Single Camera Techniques

Pros and Cons

When using a single camera to shoot a video you can only use the camera to shoot one take at one
point. It can sometimes be harder to film; however, it gives the actors more time to act the scene
and experiment with it and gives the producer more choice when editing it so that they can change
it to get exactly what they want.
An obvious benefit of single camera techniques is the cost; buying 1 camera instead of multiple
means you only have the cost of one camera, one microphone etc., which is much cheaper.
Also, the camera angle is set up and rehearsed until the director is satisfied and all the people
working in the production of it, e.g. makeup artist, lighting directors, actors, audio managers, etc.,
can focus on the scene they are shooting rather than lots of scenes at once which makes it simpler.
In addition, actors only have to memorise lines for that particular scene. This can often take longer
but create the desired look for the scene.
It doesnt take as long when shooting as you can focus on a particular scene at a time and only have
the concern of filming it on one camera and setting up one rather than lots of cameras. This saves
you time.
A disadvantage is that there arent as many options on one camera as there are with multiple when
editing them as you might not be happy with the scene from one angle on one camera but might be
happy with one on another camera, but with single camera productions you dont have that option
so you might have to settle with something you arent completely pleased with.
Lighting and sound are better and easier to work with when shooting with a single camera as the
light can be changed in each shot.

Format
A format is how something is arranged, e.g. series, serial or a single drama.
Series
The conventions of a series would be; that the main plot is resolved at the end of series, and key
characters are in the next series, conventions of series depend on genre. A series is a programme
broadcasted regularly; this usually tends to be once a week. It will consist of a story that is separated
or split down to a set amount of episodes. Examples of series could be; American Horror Story, the
Walking Dead, Breaking Bad or Supernatural.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l963C4HKL0 . This is the series finale of Sherlock. This shows
the conventions of a series because it includes key characters and drama and action scenes
endangering the main characters and causing tension. This clip includes Sherlock jumping off the
roof of the tall building causing the audience to assume his death; however from the next series we
find out that Sherlock actually faked his death which made the audience concerned about the main
character dying. This is a typical trait of a series, ending it on a dramatic cliff hanger then in the next
series resolving this. The audience was shocked that the main character might be dead as a
convention of a series is that the key characters are usually carried over to the next series so the
thought that the main character might not continue to the next series what a great surprise.
This picture shows part of the example video of Sherlock as he jumps off the roof.

Serial
The conventions of a serial would be; to have simple locations, e.g. a pub, caf, living room, work
place, to usually run week in, week out all year round, to feature continuous story dealing with
different themes such as personal or family relationships. It usually has a theme tune, an intro
sometimes including some of the characters. Examples of serials could be Eastenders, Emerdale or
Neighbours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIurmAcqn8M . This is a clip from Eastenders. You can tell it is a

serial drama because it included many of the serial conventions. There is a catchy theme tune at the
end and includes problems with personal relationships, etc. This clearly has conventions of a serial
because it is a scene where Lauren hits Lucy, this is conventional because it is very dramatic and
shows an example of a relationship problem as the two women are clearly having problems and not
getting along due to the fact that Lauren punches Lucy. This violence shows her hatred and anger for

Lucy making the audience feel sympathetic for Lucy and maybe to Lauren as Lucy clearly was rude to
her. As Eastenders would be on most days being a serial, the audience probably get to know the
characters well feeling almost a bond with them and from watching them daily they might have
become a part of their life making them feel attached to them and feel sympathetic towards them
when something happens to them.

Single Drama
A single drama is a drama only broadcasted one time, providing a presentation of real life. An
example of some single dramas could be; Prime Suspect or Housewife.

Genre
Conventions
Conventions of a comedy would be; there will be only a few main characters in the sitcom, in most
sitcoms there are limited sets that are used (a set at home, at work or at a pub/caf), there is often a
catchy theme tune, sitcoms always start with an opening theme tune, catchphrases, a use of small
social groups, e.g. family, friends, work, storylines, one liner. Examples of these are How I Met Your
Mother, Friends, Two and a Half Men or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Examples;

This is a screenshot of Two and a Half Men, it shows the conventions of a sitcom
by the use of a small social group; you can see this is a group of friends, they are at your typical set
at home, this might be one of the few sets used.

Again, these are screenshots from Friends demonstrating the limited sets at home and at a cafe. The
series is about a small social group of friends which is unique to a sitcom.

Conventions of a crime series could be; angry policeman, interview room, in large city with high
crime rate, criminals, guns and weapons, a chase scene, victims and mystery. They might be set in a
detective or police station, they might include murders and dead bodies and working out who killed
them. Some might feature relationships and personal problems too. Some examples of these crime
series might be Sherlock, Breaking Bad, Orange Is The New Black, the Mentalist.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9mZXcloriA You know this clip is a crime series as it has all the
conventions of one, police officers, a crime, a detective, guns which are shot at the end, a case scene
after they catch the murderer and solving the crime.

Conventions of a period drama might be that they could be dated from 1800s or 1970s, there will
be a lot of costumes and makeup to convey this era. It might focus on relationships and family and
include ideology of the time which they criticize.

Conventions of a soap opera are that they are set in a particular place, shown on TV, focus on family
life and personal relationships, based on a group of characters living in a particular place, romance,
love and secret relationship are in most storylines, focus on working-class communities, everyday
situations and relationships. Examples of these are Emmerdale, Neighbours, Eastenders or Home
and Away.

Conventions of a dramadoc is that they might touch of relationships, would be set mostly in a
hospital or doctors surgery, and the main characters are mostly the doctors and they usually have
some bad and good relationships with patients or colleagues. There are usually extreme casualties
where they have to operate, the doctors would wear uniforms, usually blue or white coats, they
often have stethoscopes and other medical equiptment. Examples of dramadoc programmes might
be; Casualty, ER, Holby city and Greys Anatomy.
This is a clip from the dramadoc, Holby City: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxBwQLF3A5o. In
this clip we see the clear conventions of a drama doc, there are hospital beds, the blue doctor
uniforms, they wear stethoscopes, it is set in a hospital and the whole clip is based on relationship
problems they have with each other.

Narrative structures
A narrative structure is the way in which a storyline is structured; it focuses on how the
events are shown and what order in.
Linear
Linear narrative is a story which begins with a start, then middle and then an end. Many
normal films have this structure. It is a classic structure and can give a clear understanding
to the audience of what is happening. Most films use this like Ferris Buellers Day Off, 10
Things I Hate About You, A Bugs Life or Toy Story and many others.
This is a clip the the TV series, The Walking Dead http://www.channel5.com/shows/thewalking-dead/clips/season-3-episode-9-clip . You can tell this is a linear narrative clip as it
happens in chronological order and doesnt skip from the end of the clip where he breaks
free to the beginning where he is tied up.
Non-Linear
A non- linear narrative is a story that doesnt use the typical order of a story, for example, it
might start with the middle, and then have the beginning, then the end. An example of this
is the film 500 days of summer because the scene jump from end to middle to start then to
middle and end again.
This is a good example; the scene jumps and shows the contrast between the 500 days he
has known summer to the 1 day of summer. This is non-linear because it isnt in a normal
order and reverses in time.

I think this is quite a good technique to use as I think although it could make it more
confusing at times; it makes it more interesting to watch. It can get the audience gripped by
starting with something dramatic happening, then making the audience want to watch to
find out how and why it happened.
This is a clip of a non- linear film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjBX_yTX9GI . This is a
non- linear film as it starts with the man on the floor dead with blood over him, then it
jumps back to the start where he is fine because it has switched to a different time in the
story.

Flashback
A flashback is a scene that takes the narrative back to a scene back in time. An example is
this clip of The Lion Ling where he has a flashback of his father. Flashbacks are effective as
they can give the audience the true events on something that has happened or can give
them a higher understanding on something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls0XS6J3fs0
Realist
A realist narrative is a representation of reality showing what happens every day to normal
people, not too dramatic or unrealistic.
This is a clip demonstrating realist narrative. The series outnumbered is a realist programme
as it films a families normal life with nothing too extreme or dramatic happening. In this clip
it shows a realist narrative as it is just a father and daughter talking at a breakfast table, very
realistic and nothing too shocking is happening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irBKaDg_n5o

Anti-realist
An anti- realist narrative is an unusual representation of reality and is usually very dramatic,
shocking and unrealistic. Examples of these might be Disney films where they use magic or
can fly, for example in Cinderella she has a fairy god mother who uses magic to help her go
to the ball or in Aladdin, and they ride off on a magic carpet. These are both anti-realist as
we know these scenes could never actually happen in real, everyday life.
This is a clip demonstrating an example of anti-realism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbtwVxMHkw4 This is an anti- realism video as in reality
we would never experience zombies who try to eat us, this isnt something people
experience in everyday life, although entertaining, it is very un- believable and dramatic.
Open ending
An open ending is an ending left un-resolved, often to have an unstructured response to the
film. Often endings are left open so that it gives the producers a chance to make a sequel to
the film if it is popular. It is usually left open for the next series.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKsgUa5m1yk This scene has an open ending as we hear the ending

they give us but without clear evidence making the audience question whether the older Man is
lying or the main man played by Leonardo DiCaprio is actually insane.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEegn1R601M This is the ending of the Hobbit, this is an open ending

as they dont have a proper resolution to the story, and they leave it unanswered so that it gives
them the opportunity to make another film.

Closed ending
A closed ending is an ending that is resolved at the end, answering all the mysteries
throughout the film. The clip below of Fight Club shows us it is a closed ending as they
actually tell the audience what happened answering all questions the viewers might have
had. www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Huy-JP1xo

Technical
Single camera filming techniques

Lighting
Lighting is easier to control when using a single camera as you can adjust it to get the look you want.
This is harder with multi camera production because the lighting must be the same across all the
cameras as shots can look odd with inconsistent light.

Sound
In single camera production's sound is easier to control as because you only need one sound source
as there is just one camera. This is beneficial as it is easier, saving time and money when filming and
editing. In comparison a multi-camera production audio has to be recorded on both cameras, which
could be good because if something happens to one of the audios, you have a second that you can
use, however, the costs are higher as you have to purchase two microphones to record both audios.

Editing
When editing a single camera production, it is easier as it doesnt get as confusing and require as
much organisation. E.g. you can insert your SD card and start editing it without the need to get
multiple SD cards and find each take on the multiple cameras and edit them together. You have less
footage than with multiple cameras which makes it easier to edit as it is all there without having to
search for your shot of the same scene on a different camera. Having less footage also means it has
half the size of memory and doesnt need insufficient memory space to store it on a computer.
However, contrastingly, a single camera might actually have more footage overall as the single
camera might require more takes of the scenes than multiple cameras as you are moving the camera
so might need more takes of different angles to see which works best, with multi cameras you might
not have as much footage overall so multi cameras might be just as good or better.
When editing, you might want to use techniques such as shot, reverse shot where you portray a
conversation between characters. You need to concentrate when editing this to make sure it works
and fits together and the jump cuts look good and havent got a long pause between the shots so
that it looks unnatural and the conversations dont flow.
Scripting
Scripting is where you have to write the script on the story you have planned to give you an idea of
what you are doing including camera technique and what shots you are using. This makes it easy to
film your production as you have a detailed description of what you have to do when filming, what
you want the actors to say, how you want them to say in and what shots you want. When scripting

with a single camera you have to consider this when writing the different shots you wish to shoot to
think about whether these shots will work when just using one camera.
Building a scene
You must consider where you are shooting your scenes, whether the location and scene is right for
the film and works with it. For example, you wouldnt write a scene set in the Arctic then film it on
the beach, etc. You need to make sure the scene is possible to shoot when writing the story. You
must consider the shot angles, for example, portraying someone as weak by having the camera
looking down on them or having a low camera angle to look up at the person who is a strong
character and maybe is the villain of the story. The angles in the scene must portray the character
from the effect the shot gives the audience.
Building a story
When building a story you need to make sure it is plausible to shoot and it works. You need to make
sure the scenes fit in after one another and the whole story makes sense and is relatively easy to
understand. You need to think about the target audience when writing your story and script, that
youve designed relatable characters and an interesting story to the audience you are targeting.

Filming techniques
Camera Pan
A pan is where the camera moves left and right horizontally through a central axis in a swivelling
movement. This shot is usually achieved using a tripod.
Tracking shot
A tracking shot is a shot where the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is
pushed on rails. The camera is mounted on the dolly and records the shot as it moves. This might
be used to follow a subject in the frame, e.g. a moving vehicle or a person in the scene without the
camera looking shaky and unprofessional, it looks smooth. This can make the scene more dramatic
as it can make the audience feel as though they are there following the subject in shot. This is similar
to a dolly shot; however, a tracking shot follows a subject where a dolly shot usually gets closer or
further away from a person or action.
Camera Tilt
A camera tilt is a vertical camera movement in pointing up or down from a fixed location. Similar to
nodding your head, it can be used to see the full shot of someone.
Zoom Shot
A zoom shot is where the focal length of the lens is changed, more or less to give the illusion of
moving closer to or further away from the action and magnifying part of the image.

Producers can build a scene with a single camera using the different techniques they can use that
they cant with a multi camera production. An example is that they could build a scene by using a
tracking shot to follow the characters and build the scene by making the audience feel as if they are
there on scene with the characters and making it appear more realistic. Another technique to use is
a camera pan which can make you feel you are in the conversation too when watching it and
therefore helps build the scene. Furthermore, when shooting with a single camera the scene is built
because they have to focus on each scene at a time more than when using multi cam because they

often shoot the scenes separately so can spend more time perfecting that particular scene. This is
why building a scene can be easier for producers with single cameras.
An example of how these single camera techniques can build a scene is this clip from the programme
My Name is Earl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvMkIQKroM0 . This programme uses a high
amount of different single camera techniques, such as the shots alternate between the main
characters and the Airport security. There is also a panning shot to them as they arrive at the
checking desk and a panning shot from the luggage which effectively builds the scene as it shows the
audience where they are by showing around the scene with the camera pan.
Producers also use the angles of the camera shot to build a scene by portraying the characters for
their personalities, e.g. the villain might be shown with a low angle looking up at them to show they
are strong, also a good character might be show using a high angle, looking down at them to show
them as a weak character