a single camera drama. Wikipedia suggests that “An alternative production method is the multiple-camera setup, which uses two or more cameras running simultaneously, and the film scene is run through from start to finish, usually with minimal interruption.”
Filming with the single camera technique allows the director to print his own flare onto the production, instead of being forced to edit between simple shots. However, the team would most likely have to play out the scene up to 10times, making it a very long, time consuming yet rewarding process. “Of course, the big drawback to using a single camera is it won't work for scenes with significant movement. However, many subjects, such as landscapes and architectural scenes work well.”
Using Multiple Cameras allows the production team to produce programs at a much quicker rate. There is very little editing involved, as it is mostly edited ‘live’ by the team switching between cameras. They use this technique in the production of soaps, such as Eastenders, Neighbours and Home and Away. A single camera drama is most likely to have a better lighting set up and looks more natural on the screen. It is also more likely to contain smoother editing, which contains a wider variety of shots and therefore be more subconsciously captivating to the audience.
Author Surname | Author Initial | Year of Publication | Title of Book | Place of Publication | Publisher |
Millerson | G.M | 1983 | Video Camera Techniques | Oxford Great Britain | Focal Press |
Author Surname | Author Initial | Year of Publication | Title of Website | Available From: URL | Date Accessed |
- | - | 28 May 2011 | Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia | 17/05/2011 | |
- | - | 17 Nov 2007 | WikiDot - Life & Depth: An Introduction to Stereo Photography | 15/05/2011 |
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