Unit 23-Multi-camera techniques

Multi-camera is just what it sounds like, the use of multiple cameras at once in a production, usually used in live events such as concerts, sports events and talk shows, this footage is captured individually and is often edited on the fly via a vision mixer if one is available, ill go into more detail about vision mixing and editing multi-camera footage later on , multi-camera can be used to film a scene twice, from different angles, reducing the number of times the scene must be played out, the cameras are setup in a variety of places to get a variety of different shots 

There are many reasons for using multi-camera, reducing the amount the camera moves thus saving time and effort, allowing live events to be filmed from different angles producing a more entertaining programme for viewers at home.

Events such as festivals and concerts require the use of multi-camera due to there nature, live events cannot be stopped to allow the camera to move to get a different angle, instead multiple cameras are set up allowing all the action to be captured at once, this also gives a more entertaining experience for people watching at home, the number of cameras used can vary depending on the size of the performance and the reputation of the performer.

 Performances captured by one camera lack the quality multiple cameras provide, mainly due to lack of angles, one camera can only capture one angle at one time resulting in a very boring viewing for people at home, also due to the limited angles one camera isnt able to capture all the action in detail.

As well as events such as festivals and concerts multi camera is also used in some TV shows such as The Cube, Pointless and The Chase, these productions are studio based, meaning they are recorded in front of a live audience, due to this multi camera is needed. These shows are all game shows and as such they cannot be stopped to allow the camera to be moved also the show has the be entertaining for the studio audience due to this the show cannot be stopped part way through for camera movement.

The placement of these cameras is consist ant, for example in Pointless one camera looks at all the contestants in a long shot and another a mid shot of individual pairs of contestants, and other cameras focusing on the presenters from 3 different angles, these studio productions usually follow the 180 degree as the camera never looks at the audience although not all multi-camera productions follow this rule.

I will now thoroughly analyse how multi-camera is used in a live performance of Enter Shikari, unlike most studio productions this performance breaks the 180 degree rule many times, multiple cameras face away from the band and into the audience, this gives a very specific visual feel to the production, having cameras placed within the crowd gives the audience a sense of being there which is very effective and makes the audience feel more involved and engaged as you get the full effect of the lights and smoke effects etc.

 In this specific example the use of multiple cameras helps to convay a meaning to the audience, quickly changing from camera to camera matches the hectic nature of the performance this is done more through shots of the audience, the energy and movement shown by the audience gives that hectic excited feel the performers want to put across, the cameras are also set up either hand held or on a tripod with aot of movement, by allowing the camera to move the audience gets a more exciting experience when watching.

As I said the 180 degree rule is broken sometimes, most commonly when the camera is on the drummer, this camera changes are sometimes synced with the music, as with this shot below.

From watching this performance I can see that there are at least 8 cameras evenly dispersed around the crowd and stage, giving even coverage of all the action. The shot above is used when the singer leans towards the ground when shouting, we'll call this camera camera A, this camera is a mobile camera and covers the action occurring towards the front of the stage. There is a camera at the back behind the crowd set up to capture a wide shot of the entire stage. There are also 3 or 4 mobile cameras located behind the crowd, these capture a variety of different shots, some cameras are used to give the impression that the camera is in the crowd getting mid shots to close ups. There are also cameras to the sides of the stage, these cameras capture wide shots and mid shots on either the left or right side of the stage. There is one final camera placed behind the stage, this camera doesn't move, it is used to capture the action of the drummer and the crowd.