SINGLE CAMERA TECHNIQUES

I'm writing this blog post to outline the uses, advantages of single camera techniques and everything you need to know about single camera techniques. I have used a single camera to film a webisode called Followed in there I used various single camera techniques which I will be explaining bellow.
First I'm going to start by stating and explaining the types of single camera techniques we have:

1. Master shot , Establishing  shot and a Sequence of Shots:  

Establishing shots is the shot that usually comes first in a clips and shows/tells the audience where the action is taking place or the scene is shot, this is usually a long shot or extreme long shot this can also be the master shot in some cases. The advantage of using these shots is that it tells or shows the viewers where the story actually starts and it also allows continuity and also incase of any disruptions when filming once you have the master shot you can develop the story from there rather than having coverage shots which wont really make sense without the master shot.
Below is an establishing shot from webisode of a house which the shot will be taking place in it has already told the audience that they will shortly be seeing the inside of the house as the story continues this can only be dine with a single camera as the shot is needed from only one point of view and not different angles.

Sequence of shots: this is using a series of shots such as the master and coverage shots to tell or establish a story. The advantage of this is that it allows continuity and dramatic effects such as suspense and it also tells a story as the shots are aligned to tell a story.
Below is a screen grab from my webisode in which i have used a close up which is an establishing shot as the clip can diverse into different sections from just this one clip. This shot can only be possible by using on camera because the shot can be redone all over again and other cameras don't get in the way  which is a disadvantage for multi- camera and an advantage for single camera because when using multi camera it will be difficult to redo the shots again.

High angle shots, Low angle, tilt shots: An high angle shot is when the camera is taken from an high angle which means the camera is lifted higher or above the character that is been filmed to show that that character is small or the character is dominant to another. While low angle shots are shots that are taken from a low angle that makes a character look bigger or superior or intimidating to the audience or to another character. Low angle shot is filmed from a camera which has been set under a characters eyes. A Tilt shot is where a shot is filmed to slant and also  changes the horizontal and vertical lines to allow a better composition the reason for a tilt shot is in order disturb the viewer or just to cause a feeling of danger. The advantages of using high angle, low angle and tilt shots is in other to add more dramatic effects, to cause a certain or particular feeling as the clip is been watch. this shots will not be possible by using multiple cameras as they can easily get in shot. Below is a screen grab from my webisode where I have used/ filmed an high angle shot.

 3. Shot types: There are different types of shots an I'm going to be talking about a few of them here
The first is a Mid shot; this is a shot of a character from their waist up this shot is usually trying to establish a character. The advantage of using various coverage shots is that it allows continuity, allows the use of  different dramatic effects. I used this shot in my webisode as I used it to establish who my characters were we can see where I used these shots in the screen grab below. The advantage of this shot is that it allows the viewers to pay attention to a character and what is happening to them.

Extreme close up; this is a close up on a particular object or characters body part e.g. the eyes to attach importance to the object or to show facial expressions of the character. I used this on my webisode to attach importance to a particular mystery character. The advantage or purpose of an extreme close up is to attach importance to a particular object or to show facial expression based on the characters reaction on what has happened.

Wide Shot: this shot is used to show the background of the video as well giving away the location and also it shows the relationship between the character and their surroundings. This shot creates suspense as it doesn't reveal anything detailed about the character except few parts for example a wide shot of a character in a dark room shows that the character is isolated from the world. I didn't use this in my webisode because I didn't want to reveal the locations of the characters twice as I have already used the master shot to do that. The advantages of using a wide shot is that it applies certain effect on the clip and also says quite a few about a character.

Close ups: this is a zoomed in shot on a characters face to show facial expression in other to tell the audience what they are actually feeling, it can also be used on an object to show importance to that object. The advantage of this shot is that it allows you to add dramatic effects to the shot. I used this shot on my webisode to draw importance to a particular character, we can see this in the screen grab below.

Over the shoulder shot: this is when the camera is placed over the shoulder of a character and puts the other character in the scene. It is usually used when two characters are having a conversation. The advantage of this is that it allows us to see the characters from a different angle. I didn't use this in my webisode because wasn't a scene where there was dialogue between two characters.


Pan/Following shot: Pan is a moving shot that follows a character or an object its mainly used to add dramatic effects to the video and also causes suspense and also to make the viewers follow a particular object or character. I used this in my webisode to show that a particular character is been followed and also a pan of a room to show that the room is scattered. The advantage of a pan is that it allows viewers to be able to see the nearly the whole set on screen and also makes viewers to follow a certain object or character.

180 degree rule: This is an imaginary line that goes between two characters on screen, the camera stays on one side of the line which has to be where the establishing shot was taken from and doesn't crossover to the other side. Over the shoulder shot is used to film each character in other to make sure the camera doesn't cross the line. The advantage about this shot is that it doesn't allow the characters look like they are facing the same way but the disadvantage about this shot is that its very easy to break the 180 degree rule.

Rule of thirds: this is the using of gridlines to control the depth of field, the depth of field will line up on the grid lines this is good for establishing shots and tilt shot, advantage of using this shot is that it allows you to control the tilt shot perfectly as the horizontal and vertical lines are present.

Lighting: lightning describes a scene or character and it also sends outa feel or creates a feeling of fear and other dramatic effects it is very important in film making as it creates scenes and tells a story about a character or an object. The advantage for lightning is that it sends out a certain feel or says something certain on how a character is. In my webisode I didn't really pay attention to lightning but if I had it would have been a lot better than it was right now. There are three different types of light which are the key light. fill light and background light.  the key light is the light that shines directly on the character while the fill light is the light that shines from the side and the background light is that shines from the back of the character.



Match on Action: This is a shot that shows that a character is focused on an object or another character the camera cuts to the object or character and then to the character. The advantage of using this shot is that it explains scene and scenario. I used this shot in my webisode and we can see this in the screen grab below. In the scene below the character is focused on the young boys leg which is in the screen grab below.

Shot Reverse Shot: This a shot between two characters that is taken from the back of one of the character also showing the other character that is on set its almost like an over the shoulder but not quite. The advantage of this shot is that it gets both characters on scene I didn't use this shot in my webisode because I didn't have a shot where two characters were actually engaging in a conversation but in the future I will be using the shot. Depth of field: this is when the background or the foreground of a shot has been blurred out so that the audience and focus on an object or s character. The advantage of using this shot is that it draws importance to an ordinary object or a character or building. I didn't use this shot in my webisode because the camera I used didn't have the capability to take such shots, the shot is mainly used to draw or attach importance to an object.

Framing: There are there different types of framing which are; head room is when space is been created fro characters over their heads its not good to leave  excess space because it will ruin the shot the only time space should be left in a relatively high amount is when conveying someone in the back ground. Dead space is when a lot of space has been left over the head of the character this is not good as it will shorten the shot and the view if the character but when conveying something in the background then its good. The last is lead room shot this is the space left for the input of dramatic effects such as close ups and extreme close ups. The advantage of framing is that it aligns your shots in the right manner and allows characters to be visibly seen, I didn't use this in my webisode because I didn't know about it but it will be very effective in my webisode if I had added it.

Blocking: this is simply where a particular character or object will be place on set and also determines the position of the camera. The advantage of this is that it allows us to plan properly before shooting. I did use this on my webisode to determine where my character will be lying on the bed we can see this in the screen grab to the right.

The advantage of using different variety of coverage shots allowed me to add a lot of dramatic effects and attention grabbing shot which is much more easier doing with a single camera than a multi camera because there is no fear of any other camera getting on set. The use of single camera allowed me ton use coverage shots such as close up which cause suspense and mystery in my webisode.
Being on set with a smaller crew was a very big advantage as they was a smaller number of people to mange and everyone was busy either filming or acting so there wasn't any problem of anyone getting on set and causing us to retake the whole set all over again. The advantage in having multiple  takes of  the action left me with a lot of different shots to chose from rather than stuck with just one that is not of good quality because I have only filmed the action once. A very big disadvantage would have been keeping the 180 degree rule even though I didn't use it but it would be difficult as it is an imaginary line and not one that is visible. Another disadvantage was that due to the  fact that we had only one camera and we had to shoot over 10 shots there was no way we could dived it as we had only one camera so we had to take each shot one at a time which took time. Another big disadvantage is in the editing suite because due to the amount of shots we must have taken which will be much because we filmed with one camera will take longer to edit also we would have to be extra careful when planning our story bord and getting the amount of shots we were going to use.