Unit 23: Multi Camera Techniques
Studio Productions
Examples of Live Studio Events
The Tongiht Show with Jimmy Fallon is an example of a magazine show, these types of shows include current affairs and usually include commentary or interviews, like thise one does. The only difference is that this type of magazine show includes a bunch of game show style activities to keep the audience entertained, these activities usually include things that make the celebrity look stupid or could embarrass them to make the audience laugh. The setup of the cameras is usually in a way that doesn't obstruct the view of the live audience but also in a way that doesn't limit the audience at home to a lackluster view of what's happening in the studio. The camera is usually placed at the back of the studio, behind them are the audience on a platform which is lifted above the cameras so they can see what's going on. The techniques used by these type of shows is usually camera movements, VT's and audience interactions, though in this clip there's not any examples of the other two, but there is plenty of examples of the first one technique. The Tonight Show uses camera movements like the mid-shots to showcase the expressions of the celebrities to the audience at home, they also cut to wide shot to show both the celebs and the actions they are using. This particular show has used a multi-camera set up because it allows them to show more facial expressions and other kind of movements without having to take a break in the filming or the interview like what would happen if they were using the single camera production method.
Example of Multi-Camera Setup - Studio
Studio events are productions that are filmed in studios using the multi-camera setup productions like panel shows such as Celebrity Juice or 8 Out of 10 Cats, news broadcasts like BBC and ITV News, magazine shows such as Jimmy Fallon or The Graham Norton Show and sitcoms which are filmed infront of a live studio audience like Friends, How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory.
Studio Crew
The Floor
The Gallery
The floor in a studio production is where all the action that is recorded for viewing takes places. A studio floor consists of people such as the camera operators, whose job is to record the production and take orders from the people in the gallery, for example when the director wants a certian camera to do a close-up they would give a command like " camera 2 go to a close-up of whoever now". Then there's the floor manager, whose job is to get information from the director and give it to those in the control room, and vice-versa. The sound recordist is accountable for the recording of real time sound, and making sure it's in sync with the footage being shot by the camera operators. Finally, there's the runner who has many different jobs, most of which are ones that nobody higher up want to do, like cleaning sets or getting cups of tea or coffee, the role of the runner is usually held by people who are trying to break into the industry.
The gallery in a studio is where the production is controlled and where all the editing is done. The gallery conists of people such as the director, whose job is to oversee the whole filimng process, being responsible for the sound and look of a production giving the crew orders. Then there's the vison mixer, whose job is to edit live programmes as they're being recorded or broadcasted to the audiences using a wide range of transitions. Then there's the sound mixer, whose job is to make sure that the audio recorded is clear working with the boom operator, he also advises on whether a they should have a retake. Finally, there's the producer whose job is to help with things such as casting crew and cast, they're also responsible for the financial side of the production making sure that the production is profitable.
Techniques & Formats
Panel shows use of techniques varies, such as different camera movements and sometimes they also use VT's (Video tapes) and audience interaction, like in shows such as Celebrity Juice which uses all three of these things. They start the show with Keith Lemon running down the stairs high-fiving members of the audience, as well as using VT's as part of rounds on the show, showing things that have been pre-recorded and then the contestants vote on the outcome. The pros of these types of techniques are that the audience interactions bring the audience into the programme and improving the atmosphere around the studio. Another pro is using VT's it gives you more chance to prepare parts of the show before you film the live parts, giving them chance to film more in detail before the live broadcast. Finally, the pro of having different camera movements it allows the show to switch between cameras and their different shots in order to make the shots more inviting for the audience at home. Whereas the cons are that having audience interaction may take the audience away from something else they're supposed to be concentrating on, e.g. if the camera is on the audience but the presenter says or does something funny then the audience at home may miss it. Another con is that using VT's may take away the audience from the production, if the video isn't related to the production or if it isn't that good it'll take the audience out of the thing they're watching and will eventually become confusing. Finally, the con of having different camera movements is that some camera movements may not fit with the show which would take away the audience from the prodution. Another type of technique is laughter tracks, this particular technique is mainly used in sitcomes like How I Met Your Mother, Friends and Big Bang Theory, they are used to tell the audience when to laugh and when not to laugh, it's mainly used an indicator as to tell when to laugh or not. Pros of this technique is that it gives the audience an indication to laugh and acts almost as a que for them. A con is that more often than not the bits where the laughter track is added is not really that funny, so it ruins the show a bit for the audience because it starts to become annoying and fake.
Example of Multi-Camera Setup - Studio
Graham Norton Show is another example of a magazine/talk show, similar to Jimmy Fallon's Tonight show, with the way the interviews are done, but except they don't really have activities for the celebrities to do on the Graham Norton Show, they just do an interview and tell funny stories for the audience. The setup of the cameras is similar that of Jimmy Fallon's show, with it being under the audience like Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. To give the audience a better view, but Graham Norton's show uses a crane which provides the audience at home with a better view also, so neither of the audiences live or at home suffer from either restricted view or not being able to see the stuff the live audience gets to see. The techniques used by these type of shows are usually VT's, camera movment and audience interaction. Like that of Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, we don't get to see two of those things, we only get to see the camera movement elements showing the facial expressions with a mid shot of the celebrities but then cutting to a wide shot to show the other celebrities reactions, whether that's laughing or something else. Though like the other example this example also uses the other techniques but they haven't been included in the clip. This particular example uses the multi camera setup because it allows the production to be able to film the event while not restricting the view of the audience that are there and without ristricting the view of the viewers at home either.
