Single camera techniques.

In this essay I will define and explain what is meant by single camera technique, describing what exactly is involved when using the technique, covering all the different aspects involved including the camera, lighting, sound and editing. This technique is used in both TV and film and is probably the dominant method of film production. Films such as Drive (2011, Nicholas Winding Refn) and TV shows like Scrubs are two examples of media texts that utilised the technique both of which were very successful.

A single camera technique is the method filming using one camera to capture all the different angles and shots of a scene and film independently with one camera. This involves moving the camera to the different positions required and re-shooting the same scene multiple times and then in post production editing the different shots to create a coherent scene. As mentioned single camera techniques require the movement of the camera, usually the director will do this by first pointing the camera in one direction and letting the whole or at least a substantial part of the scene play out. He then sets up the next position and continue this process until he feels he has all the shots he needs. Between the shots the lighting will be changed to make sure everything is lit in a way the director likes. In post production the scene will then be constructed using all if the shots to make the scene.
The single camera technique offers directors much more control over a scene, however is far more time consuming and expensive than that of the multi camera technique which uses multiple cameras in relatively fixed positions. The multi camera technique is almost exclusively used in TV rather than that of film.
Below are stills from The Departed (2006, Martin Scorsese) Which shows the nature of the single camera technique as we see a conversation between two people that uses reverse shots. If multi camera had been used we would be able to see the cameras in each respective shot, however we don't.

This is the master shot that shows us the position of the character in relation to one another, this helps us as the audience know where character who are off screen are.

Here we see the camera faces Leo excluding the other character. Notice that there isn't a camera behind Leo as this is important when considering the next shot.

Now we see the other character, the camera is clearly positioned behind Leo and yet we do not see it when Leo is in shot. The same can be said for this character as there is no camera behind him filming Leo.

We can then see how this contrasts to the multi camera technique when looking at a show like Friends. Friends uses the multi camera technique in particular as it is a sitcom filmed live in front of a an audience. 

As we see the scene much like in The departed is set up with a master shot

Here we see a different shot capturing a different angle that would have been shot on another camera. This allows for all angles to be captured in 1 take rather than filming several takes with one camera.

Again we have another angle from the same scene again displaying the differences between single and multi camera techniques

Here we can see a picture showing the different layouts and set ups of both multi and single camera techniques. 

Lighting

Lighting has an extremely vital part of cinema having the ability to completely change the atmosphere of a scene. It is particularly important in single camera productions especially feature films. It also gives creators more control of individual shots as each shot can be lit separately unlike that of multi camera productions which use a set lighting for the duration of a whole scene. A technique often used on single camera productions is to light a certain area of the set for a character to walk into before saying their line. This has the effect of making the audience focus intently of the character and less of the surrounding environment. It also makes the scene more dramatic. The lighting an a single camera production is more of an arduous task as each shot needs to be lit in a specific and deliberate way to achieve the atmosphere and mood the director wants. A perfect example of a film using light to create different moods is Drive (2011, Nicholas Winding Refn) 

Here we see firstly the use of a cool, cold pallet of colours that emphasise the mood of the scene and in unison with the lighting help highlight both of our characters. Firstly the the vulnerable child highlighted by white light showing us his innocence as a child. This is then contrasted by the other character dark and formidable presence. The lack of lighting on this character suggests to use his emotions of perhaps anger and also suggest to us he is perhaps dangerous. Also worth noting is that the lighting places emphasis on both of out characters. We also see the use of the characters eye movement to show the audience there emotions. The child looking down toward the floor shows us he is nervous and troubled. Where as the fix stare of the man shows his attention is completely on the child, and then he is concerned. 

Here we see a much more warmer light used to show the content feeling between all character. We notice that the two adults who have a romantic attachment are lit far more than the child. This is to perhaps show the connection between the two. We also note again the eye movement again with the protagonist and the child locked in a staring contest and the mother looking contently at the protagonist. These subtle movements suggest the child's acceptance of the man, the man making an effort with the woman's son, and the woman's appreciation and affection for the man.

Sound

Sound is obviously extremely important in films with dialogue from characters often carrying the plot of the film, and ambient sound helps to immerse the audience into the world of the film. The sound in a single camera production is often recorded separately and then edited onto the captured video. In other words the actual sound recorded in a take isn't usually of a high enough quality as the microphones tend to pick up back ground noise. To combat this unwanted noise a Boom mic is usually used. 

This is a microphone that can be plugged into the back of the camera being used and is specifically designed to drown out any unwanted background noise and record crisp and clear dialogue. There will usually be a second camera used in higher budget films to capture scenes with a high amount of dialogue.

As mentioned before much of the sound, especially ambient sound is added in the editing stage. Sound when using the singe camera technique is more flexible than that of the multi camera technique because there are often multiple shots of the same take which will often all include dialogue and ambient/foley sound. This enables the person editing to combine the best sound with the best video.

Compare this to that of the multi camera technique where characters are given an individual mic to capture clear audio from each individual. Often these mics are concealed in sitcoms, however in some shows the visibility of a mic doesn't affect the show as it is real, shows such as Have I Got News For You for example. 

Editing

Single camera productions often capture a lot of footage with several takes of each shot often being captured. This makes the editing process a very arduous and technical task as it requires the finding and then sorting of usable footage and footage that isn't to be used. Often with a single camera production there will be a certain amount of overlay captured in order to make sure a shot is captured and that there is enough footage either side of the intended capture footage to edit with. Both these reasons often result in single camera editing taking longer than that of multi camera productions. 

Contrast this with that of a multi camera production which can sometimes depending on the production be edited live, take a football match for example, although not a conventional set up it is still using the multi camera technique. An example of a single camera film that uses this technique would be Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, Shane Black). The fast paced cuts we see in this film lend them selves to the single camera technique as they tell stories from multiple perspectives, not just the audiences.

Genres and formats

Obviously single camera and multi camera formats tend to be used on different formats as each have their disadvantages and advantages. For example feature films almost never use the multi camera set up because it doesn't provide enough adaptability or variety of shots that a needed to tell an in depth story. However the single camera technique does offer both of these things and so we see this technique used exclusively with in feature films such as Drive (2011, Nicolas Winding Refn).

  Another associated with single camera is the series format. This refers to an episodic programme that features the same characters or at least several constant characters, which has a different story line with each episode (however there may be a constant sub plot running throughout the series that concludes in the final episode). Shows are commissioned for a certain number of episodes. An example of such a series is Mentalist (2008-present) That uses the single camera technique and was commissioned for 23 episodes per series and is currently running series 7. 

The multi camera technique lends it's self to the serial format, this refers to shows such as Eastenders where the characters are the same and the story develops throughout the multiple episodes. The soap opera is a specialised form of a serial which is characterised by multistrand narrative of overlapping and equally balanced stories and the story goes on for ever. The multi camera technique lends its self to this format as it allows them to be produced quickly.