The Producer Report: Multi-camera Running a multi-camera shoot
Large-scale light entertainment shows are filmed and cut together from hours and hours of content captured by multiple cameras in different locations on set. It’s a complex setup that’s potentially disastrous if not tackled correctly, as Michael Burns reports
L
ight entertainment and continuing drama programmes may be worlds apart in terms of content, but they share a similar aspect of
the production workflow, namely the use of multiple cameras. Both these bases are covered by 3sixtymedia,
which is based at The Manchester Studios, home to LE shows such as The Frank Skinner Show and to the venerable soap Coronation Street. John O’Shaughnessy, head of production
technology (North) at ITV, explains that there are two studios in constant use for Coronation Street and one location lot – which is the Street itself. “Each studio has three cameras,” explains O’Shaughnessy. “Generally they use all three cameras and we’ll do it as a multi-camera shoot. On the lot, the sequences are shot using vans, which have two cameras each, so even there we’ll do it as a multi-camera shoot.”
SPEEDING UP THE SHOOT There are a few good reasons for this workflow. “Because Coronation Street is scripted, cutting between multiple cameras means the flow of the
30 theproducer Autumn 2010
actual scenes goes quicker,” says O’Shaughnessy. “You also tend to get them recorded quicker. If you only had one camera for a scene with two people and a wide shot, you’d have to shoot the scene three times. When you’ve got three cameras running, you can do all that in one take and, if you record all those three feeds and cut between them as per the script, then in theory you’ve finished the scene and it’s done and dusted.” However, O’Shaughnessy adds, “The trend these
days with most directors is they want everything recorded, in case they later need to recut it.” LE shows typically have more cameras on the
studio floor. For example, on The Frank Skinner Show, there are seven cameras, but this is because, by its very nature, the largely unscripted content is harder to capture. “Chatting to the audience, Frank will say something funny and because we’ll have cameras looking at the audience, at individual members or have a camera in wide shot looking at the guests, we’ll be able to capture that immediate reaction,” explains O’Shaughnessy. “Even if the director hasn’t cut it up on the vision switcher, he’ll have it on another tape, so he can always edit it in.”
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