Single camera

Intro
Single camera productions are exactly what it says in the title; a media production using only
one camera to film. Using single camera methods is difficult because you must plan every
little detail on screen and work with the single angle, in contrast to multi-cameras, where you
can use any shots, deemed good enough, from the multiple angles of multiple cameras.

Benefits
This, however, does not mean that using a single camera does not have benefits over using
multi-cameras. Using a single camera is cheaper, easier to control (as you only need to
micromanage one instead of compensation for 3+), require less space and, if you’re sneaky,
you can record part of a conversation with one character while the other is busy.

Limitations
Unfortunately, using a single camera takes a much longer time to film because you must film
each angle one at a time, meaning that the scene must be repeated at least 3 time which
can lead to the actors messing up more. Editing the recordings of a single camera product
also takes much longer due to the process of combing through which videos are usable and
which aren’t and, because of the need to repeat shots, will be as many times of unusable
clips.

Continuity
Continuity is one the most important factor that separate good storytelling from bed
storytelling. Continuity is the technique of making character and object continue over
to the next shot, this will add more realism and will make the character believe that
this is a real-life encounter and not just staged. An example of continuity is walking
through a door, as a character walks through a door on one side, they could either
make them or another character walk through a door in a different location, creating
an invisible cut and cutting out the boring parts while continuing the story.
However this is difficult when using only a single camera as the they are transitioning
the same way over two scenes, where normally you would have two cameras and
the scene would just continue, you must do the scene twice successfully to achieve
the perfect transition.
Several tips would be to; keep filming days close by (if it takes longer than a day) this
will keep your actors in the same environment instead of having adapt every time a
new day begins. Keep the set consistent, this will remove any continuity errors
caused by an item being in a different place every shot. Make sure that any clocks
tell the exact same time and are appropriate to the sunlight, having them at 2AM as
the sun is setting isn’t very smart.
Camera shots

Extreme close up
Auto focus Manual focus Other media

The extreme close up shot is typically used when showing emotions in a single facial
feature, for example; a tear in the eye to emphasise sadness, a smile to show joy or
a calm unwavering stare to show confidence. For example, in this scene from
X-men this extreme close up is used to convey the character’s anger, however it also
takes away the surounding, making the shot revolve solely around the character,
which could cause an overwhelming feeling.

Close up

The close up is used to show the facial features/emotions of a specific character as

the implications can be showed easier when the attention is mainly on just the
character. It can also create an unaware feeling as we are left with only the
information of the character on screen and nothing of the scene around them. In the
example image above, the close up allows us to see what the character is feeling,
either discomfort or disapproval, while also letting us see the background, keeping
us in the atmosphere of the shot.

Mid-close up

The Mid-close up is used to convey a more generalised show of emotion. The actors
can convey the meaning behind their character without much effort creating a natural
and believable feel to their emotions, however it doesn’t show much of anything else
so, it must be kept short before changing to a different scene or else the shot
becomes boring. For example, this shot from Misfits, the closeness allows us to
comfortably get a look at his emotions, making the viewer understand the
atmosphere without being overwhelmed by focus of the shot.

Mid-shot

Mid-shots are used to show the character and the background. It allows the
character to act while also showing a suitable amount of background, it can also be
used to bring focus to the characters actions. From this scene from The Hunger
Games we are told what the character is doing, what her facial expressions are
where she is, making her seem more inplace with the surroundings while also
keeping her as a focal point.

Long shot

Long shots are used to show the character in relations to the location and to change
the atmosphere of the scene. For example, a single character in an empty plain can
create a feeling of isolation, while a well-dressed character in a run-down area could
create embarrassment and an out of place feel. The example image above conveys
where the character is, what he is doing and what the overall atmosphere of the
scene is; he is in a desert, he is wlking towards something, he is alone.

Extreme long shot

Extreme long shots are used to bring attention on the landscape more than the
character/s on screen. They usually used to set the location and time period of the
film. This shot can be combined with jump cuts to show the transition of time or the
montage of a journey. Muche like the longshot example, the extreme longshot
example shows us the surrounding area more then the characters expressions and
barely shows us what they are doing.

Low angle

Low angle shots are typically used when one character is towering over another or
when there is a large building/mountain. This creates an overwhelming feeling from
the character/object. This type of shot is similar to a worm’s eye view shot, as they
both contribute to the emphasis of power in the subject. This shot from The Matrix
shows a low angle shot of the agents, the low angle mixed with the mid shot
distance, allows us to see the enviroment, the character’s actions and expressions
and, due to the low angle, makes them seem more powerful and intimidating then
normal.

High angle

High angle shots normally come hand-in-hand with low angle shots and are used to
emphasis the overwhelming effect by making the other character look
inferior/weaker. Similar in nature to the bird’s eye view. In this scene of Avengers, we
know how powerful they are, due to us watching a whole movie with their strengths
and abilities on display, however the high angle makes them seem inferior, weaker
and scared.

Tilted/canted

The tilted shot is used when the director wants to create a feeling of unease and
disorientation. It can also affect a location, changing it to look strange and unnatural,
or a character, showing their unstable/disturbed mind. This can be any length away
from the character/location, however, when used to show the mental state of a
character it will usually slowly zoom in until it remains on a close up. In this scene
from inception, the tilting of the setting is used to create an unnatural atmosphere,
this is caused because of the disorientation that the whole background creates.
Worm’s eye

Worm’s eye shots are commonly used to show the point of view of a child or a pet,
which can point out a hierarchy within the cast. In rare cases, it can be used to show
the POV of an object being found or hidden, creating a feeling of secrecy. Similar in
nature to the low angle, in which it will make characters feel more superior by making
them seam bigger, more of a threat. This shot from breaking bad makes the two
characters seem more important, the shot forces all our attention on them and
makes them seem more powerful.

Bird’s eye

The bird’s eye shot can be used when establishing a location, a direction or a large
number of people or objects. It is used to give a sense of awe, horror or an
overwhelming feel. Using this shot type can also give a sense of disconnection from
the character, as it takes us away from their perspective to show us something that
they can’t see. In this scene, the camera shows the character from below as he is
overwhelmed by other people that look like him, this can play down his importance,
making him seem inferior and unnecessary.

Manual settings
Manual setting on a camera can allow the user to adjust aperture value, shutter
speed and ISO, this gives the user control over all the possible looks that camera
has to offer for an image.

In manual mode, the camera will allow you to control the aperture settings, this is the
opening in the in the middle of the lens which allows the light to reach the sensor.
The term “more open” or “wider” refers to the smaller sizes of the hole, as
controversial as it sounds. This will change how clear the background of an image is.
As the F-stops value (the unit of measurement for aperture) gets lower the
background will become blurrier and blurrier, while raising the value will make the
background as clear as the foreground. However, if not compensated by the shutter
speed and ISO, the aperture will affect the lighting of the shot.
Shutter speed is the second factor of manual mode, this is speed at which the
shutter opens to let in light for the sensor. This means that a quick shutter speed will
produce no motion blur while a slow shutter speed will produce motion blur, due to it
taking in more movement. It is measured in fractions of a second, and as the fraction
becomes smaller the image will produce less blur. If you are trying to film an action
sequence or a fast-paced scene it is advised to use a shutter speed around 1/2000.
This setting can also affect the lighting of the image, with a slower shutter speed the
image will be lighter while a faster shutter speed will be darker.

The final control point of manual mode is the ISO, which is the speed at which light is
gathered. It allows the image to be brightened or darkened artificially, which is a
good way to compensate for the effect of the aperture and shutter speed. As the ISO
gets higher, the image will contain more ‘noise’, what causes an image to become
grainy and pixelated, so it is advised to keep the ISO from going too high as it will
make the shop unusable.
The main difference between manual and automatic setting is that, with manual
settings, the user must decide what they want the image to look like before they take
it; do they want a blurry background? Do they want some motion blur?
However, the user must also think of which settings are more important for the shot
they want to create. For Example; if the setting is too bright (because it’s too sunny)
and the ISO isn’t enough, what will they sacrifice?

Textual analysis

Hunger Games (2012) Rue’s Death

The opening is a handheld mid-shot shot of Katniss Everdeen, the main character,
running towards the other scene’s character, Rue. The shot consists of dark and cold
shaded colours, making a sad/depressing atmosphere. The camera, when Katniss
crouches to cut Rue free, uses jerky motions to show both characters instead of
cutting to and from one another, this creates an unsteady and emotional feeling. This
technique requires as lot of space, however, as the camera will be moving, As each
shot changes the character is always in the middle of an action, by doing this the
camera creates a fluid feel, allowing each shot to come together almost seamlessly.
The camera also does tiny jump cuts between actions that take longer than 1-2
seconds (Katniss cutting the rope), by doing these subtle movements the camera
can contribute to the rising anticipation and tension. These few transitions and
filming techniques can make the viewer believe that the characters are improvising
and/or slightly panicking, which can make the viewer relate to them, as they know
that would be panicking in their place.

As Rue is cut free, a mid-shot of is shown of them hugging, this shot is less shaky
than the few seconds that came before. By doing this we, as the audience, feel
calmer as the scene appears to have calmed and, as the camera has come off the
ground, the colours have become brighter, furthering the belief that it has calmed
down. However, as the camera cuts to a close up reaction shot of Rue, followed
quickly by one of Katniss, which pans to show a third tribute who throws a spear.

For the next 2-3 seconds, as Katniss is using her bow, the camera becomes still,
transitioning to a close up of her face. The stillness is a clear contrast to the rest of
the clip, which could be a visualisation of her confidence with the bow. Immediately
after the camera changes to a long shot of the arrow hitting the third tribute, the
camera becomes shaky again, showing her surprise and uncertainness.

The opening shot is completely blurry due to the camera shake which is compared to
the arrow shooting scene where only the fast moving parts are blurry due to the
camera’s stillness. This, as stated earlier, creates a feeling confidence radiating from
Katniss which really shows when compared top her usually uncertain attitude.

The camera suddenly transitions to an over the shoulder mid-shot of Rue pulling the
spear out of her stomach. From this point on the colours become dark, the camera
stays in the close – mid shot range of the characters and the camera begins to bob
up and down, almost in synch with Rue’s breath. These techniques are used to keep
the audience's full attention on Rue and to raise the sad emotions already made by
the storyline.

After a few repeated shots of them staring at each other, the camera begins to stop
shaking when it shows a close up Katniss, her face is cast in shadows and the
colours are cold. This is the opposite of Rue, who is bright, cold and shaky. This
contrast can be to show the fear in Rue while also showing forced calmness and
comfort Katniss is trying to show, showing the audience Katniss’ bravery and making
them feel sympathetic towards her.
Then, after Rue asks Katniss to sing for her, the camera takes the perspective of
Rue, taking a worm’s eye view and placed under Katniss. It begins to become
unfocused as it changes to a long shot of the trees above. The colours are cold, but
the lighting makes them bright, creating a calming effect. The camera eventually
begins to drift upwards and the screen begins to slowly fade to white, becoming
unfocused to allow the leaves from above to blend with each other. This creates an
angelic feeling and signifies Rue’s death, allowing the audience to feel content
knowing that Rue’s death was peaceful and (almost) painless.

A close up shot of Rue, presumably from Katniss’ point of view, show us her
peaceful expression. Her face a well-lit which stands out amongst the dim and dark
coloured background she lays on, keeping the audience's attention on her.

The next shot is a wide shot of Rue’s body lying on Katniss in the middle of the
woods, unmoved. The shot shows mostly background while a small looking Katniss
and Rue lay in the corner, the size of Katniss in this scene may be to give the
audience insight into how she feels; she feels small and helpless, she doesn’t know
what to do.

The final shot of this clip offers a close up of Katniss. The camera is shaky, and the
colours are dark and cold. This could be to show that she is unsecure as we know,
as the audience, that she blames herself for failing to protect someone who reminds
her so much of her younger sister.

Gotham (2014) S1-EP1

Gotham’s establishing shot shows us an extreme long shot of Gotham city at night,
presumably from the perspective of a helicopter. From how dark the city looks,
despite its lights being on, we get a feel that Gotham city is a very dirty and grimy
place. The camera cuts to a pan shot of the city (still an extreme long shot), where
we see the dark towers almost mixing with the cloudy sky and the lightened streets
filled with its population. Through how slowly the shot moves and by how long the
shot stays we get a calm feel, letting us know that this is normal everyday life. With
the positioning of the camera and the height of the towers, we may be led to believe
that the people below are unimportant and insignificant.
The camera then cuts to a wide shot of the first introduced character of the series,
Selina Kyle (later known as Catwoman), which then cuts to a long shot of her
jumping down from a rooftop onto a busy and dirty market street. At first, she blends
in with the shadows, making it hard to spot her, and even when the camera tracks
her as she joins a crowd in lit up area, she is still hard to identify. This leads us to
believe that she does not want to be seen, making us believe that she may be
someone sketchy. These beliefs are confirmed when she immediately steals a
carton of milk and a man’s wallet, using a fire escape to climb over a building. The
camera shots in this scene are very quick to change, setting anticipation of what is to
come and, by showing the quick confident reactions shots of Selina, we know that
this is a common occurrence and that she is confident in what she does. Despite
being well lit, most characters in the wide shot are wearing dark shaded clothing,
suggesting that no one wants to stand out from the crowd and that people like Selina
Kyle are very common.
As the scene ends, the camera then cuts to an extreme long shot of a dirty, poorly lit
alley way, where Selina begins to climb down the fire escape from the other side of
the building, cutting her escape from the man she stole from. Selina, however, is just
a lone silhouette so we get the feeling that she is constantly alone and doesn’t need
to depend on anyone else.

The camera then cuts to a close-up shot of Selina pouring milk to a cat (which is bad
because most cats are lactose-intolerant), this could show that she has empathy for
the street cat and perhaps relates to it. As the shot finishes, a long shot shows
Martha, Thomas and Bruce Wayne enter the alleyway Selina is on. The camera
constantly cuts from medium shots of Selina climbing to hide on another fire escape
to a long shot of the Waynes walking down the alley. Unlike most other characters,
Bruce and Thomas are both wearing suits while Martha wears a light pink coat, this
change from dark and casual clothing suggests that they are either wealthier than
most other characters and/or to signify that they play a larger role within the story
line. The camera then cuts to a mix of a pedestal with a tracking shot as a silhouette
begins to walk towards the Waynes.

The camera then match cuts to the robber pulling out a gun, changing halfway to
reveal a covered face with slits for eyes. This character is barely identifiable as he
blends in almost perfectly with the dark surrounding of the alley. It then cuts to a
reaction close up of each of the Waynes faces, each of which has been lit up to 1)
show us a clear reaction 2) to show a clear contrast between the Waynes and this
new character. After receiving the money, the camera begins to quickly change
between the character’s reactions, showing mainly Bruce, probably to show that he
is one of the main characters, and the robber, to show that he also has some
importance to the storyline. Then, as the robber shoots Thomas and Martha, the
shots slow down, showing the disbelief on Bruce’s face, before cutting to a tracking
and pedestal crane shot as he runs out of the alley’s entrance.

The beginning scenes are slow and calm, to signify the normality and to introduce
the audience to the daily life in Gotham, before changing to speeding up to show a
quick and high risk movement, used to develop the character that’s been introduced.
Then repeating this sequence to develop the second character. By doing this, we
feel like we can understand the characters because we see what one must do daily
and what a major developing factor in the other looks like.

High hopes – Panic! at the disco

The establishing shot is a low angle shot of a bland and brown office building Infront
of a cloudy bright sky, the contrast between the two may be to show that dreams are
as endless and wonderful as the sky while reality is bleak and boring.

The camera begins to tilt down until we see a black car pull up on what is assumed
to be a busy street, and, when the car door opens upwards (suggesting the
character to be important/wealthy), we see a young man in a suit step out into a
street full of people wearing brightly coloured clothes. The clear contrast could
suggest that this character Is more focused/ambitious, as shown by his clearly more
expensive suit, or that he has more self-confidence/self-worth.

The camera then cuts to a mix of a pan with a tilt (slowly moving in a diagonal
direction), of the skyscrapers in a city as the song title appears on screen. These two
being placed together could be used to place symbolism on the skyscraper, stating
that these buildings are the character’s aspirations/hopes. This shot then fades out
to show the man in the suit, the camera performing a jump-cut ark that will cut to a
mid-shot of the character standing still as others go past him. Compared to his
clothing, everything else is brightly coloured and casual looking, creating a feel of
calmness and normality. This, however, makes his appearance stand out more,
emphasising his atmosphere of self-worth. the camera techniques thus far have
been simple enough that they should not cause any difficulty to perform, however
these simple moves mixed with the many actors could cause a collision if not
performed with enough space.

The camera then changes to a close-up tracking shot of the character walking; the
street he is on is brightly lit, creating an atmosphere of good fortune and happiness,
and the scene, apart from the MC, still has rich colours, continuing the image of
difference in this character. The camera then changes to a sequence of close up
shots mixed in with a tracking close-up, showing the main character moving steadily,
through the busy street, occasionally colliding with a few pedestrians. This could
symbolise hardships and problems in his life, however, due to the steadiness of the
camera, the audience gets a feel of how prepared he is, as his world stayed steady
and showed no signs of uncertainty. Shortly after the sequence, the camera cuts to a
shot of a skyscraper, tilting up to emphasis its size to the audience. The building
appears to be a modern, newly built and expensive flat of homes, suggested by its
clear blue and clean. This presents itself as a new form of aspiration.

The camera then cuts to a close up reaction shot of the character slowly looking up,
which causes the camera to cut to a tilting shot of the building he is staring at, due to
the tilt being shot at the base of the building, we get a sense of how overwhelming it
is. From this angle the light blue becomes a mix of blue and grey and because we
are eyelevel to this character, we can get an accurate show of how intimidated he is
and are able to relate.

For the next minute, the camera constantly switches from close up pan shots of the
character, who begins to walk up the tall, modern building (to symbolise the journey
to success), to bird’s eye view shots of the people below. This style of editing is
typically used in action and thriller movies, used to hype up the exciting nature of an
action scene. As the speed of what is on screen is not too fast, the scene is easy to
follow without any explanation. As the character begins his accent the lighting and
shadows are dark and dull, suggesting a rough start, this quickly changes as he gets
higher and higher, the background changes to bright lights and cheerful tones,
suggesting success.
The entire song is filmed using a Steadicam, made obvious by the video’s steady
nature, which creates a comfortable feeling of certainty and calmness and is quite
common within music videos (except rock, metal, etc). The overall lighting of this
video creates and uplifting overall feel which matches the song well. The camera
movements consist of very basic movements, where the most difficult thing was
probably controlling the drone that got the extreme long shots.

Conclusion
Single camera productions are any type of filmed media that uses one camera to
record, this is beneficial due to its low cost and space efficiency while, unfortunately,
having an extra time drawback and it is needing all details to be planned beforehand.
Single camera productions make up for its lack of leniency by making use of multiple
camera movements, either to create a feeling or to emphasis one that already exists,
and continuity, which gives the scene the impression of it being a single continuous
shot. The mise-en-scene also has heavy influence when it comes to creating as it
can determine the outcome of each shot and the atmosphere that they individually
create.