Unit 23 Assignment 1

*Improvements underlined.

A multi camera setup means using more than one camera to film a production.

A single camera production means using only one camera to film a programme, film or TV show.

These programmes are single camera.

The following web links discuss the pros and cons of working with a multi camera setup.

http://lisagg2.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/the-pros-and-cons-of-multi-cam/

http://journeytosuccess92.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/multi-camera-techniques.html

http://laurenbaileysinglecameraproduction.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-single.html

Summarising from these websites, the pros are;

• Time saving
• Editing can be done by the vision mixers
• All scenes are usually filmed once so less chance of error

Cons are;

• Might be an issue to hide other cameras when filming from different angles
• More costly
• Takes longer to set up

The X Factor uses multi camera techniques, an example of this is at 0:04 to 0:20. During 16 seconds there are 4 different angles used, they go from a side shot to a birds eye view shot. Then it goes to a close up, following by the camera going along a track at the bottom of the stage. During performances there has to be more than one camera to keep it interesting and so we can see their movements from more than one perspective.

This example from the 2012 Olympics uses multi camera techniques, at 1:37 to 1:41 the shot changes from the athlete to the crowd and then back to the athletes. It keeps the attention of the viewer because it's mixing the shots up but still keeping focus on the race by keeping going back to it. 

This football match is a prime example of a multi camera set up. The camera goes along the full length of the pitch at a higher angle as well as camera men on the floor and cameras behind the net to catch all the action and goals.  Juts like at 24:09 to 24:13 where the camera is on the goalkeeper from a higher angle and then it goes to a shot of the players from eye level. 

Chat shows like Jonathon Ross always use a multi camera set up, for example we can see this from the start at 0:03 to 0:17 where we get a close up of Jonathon, a shot of Lindsay and Russell then a close up of Russell. This genre always change from wide shots to close up so we can see who's there along with the set and then who's speaking.

Out of all the programmes I think Jonathan Ross uses the techniques the best. It constantly mixes up the shots from wide shots, to close ups and mid shots. In comparison to all the others, the X Factor just uses shots of the performer, the football example is just standard of a football match because people watching at home need to see everything that happens and although it does show everything, there's too much changing around. Also the olympic example is good because of how the camera moves in front of the runners and has a lot of movement but it's the same shot twice but from different angles/movements. All could have been made using a single camera setup but it would make them all very boring, the variation of shots keep it interesting.