Understand program formats that use Multi –camera production

What is Multi Camera? Multi camera is shooting (recording) or broadcasting a scene with more than one camera at the same time. The camera will be placed in different positions and filming different angles. The two outer cameras shoot film close up shots or ‘crosses’ The Two central cameras shoot a wider shot. AB Camera 1 Camera 2 Camera 3 Camera 4 This is a common set up for a multi camera production.

Benefits of Multi Camera Its much more efficient and takes less time editing. Its very important for high output shows (regularly aired) such as soap operas. Makes scenes more exciting instead of just being one camera shooting one thing. Scenes can be shot a lot more quickly because they don't have to set up the same camera multiple times in different spots. It reduces time of there being tracking continuity (this is the making sure that when they enter a new scene everything and everyone looks the same and is in the right place) some films that have used single camera have accidently not spotted the difference (Titanic)

Draw Backs of Multi Camera Sometimes the lighting on different cameras is slightly different this is because the cameras are plotted in different areas and therefore surroundings can change lighting. Due to a lot of cameras being on set it doesn't leave a lot of room for other equipment needed.

Why Multi or Single camera? When shooting a production whether its going to be shot with Multiple cameras or Single cameras is a very important factor taken in to consideration. The reason for this is because Single and Multiple camera give different feels for example a Multi Camera displays you with more angles and therefore shows you more detail and surroundings where as Single camera can be better for more intimate/personal shots.

Examples of Multi camera Sports: Festivals such as Glastonbury or Bestival and the Olympic Opening ceremony. News programmes: ITV news at ten. Soap Operas: Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Coronation Street. Talk Shows: Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross. Game Shows: Celeb Juice Sitcoms: Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Maranda and the Big Bang Theory.

Examples that use Multi Camera: Alan Carr is a BAFTA winning British chat show that started in late May Alan Carr interviews lots of different celebrities on their recent projects. Alan Carr chatty man is filmed using multiple cameras below are three images that show three different cameras shooting the interview with Miley Cyrus, and there was probably 1 or 2 more cameras on set.

I feel that this interview needed multi camera without that it would probably just be an angle of the two from straight on, the interview would become very boring to watch for viewers. Using multi camera for this keeps your eyes moving and keeps the interviews pace and changes scenery.

Inbetweeners The Inbetweeners was a British Sit com that first was released on to TV screens in It ran for 3 series and finished in The Inbetweeners two was a multi camera set up. Below shows a scene known to many of Will (Main character) sitting exam and desperately needing to use the toilet.

Filming a large production such as the inbetweeners with a single camera would be very hard, to shoot a scene you would have to set up the same camera in different angles over and over again which would be very time consuming. This clip is an example of how Multi Camera makes the setting feel more real by showing more angles the surroundings feel more real and gives almost a shape to the scene.

Friend’s Friends is a US sitcom that first hit the TV screens on a channel called NBS in September of 1994 and then stopped in Friends was filmed using multiple cameras. Below is print screens from a scene with two of the main characters Joey and Rachel. Here you can see there is three cameras filming. One for a view of the table from a slight distance giving us an overview of what’s going on in the scene. The second is a closer view of joey with Rachel's back turned, this is used for when Joey is talking to Rachel. Finally, the last camera is the same kind of angle but for Rachel. For a sit com such as friends the Multi Camera method works well. It’s a big production and for the settings that it’s in a single camera wouldn’t give the scene much interest for the audience.

The Olympic Opening ceremony: The Olympic opening ceremony for the 2012 games was put together by director Danny Boyle. The Olympic opening was watched by millions and therefore it was chosen that it was going to be filmed with multi camera. Due to the venue being so big and the production itself having so much detail put in to it if it was filmed with just a single camera then it would become tedious to watch and would be very hard to be aware of what was going on because there was so much going on at one time. Therefore Multi Camera worked very well for this type of live event. Furthermore events such as festivals that are live recorded (Glastonbury) do the same thing for the same purposes.

Pre-Recorded Inserts For shows such as Alan Carr chatty Man and Jonathan Ross sometimes celebrities are not always available to interview at the same time. For example on a recent episode of Alan Carr it was clear that they had pre-recorded an interview with Rihanna. Also for this episode it was the 100 th one that had been broadcasted and so they did a special which involved lots of cut images of Alan Carr talking to himself (another recorded image of himself. For this they would have had to prerecord sections. This was still done using multi camera, but just edited together to make it look like one running recording of the episode. For shows that are filmed with an audience and appear to be live it actually isn’t and has been different recordings placed together to make it appear so.

Conclusion… Through looking through multiple examples I personally prefer the method of Multiple Camera, my reasons for this is because I think it makes a program more interesting it gives you a variety of angles and also with close ups of conversations it makes me feel like I’m more involved and aware of what's going on the screen such as the emotion being played off. I think multi camera works really well with live events such as the Olympic opening as spoken about previously. As it was such as big area to be filming to be filming with one camera would have been very boring to watch and hard to see all the detail that really went in to the making of the Opening Ceremony.