Single-camera setup
Encyclopedia
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, is a method of filmmaking
and video production
. A single camera—either motion picture camera or professional video camera
—is employed on the set and each shot to make up a scene is taken individually. 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.
In contrast, a multi-camera setup consists of multiple cameras arranged to capture all of the different shots (camera angles) of the scene simultaneously, and the set must be lit to accommodate all camera setups concurrently. Multi-camera production generally results in faster but less versatile photography.
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 contrast, multiple-camera shooting would record a variety of angles of actors A and B simultaneously; the director would then have the choice of switching among the angles while the program is being recorded (or broadcast) or recording all shots and cutting them together in post-production. Further, single-camera productions tend to cluster the shooting of all the scenes that utilize a certain set and cast, while most multiple-camera productions are shot "in sequence"—the shooting progressing sequentially through the script.
The single-camera setup gives the director more control over each shot, but is more time consuming and expensive than multiple-camera. The choice of single-camera or multiple-camera setups is made separately from the choice of film or video (that is, either setup can be shot in either film or video). However, multiple-camera setups shot on video can be switched "live
-to-tape" during the performance, while setups shot on film still require that the various camera angle
s be edited together later.
The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema
in the 1910s and has remained the standard mode of production in the cinema. In television, however, a multiple-camera setup
is just as common.
, made-for-tv movies
, music videos and commercial advertisements
. Soap opera
s, talk show
s, sitcoms and the like more frequently use the multiple-camera setup
. Multiple-camera shooting is the only way that an ensemble of actors presenting a single performance before a live audience may be recorded from multiple perspectives. 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. For more standard, dialogue-driven domestic situation comedies, the multi-camera technique, which is cheaper and takes less production time, may be deemed more feasible.
Though multi-camera was the norm for sitcoms during the 1950s (beginning with I Love Lucy
), the 1960s saw increased technical standards in situation comedies which came to have larger casts and to utilize a greater number of different locations in episodes. Several comedy series of the era also presented feature film techniques. To this end many comedies of this period, including The Addams Family
, The Munsters
, Get Smart
, Bewitched
, I Dream of Jeannie
, Gilligan's Island
, Hogan's Heroes
, The Andy Griffith Show
and The Brady Bunch
, used the single-camera technique. Apart from giving a feature film style, this was more suited to the visual effects frequently used in these shows such as magical appearances and disappearances, and lookalike doubles where the regular actors played a dual role. These were created using editing and optical printing techniques, and would not have been possible had the shows been shot using a multi-camera setup. In the case of Get Smart, the single-camera technique also allowed the series to present fast-paced and tightly edited fight and action sequences reminiscent of the spy dramas it parodied. Single-camera comedies were also prevalent into the early 1970s. With its large cast and varied locations, the M*A*S*H TV series was shot using single camera style. Happy Days
began in 1974 as a single-camera series, before switching to the multi-camera setup in its second season. However, the success of All in the Family
(which was taped with multiple cameras live in front of a studio audience, very much like a stage play) and Norman Lear
's subsequent sitcom productions led to a renewed interest by sitcom producers in the multi-camera technique; by the latter part of the '70s, most sitcoms again employed the multi-camera format.
By the mid-1970s, with domestic situation comedies in vogue, the multi-camera shooting style came to dominate, although the single-camera format was still seen in television series classified as comedy-drama
or "dramedy".
In the 2000s, television saw a resurgence in the use of single-camera in sitcoms, such as Spaced
(1999–2001), The Office
(UK) (2001–2003), Curb Your Enthusiasm
(2000–), Malcolm in the Middle
(2000–2006), Scrubs
(2001–2010), Peep Show
(2002–), Arrested Development (2003–2006,2013-), The Office
(US) (2005–), My Name is Earl
(2005–2009), It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
(2005–), Weeds
(2005–), Extras (2005-2007), 30 Rock
(2006–), Community
(2009–), The Middle
(2009-), Modern Family
(2009-), Castle
(2009-) . Unlike single-camera sitcoms of the past, nearly all contemporary comedies shot in this manner are produced without a laugh track
.
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
and video production
Video production
Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production...
. A single camera—either motion picture camera or professional video camera
Professional video camera
A professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images...
—is employed on the set and each shot to make up a scene is taken individually. An alternative production method is the multiple-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
, which uses two or more cameras running simultaneously, and the film scene is run through from start to finish, usually with minimal interruption.
Analysis
As its name suggests, a production using the single-camera setup generally employs just one camera. Each of the various shots and camera angles is taken using the same camera, which is moved and reset to get each shot or new angle. The lighting setup is typically reconfigured for each camera setup.In contrast, a multi-camera setup consists of multiple cameras arranged to capture all of the different shots (camera angles) of the scene simultaneously, and the set must be lit to accommodate all camera setups concurrently. Multi-camera production generally results in faster but less versatile photography.
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
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
editing process, the shots will be assembled into their final order. In contrast, multiple-camera shooting would record a variety of angles of actors A and B simultaneously; the director would then have the choice of switching among the angles while the program is being recorded (or broadcast) or recording all shots and cutting them together in post-production. Further, single-camera productions tend to cluster the shooting of all the scenes that utilize a certain set and cast, while most multiple-camera productions are shot "in sequence"—the shooting progressing sequentially through the script.
The single-camera setup gives the director more control over each shot, but is more time consuming and expensive than multiple-camera. The choice of single-camera or multiple-camera setups is made separately from the choice of film or video (that is, either setup can be shot in either film or video). However, multiple-camera setups shot on video can be switched "live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
-to-tape" during the performance, while setups shot on film still require that the various camera angle
Camera angle
The camera angle marks the specific location at which a camera is placed to take a shot. A scene may be shot from several camera angles. This will give different experience and sometimes emotion. the different camera angles will have different effects on the viewer and how they perceive the scene...
s be edited together later.
The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...
in the 1910s and has remained the standard mode of production in the cinema. In television, however, a multiple-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
is just as common.
Single-camera television
Television producers make a distinct decision to shoot in single-camera or multiple-camera modes—unlike film producers who almost always opt for single-camera shooting. In television, single-camera is mostly reserved for prime-time dramasPrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, made-for-tv movies
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, music videos and commercial advertisements
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
. Soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s, sitcoms and the like more frequently use the multiple-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
. Multiple-camera shooting is the only way that an ensemble of actors presenting a single performance before a live audience may be recorded from multiple perspectives. 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. For more standard, dialogue-driven domestic situation comedies, the multi-camera technique, which is cheaper and takes less production time, may be deemed more feasible.
Though multi-camera was the norm for sitcoms during the 1950s (beginning with I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
), the 1960s saw increased technical standards in situation comedies which came to have larger casts and to utilize a greater number of different locations in episodes. Several comedy series of the era also presented feature film techniques. To this end many comedies of this period, including The Addams Family
The Addams Family (TV series)
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966...
, The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
, Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
, Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
, Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
and The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
, used the single-camera technique. Apart from giving a feature film style, this was more suited to the visual effects frequently used in these shows such as magical appearances and disappearances, and lookalike doubles where the regular actors played a dual role. These were created using editing and optical printing techniques, and would not have been possible had the shows been shot using a multi-camera setup. In the case of Get Smart, the single-camera technique also allowed the series to present fast-paced and tightly edited fight and action sequences reminiscent of the spy dramas it parodied. Single-camera comedies were also prevalent into the early 1970s. With its large cast and varied locations, the M*A*S*H TV series was shot using single camera style. Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
began in 1974 as a single-camera series, before switching to the multi-camera setup in its second season. However, the success of All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
(which was taped with multiple cameras live in front of a studio audience, very much like a stage play) and Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
's subsequent sitcom productions led to a renewed interest by sitcom producers in the multi-camera technique; by the latter part of the '70s, most sitcoms again employed the multi-camera format.
By the mid-1970s, with domestic situation comedies in vogue, the multi-camera shooting style came to dominate, although the single-camera format was still seen in television series classified as comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
or "dramedy".
In the 2000s, television saw a resurgence in the use of single-camera in sitcoms, such as Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
(1999–2001), The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
(UK) (2001–2003), Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
(2000–), Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
(2000–2006), Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
(2001–2010), Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
(2002–), Arrested Development (2003–2006,2013-), The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
(US) (2005–), My Name is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
(2005–2009), It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
(2005–), Weeds
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
(2005–), Extras (2005-2007), 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
(2006–), Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
(2009–), The Middle
The Middle (TV series)
The Middle is an American situation comedy television series that premiered on ABC on September 30, 2009. The show features Frances "Frankie" Heck , a working-class, Midwestern woman married to Mike Heck who resides in the small fictional town of Orson, Indiana. They are the parents of three...
(2009-), Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
(2009-), Castle
Castle (TV series)
Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...
(2009-) . Unlike single-camera sitcoms of the past, nearly all contemporary comedies shot in this manner are produced without a laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
.
See also
- List of single-camera sitcoms
- Multiple-camera setupMultiple-camera setupThe multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
- Tapeless camcorderTapeless CamcorderA tapeless camcorder is a camcorder that does not use video tape for the digital recording of video productions as 20th century ones did. Tapeless camcorders record video as digital computer files onto random access data storage devices such as optical discs, hard disk drives and solid-state flash...