LAA UNIT 20: Single

Camera
What is a Single Camera Production?
A single camera production is a piece of work
that will typically use one camera to record
most, if not all, of the footage. Shots are typically
filmed in an order that works with the schedules
of everyone involved or an order that makes
sense based on the sets being used.

Examples of single camera productions are

movies. Movies are what started the use of
single camera media in 1910’s Hollywood films
and was standardized ever since. Other examples include music videos, tv dramas,
documentaries, advertisements and comedies. They are usually never filmed live and if they
are it wouldn’t include any spectacular movements (live single camera productions would
only apply to twitch streamers or other creators online, though some indeviduals do feature
multi-camera setups.)

Every shot used in single camera production is filmed individually and filming usually takes
place over a few days. Single camera productions also require a lot more attention when
editing; you need to keep the flow of the shots looking natural and not just include random
jump cuts.

The reason single camera is used over multi-camera is because its a lot more versatile and
allows a director of an advert, film, drama and so on more control over what is actually
being shown. For example, lighting is easier to maintain and control with a singular camera;
if you were to use multiple cameras all rolling at the same time, you’d have to keep the
lighting very basic and equal in all of the cameras.

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Camera Shot Types.
First of all, what are ‘Manual Settings’?
You will see below that some of the images I have taken are
labelled with ‘Manual Settings’ but what actually are they?
Well when we use auto settings, it will automatically set up
the shutter speed, ISO and aperture for us, but if we don’t
like what it does, we can switch to manual settings.

Manual settings allow us to control shutter speed (how long

we want it to expose the image), ISO (how light or dark we
want the image to be) and Aperture (how much light we
want to let in) to allow us more control over it. This allows
for images that you as the photographer or the filmmaker
can put more meaning into. For example, you may have a
scene in which you film in a dark area, but its too dark with
automatic settings. When you switch to manual, you can
open the aperture to allow more light to enter the camera,
change the shutter speed to be a bit slower to help the
speed at which light enters the camera and you can change
the ISO to change how bright the final image will be.

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3|Page
Extreme Close Up.
Auto settings Manual Settings.

Scott Pilgrim VS the World.

Extreme close ups are used to show the
characters emotions. The camera is placed
close to the actor to focus on a particular
facial feature. For example, in this picture
of the character Knives Chau from Edgar
Wright’s Scott Pilgrim VS the World, you
can see that her facial expression shows
that she is determined, ready to fight.

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Close Up.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Baby Driver
Close ups are similarly used
as Extreme close ups are.
The camera is brought close
to the actor’s face, but this
time focuses on the actor’s
whole face. This gives us a
lot more emotion and helps
us recognise a character. In
this image from Edgar
Wright’s Baby Driver, we are
given a close-up on Baby.
Baby’s facial expression here
shows us that he is focused
on what he is being told,
however the earphones in
his ears and the toy car in
the bottom middle shows us that all he really wants to do is the two things he loves
most, drive and listen to his I-pod.

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Mid-Close Up.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Misfits
Mid Close ups are
used very similarly
to its
predecessors in
that it is used to
show emotion, but
this time it
includes some of
the background. I
believe this
screenshot is from
the channel 4
show ‘Misfits’.
While I haven’t
watched this one all the way through, you can tell that this character is nervous. He’s
looking off to the side and up at something or someone. He also looks slightly angry,
perhaps he just figured out that something he was told is a lie.

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Mid Shot.
Auto Settings. Manual Settings.

Umbrella Academy.
Mid shots are
probably the
most common
shot in media,
at least to my
knowledge.
They are used
to show the
gestures of
the characters
and the
settings they
are in. For
example, in this scene of Umbrella Academy, we can tell that the character, Ben, is
sat on something because his shoulders are slightly raised, and his back is very
slightly hunched. The setting he’s in seems to be some sort of commercial area,
maybe a bowling alley.

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Long Shot.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Thor.
Long shots
will usually
be used to
show of the
sets and the
costumes of
the
characters in
the film. For
example in
Thor, we can
see that the
set and the
costumes
are rather
medieval,
but Thor’s
cape is
bright and saturated, meaning its probably more modern than we think it is.

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Extreme Long Shot.
Auto Settings Manual Settings.

Spiderman: Homecoming
Extreme long shots
are mainly focused on
the backgrounds. You
can’t really pick out
any details in a
character’s expression
or costume in an ELS.
They are most
commonly used in
establishing shots or,
in the case of Spider-Man, to show of large action shots. They are also commonly
used in Kaiju films such as Godzilla to show off the large creatures in the films. In
this spiderman screenshot, we can see that he is holding two halves of a ship or a
ferry together. The only way we’d be able to see this effectively is through an
extreme long shot.

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Two Shot.
Auto Settings Manual Settings.

Pulp Fiction.
Two Shots are, to put it
simply, used to show
two people at a time.
They are most
commonly at mid-shot
length which allows us
two see their gestures.
Them being in the same
shot also allows us to
see their on-screen
chemistry. For example,
this shot from pulp
fiction shows these two
characters aiming their
guns at the same thing.
This could tell us that
they both are thinking
parallel to each-other and usually think along the same path.

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Over the Shoulder.
Auto Settings Manual Settings.

Spiderman: Homecoming
Over the shoulder
shots are mainly
used for
conversations but
can also be used
to see what a
character is
looking at as if we
were next to them,
looking at the
same thing. In this
shot of Spiderman
Homecoming, we
can see
spiderman having a conversation with a criminal that he had come into contact with
previously. The criminal, Aaron Davis, looks confused, signifying he may have no
clue what Spiderman is talking about. Two shots allow the characters reactions to
conversations to be clear as well as what they are saying.

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Tilted/Canted Shot.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Harry Potter.
Tilted shots (aka
Canted or Dutch
angle shots) Are
normal used to
depicted
drunkenness or
showing if a
character is
dazed or
confused. They
are also used,
like in this
example, to
show a character
peeking around a
corner. The
camera simply
tilts, nothing more, and yet the amount of meaning in Tilted shots is astounding.

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High Angle Shot.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Avengers: Assemble
High
angle
shots are
normally
used to
make a
character
look
smaller.
For
example,
in this
shot of
Avengers,
we can
see Thor
and Captain America looking up at the camera. Their faces are worried, so we can
assume that the thing they are looking at is quite big and probably won’t be easy to
fight.

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Low Angle Shot.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Batman.
Low angle shots are
used to make the
subject look larger
and more
empowering, an
obvious opposite to
High Angle shots. In
this shot from a
Batman movie (not
sure which one)
Batman looks
imposing and larger
than he is, coupled
with his all black
costume makes us feel more intimidated by him even as the audience.

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Birds Eye View.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Captain America: Civil War.

Birds eye views are
when the camera is
directly above the
subject. It allows
more action to be
captured, allows
views of settings to
be more detailed
with road ways etc,
or in some cases
shows a singular
object. In this scene
from Captain
America Civil War,
we see Hawkeye
and Scarlet Witch in the middle of a fight. In some ways, this almost takes us out of
the immersion of the film, as its an angle that normally we wouldn’t be able to
access, but it also adds a lot for the same reason; it allows us to view an entirely new
angle, as if we were in a helicopter.

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Worms Eye View.
Auto Settings Manual Settings

Breaking Bad
A worms eye view
is the opposite of
a birds eye view.
Its when the
camera is directly
below the
subjects, allowing
them to look huge.
Its usually used
to show the inside
of something like
a bag or, in this
example from
Breaking Bad, a
barrel. In this shot, we can see Walter and Jesse about to pour something into the
barrel we are taking the perspective of. In this example, the liquid would seem as
though it’s pouring onto us. This would allow for interesting transitions as well as it
just being an interesting perspective.

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Other Shot Types.
We’ve seen all the types of close-ups and long shots but what about those that don’t focus
on people? Things like Establishing shots; Establishing shots are shots of the location that
the characters are in, like a drone shot of a cityscape (as seen below) or even a shot of the
outside of a shop, this can also be described as a master shot,

There are also cutaways. Cutaways are when the camera cuts away from the main action
taking place on screen to another shot that could give the audience some extra information.
There’s no easy way to give a visual example as I’d have to add a video to this text
document, so I’ll do my best to describe. Let’s say we have a scene of two people talking,
they’re on a time limit and have to go by a certain time; during their conversation, the
camera will cut to a shot of a clock to tell us how much time they have left then cut back to
their conversation, the audio will not have been cut usually, it is mainly a visual only cut.

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 Textual Analysis
Baby Driver

In the opening scene of ‘Baby Driver’, the opening shot is an

establishing shot of a bank In Atlanta. This sets the scene
for the audience and connotes that maybe our main
characters aren’t on the right side of the law. We can get
the same connotation when the camera cuts to a close up
of Baby, focused and keeping his gaze ahead, then this cuts
to a close up on Griff staring at Baby, another cut onto a
close up of Buddy then a cut to Darling, both staring at
Baby; their expressions are all focused and the appear to be
all looking at Baby, possibly showing that Baby is their only
way out, so they are putting all of their trust into him. They
are all wearing sunglasses and everyone except Baby is in all
black, Baby himself is in black and white clothing, perhaps
connotating the fact that maybe he isn’t exactly happy with
his job of being a getaway driver.

This cuts to a mid-long shot of the three in black exiting the

car as the soundtrack kicks in. The camera follows them
with a small arc as they head to the back of the car, open
the trunk and pull their weapons out. This scene obviously
connotes
what the
audience
were thinking in the beginning; these guys
are here to rob the bank. The camera
follows them with a backwards track shot as
they pull on
their black

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masks and enter the bank, passing the camera. The camera then cuts back to Baby with a
side on mid-shot of him watching the trio enter the bank. The fact that the camera never
goes directly into the bank and stays with Baby establishes him as the main character. Then,
as Baby begins to dance along to the music playing, the camera performs multiple arc shots
around the car while keeping Baby in a mid-shot, showing all his gestures as he performs
along to the diegetic soundtrack.

Then, in the lull of the soundtrack, the audience gets a

wide, over-the-shoulder shot of Baby watching inside the
bank as the three robbers start shouting and firing shots.
This
cuts to a close-up of Baby looking
worried, showing that they never told
him people were going to
(presumably) die. Then, it cuts to a mid-
shot of baby in the car mouthing to the
words being spoken in the lull of the
song. Then, it cuts to a close up of Baby on
the phrase “Bellbottoms!”, a cut to the alarm sounding off as the camera zooms in, possibly
showing Baby’s surprise or making the audience recognise that this is his queue, then to
Baby again as the second “Bellbottoms!” is said. Then the camera cuts to the three robbers
running out of the bank as the camera follows them with a backwards track. As they climb
into the car, we get a static shot of Baby from outside of the car, side-on as he backs out of
frame.
The audience then follow the car with quick cuts, low-
angle tracking shots from the front of the car to show
the police cars behind them, close ups of the various
passengers of the car as their faces show their
excitement of completing the job and the thrill of Baby’s
driving. As Baby drifts around a corner, the camera arcs

around the car in the opposite

direction which shows almost how
effortlessly Baby can perform these
actions. It cuts to a close-up shot of Baby
looking at the camera which is

positioned outside the window, then it cuts to a handheld

pan movement following two red cars almost identical to
Baby’s car, connotating that this was what Baby saw. It

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then cuts to an arc movement as Baby drifts into the same lane as the cars and continues
into a tracking shot as he pulls in in-between them. The camera cuts to a helicopter and a
bird’s eye view of the three red cars as they go into a tunnel. Then it cuts into the tunnel as
the camera tracks backwards to follow Baby’s car as it switches the positions, this further
cement Baby’s skill and also shows the audience that he is a quick thinker. Cut back to the

bird’s eye view with the helicopter and the cars seem to not have changed.

As Baby drives of to the left, the camera keeps

following the other two cars. It then cuts to inside
the car, the camera switches to close ups of all the
passengers faces as they congratulate Baby, then it
cuts to a close up of Baby smiling; this shows the
audience that Baby is clearly proud of the job he’s
done, despite probably not wanting to be there.
Multiple repeated car tracking shots and crabbing
shots later it all pays off. The camera arcs around
the car as it pulls into a parking lot. Another arc
shot follows the car as it pulls up and parks. The
camera stops in front of the car as they get out,
walk to another car, the soundtrack comes to an
end and the camera performs one last pan to
follow the new car out of the lot.

The amount of quick cuts, tracking and crabbing camera moves and the close ups of focused
faces in these scene shows us just how action packed and thrilling this must be for the
characters in this and it makes us almost feel a part of it.

Umbrella Academy (Season 2)

In the opening scene of Umbrella Academy season 2 episode one, it
picks up where the last season ended. A camera arc moves around
Five as he stumbles to his feet in the middle of an alleyway, the
camera then stops in-front of him and tilts upwards as he stands and
looks up at the time vortex. This allows an audience, who perhaps
didn’t watch the first season,
connotate that Five has just
fallen through that portal. In the same shot, the
camera tilts back down and begins to track
backwards as five
hears gunshots being
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fired. The camera stays in a mid-long shot as it follows Five, allowing the audience to notice
his movements; they’re hesitant which could connote that he is confused as to why the
gunshots are being fired. Then, again in the same shot, it arcs around him to his back as we
are shown what he sees. Tanks and soldiers bearing communist flags move in from off
camera as a title ‘Nov 25, 1963’ appears on screen. Now the audience feel the same
confusion as Five; even in this sci-fi show there was no war in 1963. The shot continues on
as the camera tracks forward and tilts upward following Five’s eyeline. Planes fly across the
sky above a broken movie theatre and, as the camera pans to follow them, they crash into a
near-by building. This pan also reveals the rest of the street and how it has been changed to
fit the war aesthetic; broken buildings, soldiers taking cover behind piles of rubble and
buildings and cars set alight.

The same shot continues to track behind Five as he runs to a

discarded newspaper, as he bends down to pick it up the camera arcs
around in-front of him. The headline of the paper, “SOVIETS ATTACK
US.” Gives us all the catchup we need in a brief moment. The camera
then tracks through the battle, focusing on a wounded civilian and an
American soldier comforting
him, then to a gunfight
between a few soldiers then it pans back to
Five. The mid-shot of five shows us his nervous body
language as he delivers the line “What the hell
did we do now?”. Then, a tank behind him fires of
a large shell, the sound knocking Five over as it
switches to slow
motion. The soundtrack cuts in and the camera pans to
follow the tank shell, speeding up as it moves then slowing
down as we see a woman dressed in a black suit floating in
the shell’s path.

As the footage slows down again it becomes clear that this is Vanya.
The camera continues to track the shell as Vanya puts her hands
out and dismantles the shell with her powers, causing it to explode
in front of her. The explosion blocks the view of Vanya for a second,
but as the camera arcs around to behind Vanya we are shown that
she blocked any damage with a force field of some sort. Another
pan reveals Klaus, and as

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the camera arcs around to in-front of him, an army of ghost soldiers are seen behind him. If
you didn’t know Klaus’ power, you could still connote that he was the one who summoned
them as he is centre frame and his hands are out towards the camera. His facial expression
also connotes that it takes some effort to summon them, as he is open-mouthed yelling as
his hands strain. The soldiers then walk through Klaus and the camera tracks backwards
following them as they attack the Russian soldiers in-front of them. The camera arcs back
around to Klaus and reveals that a soviet soldier is aiming a rocket launcher at him, but a
quick tilt upwards reveals Luther jumping in. The camera tilts downwards to follow Luther’s
land as the rocket is shot and hits his back. The camera continues the arc it was performing
previously to show Klaus and Luther as the rocket explodes.
In the background of that, as Klaus is thanking Luther, a blue
tentacle reaches from the top of the frame to grab a soldier. As the
soldier is pulled up the camera tilts up to follow and reveals Ben on
the top of a roof. As Ben continues to pick up and throw soldiers
with his tentacles the camera tracks to in-front of him, giving us his
facial expressions, which contains a rather grim smirk, telling the
audience that he may be
enjoying this. Then, as Ben
throws another soldier, the camera tilts up and
pedestal’s downwards as the body hits the floor.

As the camera slowly tracks towards Diego, he becomes

surrounded by soldiers. The camera then tracks close to Diego as
he begins to get fired at by multiple soldiers, but as he starts to
perform a flip, the camera tracks backwards and the bullets curve
around him and are sent right back to the soldiers. The camera
tracks back fully into a wide shot of the soldiers all falling
simultaneously as Diego lands back onto his feet. He then spots
Five and calls out to him.
The camera then makes
its first cut since the start of the scene, cutting to a
close-up of Five as he begins to teleport, but a
hand on his shoulder stops him. The camera
pans to reveal Hazel, telling Five to come with
him. A cut to an over the
shoulder shot shows
Fives confusion. Then a cut to a two shot shows Hazel pointing up
to the sky and Five being caught off guard. We cut to a low angle
shot of the sky, revealing the nukes about to land. A cut back to
the two shot shows Five grabbing Hazel’s hand as they teleport
away. Then a cut to a high angle wide shot of the rest of the

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family as they stare into the sky. Then another cut to a long shot behind them as the
explosion travels towards them, decimating the street. The camera then tilts up to show the
mushroom cloud turn into an umbrella shape and reveal the title card.

Most of this scene was filmed with a single shot, or at

least made to look like a single shot. This keeps the
audience constantly in the moment, focused on every
single part of action. All of the main characters being
revealed separately, doing their own part to aid in this
battle allows the audience to get a grasp on each of their
powers and also allows them to recognise them at a
glance. Though it may leave some audience members
confused, that is also in Five’s shoes. Five is shown to be
a fish out of water in this scenario, this is connotated
from the close-ups he’s in. His facial expressions are confused, being a time jumper, you
think he’d remember a nuclear war in 1963, but because it didn’t happen in his timeline, he
is utterly powerless, ironically.

Social Climb – I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

The video opens with a few high angle establishing shots of a

mansion. This, along with the title ‘Social Climb’ tells us that the
people we are about to see are most likely upper-class. The
camera then zooms into a window and cuts to a static shot
inside of a fancy looking room with the singer and the drummer
positioned together in a long shot in front of a fireplace. Their
clothes are a complete opposite of the room, being more
modern and ‘punky’
than the surrounding area. This connotes that
perhaps these people are wanting to be
different from the people around them and
dress differently from how they are told. As the
singer, Dallon Weekes, slides in from the left
of the frame to the microphone placed a
third of the way into
the frame from the left he begins to sing along to the soundtrack.
It then cuts to a side-on high angle shot of Weekes standing on a
flight of stairs with two women standing behind him. They’re all
dressed in ‘fancy’ clothing, a drastic change from Weekes’ look a
few seconds ago. An inference could be made here; maybe this is
a flash back to when Weekes conformed to the higher class life of
perhaps a flash forward, telling the audience what kind of life

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he’d be living if his band blew up. It cuts back to the previous scenery, and Weekes’
movement appears to be slower and more dejected, perhaps showing us that he was
imagining being rich and famous and he did not really like the idea of it.

It then cuts to a long shot of Weekes, in the suit again, in a

hallway covered in paintings. The décor suggests that this takes
place some-time in the early 19th century, however the clothing
and the hairstyles suggest late 70’s. The camera begins to track
backward as
Weekes begins to
dance through the
hallway. The shot then cuts to a room full of
people dressed in more ‘fancy’ clothing. The
camera begins pedestaling down from the
ceiling as Weekes and the drummer, Ryan
Seaman, are performing in the corner, this time
dressed in the ‘punky’ outfits from earlier.
It seems that when Weekes is with Seaman, his outfit becomes a lot more punk.
It cuts for only a second to a medium close-up of Seaman’s
face as he drums. He looks to be quite tired and even
somewhat angry, despite his movements being quite
energetic. It cuts back to Weekes in the hallway, the camera
tracking backwards as he dances towards the camera. In the
middle of this, it briefly cuts back to Seamen, this time focused
more on his drums, then back to Weekes as he is now mid-shot
in the camera, leaning into it as he sings. This could connote
that he is trying to explain something to the audience as his
hands are behind his back. We then cut back to the room of
people, where we see Weekes and Seaman performing as the
others dance slowly.

The camera then makes a cut to Weekes and Seamen on a

different set of stairs, both dressed in suits, which de-confirms
our previous connotation. The camera is panning very slightly
to the left, suggesting they are coming down from somewhere;
the camera panning away from the direction they were coming
from connotes that, perhaps what they did wasn’t something
good and they don’t want the audience to see. A cut to a static
close up of Weekes performing the lyrics “Feels like we’re
having a good time/It’s true, a wonderfully good time…” with a
serious face tells us that he probably doesn’t believe what he is saying, but as Weekes turns
his head, the camera pans to follow his eyeline and we see that he is looking at a large
mirror that he is next to (within the room full of people). As he looks at himself in the eyes,
he delivers the next line “When I’m with you.”. This could suggest that while he didn’t feel

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like he was “having a good time” he decided to make the lyrics true to himself and tell the
audience that he does have a good time, but perhaps when he is performing alone. Then, as
the music kicks in, the camera cuts on every crash made by the cymbal to the rooms that
we’ve seen before, the fireplace, the second flight of stairs—in which the camera is now
crabbing left and pedestalling downwards – and the hallway – which is now tracking
forwards as Weekes walks backwards.

We then cut to a close-up of a woman swallowing fire. It

zooms out to show that they are outside and we see an
audience of 5 people surrounding her, this audience
includes Weekes and Seaman dressed in their suits, as they
applaud, Their faces, however, suggest that they aren’t
really impressed, perhaps telling us that they’ve seen this
all before
and it has
now become monotonous to them. Then
it continues cutting back to the scenes
we’ve seen before. Another close-up of
Seamans face is shown, this time he is in
the fireplace room and seems to be slightly
happier as he drums. It then cuts to the
full shot of the fireplace room as Weekes
and Seaman perform energetically along with the music.

It then cuts to a new room with 4 windows in the back, a

person by each one, and a table centre frame. Around the
table are 5 people, the same people from the audience
previously. Weekes is in a new outfit, as the camera tracks
forward and tilts down it is shown that Weekes’ outfit is a
lot more regal. A subtitle of ‘séance’ appears on screen,
even if that wasn’t there however, we could infer that this
was a séance or a ritual of some-kind; everyone except
Weekes is
deadpan and still, there’s a symbol of
an upside down pyramid on the table cloth,
everyone has wine glasses that are filled
with some form of blue glowing liquid and
the room is oddly symmetrical. As Weekes
begins to sing, it cuts to the hallway
again for a brief second, tracking backwards
again as Weekes performs along with the
lyrics, then back to the séance room as the
camera tracks closer to the table. Two people from the windows walk behind Weekes, who
is now centre frame and at the ‘head’ of the circular table, as he begins to sing to the
camera, his hands folded formally. We then cut back to the hallway with Weekes

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performing and the camera slowly tracking backwards. It then makes a small cutaway to a
static shot of two paintings hung either side of a wall lamp.

The camera then cuts to a new room. This room is large

and only contains a few people, of them is Weekes.
Weekes is in his ‘punk’ outfit here as he stands in the
middle of the room under an archway. With the room
being so large and having barely any people around
makes Weekes look alone. Another cut is made to a new
room. Two large bookshelves are placed either-side of an
equally large window. In front of the window are to
chairs
with
two people sat in both. Centre frame
is Weekes, who is wearing the same
hat he was wearing in the séance room.
It then cuts to a close up of a woman
and zooms out to reveal she is a dancer
performing for the same audience as
before, this time clapping like they mean
it. It cuts back to the hallway as it tracks
forwards again with Weekes walking backwards, then to the bookshelf room where Weekes
and Seamen are sat in the chairs in poses that resemble ‘The Thinker’ as a subtitle
‘Mandatory Reflection Period’ appears on screen, this will be talked about later. The two
then seem to teleport as they are suddenly stood up then they disappear.

The camera then cuts to a new room, a different room full of

people dressed in suits and drinking the same blue liquid
from the séance room. The camera tracks through the crowd
to reveal Weekes, Seaman and a man in a white full-body suit
with a face that resembles a skeleton stood away from the
crowd. While the camera tracks, the pre-chorus is repeated,
“Feels like we’re having a good time/It’s true, a wonderfully
good time…” but this time, as he delivers the line “When I’m
with you.” He puts his arm on Seaman’s shoulder. As the
chorus kicks in, it cuts to the fireplace room, where Weekes and Seaman perform, but
Weekes seems to be ‘glitching’. Then it cuts back to the shot of Weekes, Seaman and the
Skeleton man. Weekes is the only one performing in this scene as Seaman and the Skeleton
are staring off into the middle distance. Then, a cut is made to the séance room as the
camera tracks backwards from Weekes. Then a cut to the bookshelf room where Weekes
stands next to the left bookshelf and Seaman appears by
the right.

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The camera then cuts to a completely empty ball room. The camera pans around the room
but a shot of Weekes and Seaman performing cut it off. We cut to the archway room again,
but now the camera is tracking forward to Weekes as he picks up a microphone. Then we
cut to the room full of people as Weekes continues performing, then it continues cross
cutting between the two shots as Weekes performs the line “But if the lights don't stop me/
No one's got control of what I do” then, on the line “’Cause it’s a good time” it cuts back to
the archway room where the camera now has a low angle shot of Weekes as it slowly tracks
towards his face. He then falls backwards out of frame and the camera cuts to a birds-eye-
view of Weekes lying on the ground,
looking up at the camera as he performs
the line “When I’m With You.” And the
camera spins around him. It cuts to the
hallway again where Weekes is walking
backwards and the camera tracks
forwards. Another cut to a mid- shot of
Seaman performing, a close-up of Weekes
performing
then a mid-shot of Weekes and the mirror. A quick cutaway
to the bird’s eye where Weekes is upside-down in the
camera as he sings “Ooh!” and the camera pedestals
upwards away from him. Then, the song finishes on a shot
of Weekes and Seaman surrounded by smoke in the room
previously full of people. After the end, the camera cuts to
the outside of the building as the camera zooms out of the
window that we had zoomed into previously.

This video has a strange air to it. The description of the video reads “‘Thought Reform’ was a
series of corporate propaganda films produced and distributed by Telex International before
their sudden dissolution in the late 1970s. This is believed to be the only remaining copy in
the series. The rest having been lost to time.”, of course this isn’t a real propaganda film, but
it still feels fake. Almost every shot is composed very symmetrically which gives the
audience the sense that this is all fake, made by someone to feed us information. This is
backed up by the subtitles that appear on screen throughout the video. I only mentioned 2,
however those two are important. “Séance” out-right says that this video is trying to
promote something malicious or satanic, but “Mandatory reflection time” is one that is
strange. The shot it appears in shows Weekes and Seaman sat on chairs in a thinking pose,
connotating that they have actions that they have done that they need to reflect on, but
making it mandatory almost makes this video seem cult-ish. Overall, the sporadic cuts, the
symmetrically composed shots and the strange lyrics come together to make an eerie music
video, however it is still a fun experience.

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 Keeping Continuity.
Continuity is a very important thing when using single camera
production. Continuity is the idea that keeps shots looking
natural. When dealing with continuity, we’re looking at props,
make up, costumes, actor positions, clock syncing, dialogue, and
the 180-degree rule. The 180 degree rule is an imaginary line
drawn on the set, to keep things looking natural, you must keep
the camera within 180 degrees of that line, the only time you
may pass it is if the passing is filmed and you have a new line.
Passing the line with a cut makes things look off, as if the
characters have suddenly switched positions.

Another thing you need to keep continuity is making sure props are consistent through-out
different shots. Misplacement of props can occur if filming takes place over multiple days, a
good thing to do is to watch back the footage you have already recorded and study the
props. This is usually done by a continuity editor. Continuity editors also take notice of the
costumes between shots; are the ties the same? Is there a cut on one of the collars that
shouldn’t be there?

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Another thing they look out for is time continuity. Time continuity is keeping every clock in
the scene on the same time unless there is a specific reason for them to be different. Time
continuity is also making sure that the scene taking place makes sense within the timeframe
of a movie; a 2 minute conversation cant take place over an hour.

Make-up continuity is also important to look out for. If a character has a specific dirt pattern
on their face, keep it through-out the filming. It may be tedious to constantly keep the same
patterns but to keep your shots looking consistent it’s a sacrifice you have to make.

Keeping your actors positions the same within shots is key. If an actor randomly teleports
across the room during a cut it does not look natural. This also relies on the 180-degree rule,
actors cannot randomly switch positions in a conversation during a cut.

Any movements, make up changes, crossing the 180 degree rule, moving props and
anything else mentioned previously MUST be done on camera or after an obvious time jump
for it to be look natural and for it to make sense.

Conclusion, advantages and disadvantages

Single camera productions are very versatile and allow more freedom in expression,
however it does come with some cons. A large disadvantage of Single Camera productions is
that prop designers, set designers, costume designers, make-up artists and editors will have
to pay a lot more attention on the continuity of the footage, if filming has to take place over
two days for the same scene then the make-up and costume department have to spend a
lot more time getting every detail the same as the previous day, set designers have to keep
everything the exact same and lighting has to make sure its lit the same (this becomes
especially hard if they film outside.) It also takes a lot longer to set up, becoming tedious
when you have to switch camera angles. When actors are not filming together, you get
fewer natural reactions from them which could take out of the product you are watching
Some advantages include the amount of time saved in editing; it is easier to obtain footage
if it is all stored on one camera. Another advantage is that it is a lot cheaper, considering
there is only one camera used, therefore you spend less money on resources. You have
more control over lighting as you do not have to worry about what the other cameras are
seeing. It is easier for the actors as they do not have to be on set at the exact same time. It is
also much easier to record in smaller areas.
In conclusion, the uses of single camera allow a lot more creative freedom. It allows
directors to put as much effort into their work and hide meanings in the subtleties of what’s

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on screen; costume and set design, lighting, camera shot types, camera movements and the
editing all come together into one art piece, full of meaning and soul.

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