So what is the difference between a multi-camera and a single camera production?
The difference between single camera and a multi-camera production is the use of several cameras simultaneously recording at the same time instead of just the one. Multi-camera is used to film genres such as chat shows, sports, concert and public events.
Directing a Multi-camera production can be incredibility difficult; Not only does a director have to manage themselves but they also have to manage the rest of the filming team, sometimes an assistant director is needed for an extra pair of hands. The multi-camera director will plan camera positions and shots. During filming the director leads his/her team and is in charge of the studio floor …show more content…
Cast and crew are performing simultaneously, so it involves less takes and importantly less time. Multi-camera sitcoms are also known to have a better lifespan on the television; this is down to single-camera productions being very risky. Not only due to them being very expensive to shoot, but because they can fail as a show. In single-camera productions each actor is filmed individually, which makes acting more difficult, along with being more subject to criticism. If one character cannot hold their own on a single-cam sitcom, it will most likely be cancelled. Whereas on a multi-cam sitcom, the angles are switching so fast between dialogue characters can often save each other and altogether more entertaining to watch. [1]
Single-camera sitcoms dominated the 60s and 70s. Multi-camera sitcoms dominated the 80s and 90s.But Today the entertainment industry is torn between the two. Multi-camera has a way through the use of angles to give each sit-com show a “movie feel”. …show more content…
The main advantage for this program format is that they are able to produce three to four half hour shows in one day for the upcoming week, which saves time. As the production team need to produce a lot of programs in a short period of time this technique is almost essential, also many things that happen in game shows only happen once (such as winning money and reactions) so it is very important for atmosphere purposes to capture many shots from different angles so the editing process is easier.
During class we discussed ‘The Weakest Link’ during the multi-camera project; we discussed how the lay out for the multi-camera during the show was considerably straight forward. The characteristics of the multi-camera lay out makes the show recognisable as not only ‘The Weakest Link’ but also as a game show in