A detailed study of multi-camera filming in both live and studio

formats. By Josh House.

In this essay is will evaluating four different examples of multi

camera productions two from a live event and two from a studio. I
will look at the way multi-camera is used to capture the action,
keep the watcher interested, to show the meaning of the piece and
summing up their visual style. To do this I will dissect each
example into 6 shots and evaluate each one.
So what is multi-camera?
Well multi camera is a setup used to film primarily in TV
productions. As the name suggests it involves more than one camera
but if you didnt know that already I think youre a tad out of your
depth and you should give up now. Now to continue the setup consists
of several cameras filming at the same time from different positions
these cameras alternate to get more coverage than a single one could
ever achieve, the more cameras the better the coverage, its not
rocket science.
So why use multi camera?
If youre filming a live event you want to capture everything as it
happens, do its simpler to have everything covered and switch
between cameras to follow events as then unfold rather than have one
camera operator running around like a John Terry at a Baptist
church.
On the other hand in a studio lots of cameras setup at once means
you can do an entire scene in one take without having to stop and
setup different shots, an advantage in a show like friends as you
save expensive studio time and needless to say also spending less
time with the cast of Friends, making life easier for everyone.

When could I use multi camera?

Well there are many different uses for multi camera one of the main
ones is the recording of live shows such as stand-up comedy like
this first example here.

The first example I will look at is from a live comedy show with
Comedian Rhod Gilbert.

The first shot is of

Gilbert on stage it
shows his whole body
which is important
because it is the
first shot of the clip
so it establishes
whos on stage making
it clear to the
audience. In comedy a
comedian uses their
whole body to
expressing emotions,
the whole body shot
then is important as
it makes you more
involved giving an
edge to comedy and
meaning to the
audience. In comedy
keeping the audience
interested is crucial
as their laughter is
needed for the comedy
to work in this first
shot we see Gilberts
whole body capturing
his energy and thus he
keeps us interested in
what he is saying, he
is centre screen and

thus the centre of attention.

Shot two is a shot of the crowd from a high angle allowing you to
see the large crowd. This captures the action in a way that is
almost unmatched, this is because in comedy the crowd just as
important as the comedian; here it is because Gilberts comedy comes
from the way he tells a story to the crowd. So in this shot we see
the crowd as they sit facing forward laughing this makes you feel
like youre there like Rhod is talking to you. As a stand-up piece
the meaning is rather simple its fun, the meaning is fun the way
Gilbert tells his tale to the audience so naturally the best way of
showing this meaning is by showing both Rhod and the crowd. Once
again the crowd is the thing that makes you feel connected thus
keeping your interest and in this shot you see how the crowd reacts
to Gilbert and this keeps you interested.

Shot three is a closer shot showing Gilberts face in detail as he

tells his story about losing his luggage. A close up is the very
definition of capturing the action, we see gilberts face we see him
as he grins whiles telling the story making us feel closer to him
and his comedy. On a bases of communicating meaning to the viewer
the way we see gilbert in this shot, up close and personal, you can
see his facial expressions, hand gestures, emotions the works. All
this helps him portray his tale; to explain if you were talking to
someone you would want to see them and look at them as you make
conversation and so the same is true here you feel connected almost
in conversation with Gilbert and thus with this connection you can
clearly see the meaning of his tale and that is in his comedic
anger. They way this shot keeps the viewers interested is through
way you can see Rhod is similar to the way you would see him if he
were talking to you yourself this keeps you interested as you bond
with his wit and charisma.

In shot four (above) you see two members of the audience laughing
this is coving the action in a way that is rather effective. you see
the way that Gilbert talks to his audience you see the way they
laugh as he tell his hilarious anecdote and the way the crowd react
up close; all of this give you coverage of the joy in the crowd
making you feel that joy as well. This shot portrays the meaning of
Gilberts routine in a special way, the meaning comes from the
emotions of the crowd theyre in hysterics. After evaluation I see
this brings out the meaning of fun behind this piece; the reason
gilbert is there is to make you laugh so to see him making his
audience laugh makes that becomes evidently clear. Finally the way
that this shot keeps you interested is simple, as you see other
people laugh you laugh yourself. Sounds odd but laughter is a social
thing its a way we communicate as humans, of course Gilbert does
most of the work with his stand-up but shots of laughter ad to the
laughter you feel connected like your laughing with the rest of
crowd and this is what keeps you interested. I think this works well
because of the social aspect of laughter an example of this is the
difference between watching comedies alone or with friends alone you
will find you laugh a lot less than with a group as the interaction
with other people sort of turbo charges the laughter.

In shot number five you see Rhod as he faces the whole venue, this
captures the action as you can see the whole crowd as they laugh
this gives you a view of setting, capturing the size of the arena
and the crowd a truly important part of any performance. This shot
if anything brings some context to the piece showing you venue of
the performance, I feel this communicates the meaning of the piece
of course its all about Gilbert he is on stage and he is
performing. The way this shot shows the whole arena brings to light
how calm Gilbert is despite the size of the crowd and thus shows the
fact that he is the meaning of the piece its about his life after
all. The way that this keeps the reader interested is similar to the
last shot, number four, like the former it shows the emotions of the
crowd and thus makes us feel like we are there ourselves; it is this
connection the crowd gives us that keeps us interested.

This shot gives you a view none of the other cameras give you from
behind, as a whole body shot this really captures the way that
Gilbert moves as he uses a prop to tell his tale and the energy he
has. The shot here captures the context of the story as he uses a
prop it brings meaning to the story helping you imagine the scene he
describes and you can see by the way he holds it he is clearly
angry, the way this shot shows us gilberts emotions brings meaning
to the story he is telling and thus to the whole piece. As far as
viewer interest is concerned this shot is a different angle to the
other shots so this variation will keep viewers interested also you
can see Gilbert in a whole body view and thus you can see the energy
he puts into his stand-up, you can feel the energy in each joke
keeping you interested.

This piece has a simple visual style, the stage is lit and the
audience is in darkness this puts the focus on Gilbert as he
performs. Multi camera is used to keep up with the energy of Rhods
routine this works because the camera angles change often as he
paces around the stage and so it is a fair example of multi-camera
simultaneous recording because there are about a dozen cameras,I
only looked at six, and they all work together to get a good view of
the show and the crowd.

In conclusion this piece uses multi camera well to capture the rapid
style of comedy Gilbert has and the energy of his routine despite
the constricting factors of the arena he is in these include; the
lighting as it is rather dark not to mention the limited space as in
a full arena you can only place cameras in certain places because of
the crowd and stage. Multi camera is also use to capture the
relationship between Gilbert and the crowd by switching to angles
like 4 where you can see people laughing, this is as I said before
important because that is the bases for almost all comedy.

Whats next then?

Well now I am going to analyse a second example of a live event this
one is a football match between England and Brazil call me a lire
but England actually win. I know, almost as unbelievable as the
quality of Multi camera techniques used here.

The first shot I will look at shows the players lining up ready for
the match and the exited crowd in the background. This shot shows
both teams Brazil and England as they line up bringing you close to
the action as the match is about to start, it captures the mutual
respect of both teams for each-other as they come together as one.
The way this shot shows the crowd ads an extra depth of coverage to
viewers at home because they can hear the roar of the crowd and see
them bringing them closer. This angle brings across the good
sportsmanship of the players as they sing their national anthems
this coupled with the chaps to the right in uniform brings across
the feeling of national pride that is so key to football, and this
brings across the meaning being a friendly match between two
nations. Lastly the shot shows the match about to start thus the
shot oozes anticipation making viewers at home exited; so this makes
them pay attention an interested. On a last note I wont pretend I
know what the netting is in shot for maybe its to excite keen
anglers or they just couldnt be asked to move the camera.

This shot is player Wane Roonie Englands striker and resident

orang-utan after he scores the first goal of the match. This bring
viewers close to the action, thanks to a fast changing multi camera
setup as it captures a close up shot of Wane that you wouldnt
otherwise see giving excellent coverage of the event and the player
even if he is a bit of a gibbon. This shot is taken just after
England scores the first goal you can see Roonies happy spud like
noggin, this will certainly bring out feelings of pride for England
supporters and portrays the grand sporting achievement of scoring
for the nations team, the meaning of this shot then is the joy and
pride of both the players and their supporters as a nation scores.
The way this shot is captured as the camera pans round tracking Wane
as he celebrates the accomplishments of his well-coordinated feet
makes the shot exiting we see that England has scored and supporters
on both sides will be intrigued as a goal is about as exciting as
most football matches get as a watcher if this shot doesnt excite
or at least get your attention then you should probably change
channel, watch country file or something footballs not for you.

This shot captures the action in a great way as you see Englands
keeper dive for the ball, this angle gives you a full view of the
goal area but is close enough that you can see ball and all the
players clearly, this brings the viewer nice and close to the
audience. This shot captures the action as Brazil tries for a goal
it conveys the meaning of competition in the sport as all of the
players are full of energy this is captured brilliantly by the fast
changing multi camera setup. This shot of course in almost unmatched
in terms of keeping the viewers interested, this is because one team
is trying for the goal people at home, supporters of both sides will
be on the edge of their seats wanting to know what happens next.

They way this shot captures the action is through its closeness to
it the shot if framed so you can see the Brazilian player as goes to
kick the ball, because it is so close you get a sense of momentum as
he goes for a kick thus the shot is a great example of excellent
coverage. This shot also frames an England player as he goes in for
the tackle you can see the concentration on his face and the speed
he runs this conveys the energy of the sport capturing the meaning
of the game in the dedication and training these players go through
to get this skilled. This shot gives us a close up view of the game
this is a view you wouldnt get from the stands bringing viewers at
home closer to the action and keeping them interested.

This shot gets coverage of a larger amount of the action purely

because it is from a high angle so you can see more of the pitch and
thus more play, because you can see more players it gives you a
larger picture of the action and how the players work as a team.
With the angle you get this view of team work and you can see how
each team works together to outwit their opponents thus conveying
the meaning of teamwork behind the game. This shot will captivate
viewers as they watch to see their team and when they see these
players working as a team they will be griped by the high pace of
play and excellent team work that this shot displays.

This shot brings us close to the action in different way as we see

the managers of both teams conversing and congratulating each other
on their teams play, this give coverage of a more personal piece of
action to the game, the sportsmanship, despite Brazils defeat there
are no hard feelings. The two managers conversing in this shot
conveys the meaning of sportsmanship and decency of the game as you
see two nations bonding even through the competitive nature of the
match. This shot will keep people at home interested as they see two
successful managers with excellent manners, giving people from both
nations a sense of pride and honour that makes them want to see the
after game press conference.

To sum up this piece then multi camera is used to give flawless

coverage of the action, they have to be fast changing as they follow
the ball at almost all the points and there are lots of cameras so
that every yard of the pitch is covered. All of this is used to make
the action as clear as possible to assist with this they use bright
lights and a simple visual style to make things as clear as possible
the most important thing is getting coverage of the action. They do
all of this very well considering the stadium is huge and creating a
camera setup to capture as many angles as there are I a game today
and operating flawlessly for an hour and a half and sometimes more.
They keep every camera rolling at once and use multi camera
simultaneous recording to capture everything as it happens and track
the ball as it moves.

So what else it multi camera used for?

Like I said before multi camera can also be used in studio
productions for example look at this episode of Mock The Week.

The first shot establishes the panel as the camera pans in and shows
us whos in the panel for this episode, this gives you a large
degree of coverage because you see all the comedians at once thus
from the get go you know who you will see in this episode. This
first shot shows the way all the comedians are talking this shows
they are all friends and conveys the meaning behind this piece of
comedy, this comedy comes through the way the comedians chat as they
use witty banter to create comedy. This shot will also bring an
sense of anticipation to the audience as they see their favourite
comedians, this makes them exited and catches their attention.

this shot is of host Dara OBrian he is centre frame as he is head

of the panel, this shot captures OBrian as he introduces the show
and asks questions giving great coverage, also the logo is in the
background so you know which show it is if youve just tuned in. the
way this shot is centred on the host highlights his charisma and
comedic talent conveying the meaning of humour to the piece, this is
shown by the way he kick-starts each comedic discussion as he ask
the questions. As Dara is the host many people watch the show for
his funny humour and banter with panel guests, so this shot being
the very second shot in the show gets the attention of viewers as
they watch the show because of Dara so seeing him grabs their
attention.

This shot shows team captain and regular guest Hugh Dennis as he
converses with Dara the angle is flat and the shot focuses on his
face, this captures his charisma and the fact that he is looking at
Dara thus adding to the depth of their conversational humour. This
gives coverage of the joke in a way that adds to the comedic effect.
The shot shows Dennis in a relaxed position thus reflecting the
relaxed nature of a satire panel show such as this. The relaxed
nature behind show is what gives it the meaning of comedy through
witty banter and this show conveys that perfectly. Yes Hugh is the
centre of this shot but it is also about his conversing with Dara
because this shot focuses on the team captain this captivates the
audience its self. This works because like Dara people tune in to
see Hugh and his interaction with the panel so a shot capturing the
banter between two regular guest and titans of comedy, such as Dara
and Hugh, that is how you capture the audience attention.

This shot shows panel guest Ed Byrne laughing, this shot is not so
much about the comedian himself but the laughter its true that
seeing other people laughing makes a joke funnier so this shot gets
great coverage of that, this is no dissimilar to the shots of people
laughing in my first example from the Rhod Gilbert piece but in
substitute of the crowd we have other comedians laughing. This shot
captures the joy of each of the comedians as they converse and tell
jokes thus conveying the meaning of the show, being the friendly
banter between comedians. The fact that I mentioned earlier, through
seeing other people laugh it makes you laugh more. This works
because laughter is a way that humans communicate thus seeing a
comedian laugh is even more effective and making the audience laugh
is the best way to keep them interested especially in comedy.

This shot is a super close up of Dara as he dons an eye patch as

part of a gag, the main focus of the gag is how he looks in the eye
patch so the shot is focused on his face giving coverage of the way
he looks thus adding to the comedic effect of the joke. Following on
the fact that he does look incredibly ridiculous in this nautical
accessory brings the joke to a peak and brings the often used joke
of Daras oversized head to the table. This conveys the meaning of
fun to the piece as we see the comedians bombardment of banter with
their host. The way he looks is a joke in its self the camera
focuses on him as he takes the joke to the next level and brings out
a prop, this ads an extra layer to the comedy and this keeps viewers
very entertained and thus keeps them interested.

This last shot focuses on comedian Milton Jones as he performs in

the stand-up round of the show, the camera focuses on him and is
sure to get coverage of his face as with any comedian this is great
because the face is used another means of communicating with the
viewer especially with Milton as the use his confused slightly
mental look to add to the effect of his one liner comedy style. The
camera is set up well for this and capture it perfectly. The way he
stands alone looking at the camera makes it feel like he is talking
to you at home, this is a useful tool in stand-up as the meaning of
communication between the comedian and you is emphasized with way he
looks at the camera. This is important because the link between a
stand-up and his audience can make or break a joke. The way that the
camera creates the link here is what gives the comedy its edge and
this keeps the viewer interested because the jokes sink in more and
are thus more effective.

To sum up this piece then, multi camera is used to focus on each

comedian and the way they interact. they dont have to be fast
changing as they only have to switch as each comic is speaking that
doesnt mean however they dont have to be well timed, if a comedian
is speaking but we cant see them then the humour of their joke can
be lost. All of this is used to make the humour as effective as
possible to assist with this they use lights that focus on
comedians faces and a simple visual style with relaxing lights and
upbeat colour to create the mood of fun. They do all of this even
with the constrictions of a small studio space, this must make the
cameras hard to setup in a way that they dont clash or get any
other cameras in shot. They use simultaneous multi camera recording
to capture all the comedians at once and cycle between them to keep
up with who is speaking.

As one final example I am going to look at another studio based

piece this is however a sit com filmed in a multi camera studio
called Not Going Out.

The first shot shows main characters Lucy and Lee walking through
their flat arguing, the also capture character Daisy and so in the
first shot we have the main character introduced for this scene
giving us coverage of who we are going to see in the next five
minutes. Also the shot pans round for a full view of the flat
setting the scene and giving coverage of the surroundings. The fact
that we see two characters arguing in the opening shot tells us that
they are going to be disagreeing trough out bringing to the surface
the meaning behind the pieces comedy, being the contrast between the
mature and organised Lucy and her Immature lodger Lee. This sets the
scene of light conflict that makes the rest of the comedy so
effective. This piece is stated with an argument. As far as openings
are concerned dropping the viewer straight in to a full conversation
can lead to disorientation and thus disinterest but the heated
nature of the argument keeps the viewer interested as they want to
know more.

This second shot focus on Lucy as she gets across her point to lee,
this shot provides coverage of her facial expression as the argues
with we can see this is a little cross and her hands are used to add
emphasis to her argument. This shot focuses on Lucy being on the
front foot from her expression and body language it looks like she
is telling off a child this reflects the meaning of the show as it
is about Lee Mack, the star, and how he is immature and childish
looking at his body language he stands still like a child being told
off, this adds emphasis to his character and thus adds to the
characters. The way this shot captures the heated argument keeps
viewers interested as you can see Lucys emotions in her face; you
can see she is fed-up with lee and once again I find myself wanting
to know more, this is increased with the strange discussion about
Lee killing one of Lucys business partners prize carp.

The focus turns to lee as he comes right back at Lucy with a

ludicrous plan to fix the equally ridiculous problem has created.
This shot captures Lees facial expressions as he tells her his
plan, this gives great coverage of the way Lee uses humour as an
argument thus making the joke more effective. This shot captures Lee
Mack in all his sarcastic glory as he jokes his way out the
situation, this brings rise to the meaning of comedy to this piece
and more importantly Lees relaxed comedic attitude to life. The fact
that in this shot lee doesnt fully reveal his plan brings an air of
intrigue to the shot you want to know what his plan is as it is a
sort of punchline to this joke, this grips the viewer and keeps them
interested.

This shot shows Lee pacing as he and Lucy switch places this puts
daisy into the shot giving coverage of all three characters and you
can see here puzzled look bringing light to the obscenity of the
situation. This creates a link to the audience as most viewers will
also be a little puzzled. The way Lee paces up and down shows he is
excited an the camera captures this well, his excitement reflects
the meaning of this particular shot that is the fact that lee
himself is excited by his own comedic plan, this makes us also
exited. Taking that further this shot increases the excitement
carried from the last shot making us eager to find out his humorous
plan thus keeping the viewer interested.

In this shot we see lee unleash his plan in all its ridiculous
glory, he talks about pretending to be religious to prove he
couldnt possibly have killed the fish. The way this shot captures
Lees facial expressions and exited energy by with its close up
framing gives us coverage of the joke for a start but it also shows
how he happy with himself you can gauge this by how exited he his.
This shot frames lee in a way we can see his face as a I said before
but it is the energy with which he does it that forces out the
meaning that this is the joke that has been building up, the
punchline if you like. This makes the joke more powerful. The sheer
ridiculousness of the plan makes us wander what Lucys reaction will
be, also the framing capture lees facial expression and body
language this makes us feel more involved in the character Of Lee;
both these things make the audience more interested.

So to summarise one last time, multi camera has a different use in

this show it is used with characters so each shot captures emotions
and body language more, but multi camera is use to keep rolling and
save money this is done with the use of multi camera simultaneous
recording to film in one take. The cameras change rather fast in
this piece in order to keep up with the conversation. All of this is
done to keep the conversation flow as natural as possible and focus
on emotions making the comedy more effective. The lighting in this
piece is made to be as natural as possible so it looks like a real
apartment, as it is just a normal apartment the visual style is
rather natural; this makes you more involved with the story. The
constricting nature of filing in apartment is once again an issue of
size or lack thereof it, it a tight space using multiple cameras is
hard as you dont want any of the cameras in shot, Not Going Out
avoids this by only filming form one side facing the window I expect
this is because the cameras are all on the other side.