Unit 22 Single Camera Production

Single Camera Production

A single camera production is shot using just one camera. It is taken out on location rather than in a studio, as there is a lot less equipment needed to shoot as appose to a multi camera production. A single camera production is used when filming in small settings i.e. a bedroom as it takes up a lot less space and leaves enough room for the cast to act comfortably.It means the cast can focus all their acting onto the one camera therefore creating the best believable production they can. This type of production also saves money as you don't have to spend money on tons of crew members and instead on better quality equipment.



Formats
Single camera formats are productions using one camera. The names for these productions are series, serial and one-off. A series is a continuous production of a narrative over multiple episodes. A good example to use for this would be friends. This production uses single camera because they only shoot their scenes from one angle which pans around the set following the characters. Single camera is very popular within the comedy genre as the camera needs to be focused on the actor's face in order to get their full reaction/expression and entertain their audience the best they can.



A serial drama is a production that relies on a continuous plot that flows from episode to episode. It needs different problems and issues to solve throughout the episodes to keep the audiences interested and keep it new as they don't want the same problem over too many episodes as that would be boring and would result in them loosing money and viewers. An example of a serial drama would be Breaking Bad, in which the main characters are constantly running into different problems which gradually worsen and they're also problems with varying types of people which makes it more interesting because we get to see how they deal with such contrasting situations. Although this format uses single camera, they will sometimes use more than one camera in the same scene so that when it comes to editing, they have more than one shot to work with and can get the best results they can.



A one-off production is something that isn't continuing and doesn't evolve into a series, instead it is just one episode packed with all the information or the whole story that the producer is trying to get across.  One-off productions are short films or documentaries which are one episode and tell you all the information in one go. An example of a one-off production would be 'This film is not yet rated'. In this film/documentary the presenter travels around the USA with a small crew to get information about the american film rating system. We know that it is one-off because they give us all the information within the length of the production, and its enough for us to understand clearly what the show was about and the message they're trying to get across. This is a good way to save yourself money as you aren't paying for a continuous production and can spend that money on equipment and crew.


Narrative Structures

Linear
A linear narrative structure is when a film/tv show is shot in order from start to finish and is easy for you to follow along. A linear narrative clearly shows us the scenario(s) in the film chronologically with the problems in the middle sections, and then they get solved at the end. Good examples of this would be productions such as disney films, because the target audience is children and a non-linear structure would maybe be too hard for then to comprehend, so disney use linear structures so that they know whats going on and can follow the narrative from start to finish. However, it isn't just children's films/TV that have linear structures. For example soap dramas have very linear structures. They jump from one scenario to another always moving forwards in a continuous flow. Producers use linear narratives to help the audience understand that they're drawing closer to resolution of the film and it gives the audience an better understanding of the situations at that current time, instead of tracking back and forth from one scenario to the other to try and explain the present.


Non-Linear
A non-linear narrative jumps back and forth through time and usually shows the end result of someones/somethings actions and then travels back through the narrative to explain and present the actions and steps which lead to the occurrence of the problem in present time. a very good example of a non-linear narrative would be the CW hit tv show 'Arrow'. It regularly jumps from present time to past showing the similar challenges that Oliver Queen faces at home in Starling City compared to when he was trapped on the island. Producers use this as a clever way to hide certain pieces of information and make the audience think and make predictions on what will happen, which is useful to keeping the audience interested and the fact that they want to find out what happens keeps them watching until the end and draws them in to watch more. This narrative structure is also very interesting and exiting because there is so much going on at one time, and when its done right it only reveals smalls 'snippets' of information or an explanation which again adds excitement to the programme. A non-linear structure works well with a narrative thats a bit surreal as they work in harmony to create tense situations which the audience try to work out and piece together.


Technical Codes
In the tv show 'Arrow' the technical codes are very interesting. They don't give us the information in bulk, but instead in small sections because they want the audience to try and put the story together for themselves before they're told whats actually going on, as this creates a sense of involvement of the audience and theyre not only watching it but taking part in the narrative. We see quite a lot of the same shots in arrow. They use lots of low angle and high angle shots to portray the status of the character, i.e. when the villain is in the scene the camera is usually at a low angle to show that he is dominant and powerful, especially during his fighting scenes, but then when we see the weaker characters without power the camera is at a high angle to show their inferiority and that they are the weaker character. We also see a lot of panning, tracking and wide shots so we can see the whole of the setting which helps us to connect with the scene and feel the emotions that the producer wants us to, which during the fighting scenes would be anxiety, fear and nerves.