Unit 23: Multi-Cam Techniques

Ethan McLaughlin

Patsy Mullan

Reasons for A Multi-Cam Set Up:

The main reason for a multi-cam set up is to cover the action. This is true for both studio based multi-cam productions and live productions. Covering the action means that everything that the viewers needs to see is covered by a different camera, However the reasons for coverage can vary from programme to programme. For the 2012 Olympics, many different cameras that cover many different angles of whatever sport is going on, so the audience can get a better view of what’s going on and to make sure that they don’t miss anything important. I’m going to use an athlete’s routine from the floor exercise final to demonstrate how many different camera angles and shots used in around two minutes:

Radio 1’s Big Weekend uses multi-cam for the same reasons as London Olympics 2012, mainly so that the audience can experience a better view of what’s going on and to make sure that they do not miss

anything important.

The reason for the multicam setup in the Graham Norton Show is to make it feel like a natural flowing conversation, where it cuts to whoever is talking and then shows the reactions of the others guests and the host, multi-cam filming allows for all possible angles are covered in case they are needed.

Mock The Week uses a multicam setup for the same reason The Graham Norton Show does, to cover the action, it has to have a camera placed on each comedian so that they can be cut to if they are talking or making a joke. Like the Graham Norton Show, Mock the Week uses lots of different angles and shots

Target Audience:

The London Olympics 2012 has a very broad target audience; almost anyone of any age can enjoy it. People who are fans of specific sports will also tune in to watch their favorite sport be played by some of the best athletes in the world. There is also the possibility that a viewer’s favorite athlete with be participating in the games, and they will want to watch them and see how they do.

The target audience for Radio 1’s Ones Big Weekend would be mostly younger people. People who are fans of the performing musicians would also want to watch, fans of people like Calvin Harris, Bruno Mars and Olly Murs would tune in to see them perform live.

The Graham Norton Show also has a very broad target audience, for one it will appeal to fans of Graham Norton. But I think the appeal of the show to most people is the guests that are on it. Fans of people like Will Smith, Seth Rogen or Matthew Perry would tune into the show to see what they have to say about a particular subject. As the show is a comedy and entertainment as well as a talk show, it appeals to lots of people who just want to watch something that will make them laugh and entertain them.

I think the target audience for Mock the Week would be people in their late teens and up, because of its content, swearing and adult jokes. I also think that it appeals to people who are fans of the various comedians who feature on it; fans of comedians like Frankie Boyle, Russell Howard and Hugh Dennis would want to watch the show to see what they say. As the show focuses on the week’s news, people who are interested in current affairs would want to watch because they would want to see what the comedians have to say about a given topic. Because Mock T Week is mainly a comedy show, it appeals to a lot of people who just want to laugh and be entertained.

Communicate Meaning

The Graham Norton Show is a comedy show as well as a chat show, it has a funny and lighthearted mood, this is communicated to the viewer using a series of quick cuts and camera switches. For example, when a guest makes a joke we see the reaction of everyone there, from the use of individual close ups and a wide shot, the audience can also be heard in the background. This makes the viewer feel more involved in the conversation. Mock The Week has to communicate that it is fun and an entertaining show to watch, to do this it has a live studio audience laughing, clapping and generally enjoying themselves, it occasionally cuts to the audience to show this. The comedians and host are also shown laughing and enjoying themselves.

For London Olympics 2012 it is very important to show the competition aspect of the games, by having graphics come up on screen that shows things like statistics, scores and information on the athletes such as their name and their country.

Radio 1’s Ones Big Weekend communicates to the viewer that it is a very fun event, by showing, that audience are enjoying it, that it’s an event worth going to. It does this by often cutting to the crowd to show that they are having fun jumping and dancing, the crowd can also be heard as well as seen, often heard cheering and singing.

Visual Styles

visual style of The Graham Norton Show is quite common compared other chat shows, with its sofa set up, it has a sense of familiarity and a somewhat homely feel, this makes it seem more comfortable, relaxed and casual. However, because of its colour scheme, the lighting and the background, it’s obvious that it is a studio setup. The studio is also relatively small, meaning that all the guests and the hosts will be able to hear one another, which helps the comfort feel. Having the right visual style is very important because it can draw the viewer and make them feel more involved.

The set of Mock the Week, is very bright and colourful with blues, purples and reds, which gives a vibrant and energetic feeling and it makes sense because it’s a very energetic show with lots of jokes being told and games being played very quickly. There is also the main desk area where the comedians and the host sit, it has both teams of three sitting on opposite sides with the host in the middle. Behind the host there is the logo which is planet earth with the title of the show on it, this shows that they talk about news stories from all over the world. The show also has various cutaways and graphics during its different games, such as pictures in the background that represent the subject their talking about.

The visual style of London Olympics 2012 empahies the competiton aspect of the games, so they make use of colour for this programme, its used to differentiate athlethes from different countrys. The graphics that ive mentioned before that show statics and scores etc. also contribute to the visual style. There is also the use of establishing shots to show to where the event it taking place and what event it is. And then there is usually a close up of the athlete , during the event there is usually a unique shot from an interesting angle, for exmaple, in the swimming, there is shots underwater.

Maintaining Viewer Interest

To maintain the viewers interest, The Graham Norton Show does several things, one of these is to use many different camera angles, they will switch to an angle that covers the person talking, then cut to someone’s reaction. This maintains the viewers interest because there is something different to look at, instead of having one wide static shot, which would be very uninteresting and boring to watch. This way of mainting viever interest is true across all types of multi-cam productions, including the case studies I am analysing, London Olympics 2012, Mock The Week and Radio 1’s Big weekend, being filmed in multi-camera allows them all to use this technique, however, those shows also have other unique ways of maintaing viewer interest for example The Graham Norton show the host is constantly changing the conversation, he will talk to one guest about a specific topic and then ask them questions, once that is finished they will ask another question or move onto another topic or another guest. Doing this makes sure the conversation is always interesting and he doesn’t stay on one subject for too long and have it become too boring, which will make the audience lose interest.

London Olympics 2012 maintains viewer interest by having slow motion replays for things that happen, this keeps them interested because the audience will get to see something again but in greater detail. Another way that viewer interest maintained is by having lots of different events in lots of different sports going on at once, if a viewer isnt interested in a particular sport they can simply press the red button and that will show them a list of everything else going on, and they may find a sport or an event that they are interested in.

Mock The Week maintains viewer interest by having different types of games/segments played throghout the show such as “Scenes we’d like to see” and “Headliners”. This helps keep viewer interest because having only one game type would get boring and stale quickly. These games are also set up in a way that allows the viewers to make their own jokes, for exmaple, one round is has an answer and the comedians hasve to guess what the question is, the viewers at home can also give their answers and hopefully make whoevers with them laugh, this would maintain their interest because they would want to watch to see where else they can make their own jokes.

Constraints of Studio or Location Environment Productions And

Multi-camera Simultaneous Recordings

Multi-camera Simultaneous Recording Constraints:

One of the biggest constraints to having a multi cam set up is that several cameras will cost more money than just one, it will also require more crew to operate them, which means the production will cost more as more people have to be paid, the setting up process will also take more time, with each camera having to be positioned correctly, focused and white balanced. There is also the issue of making sure that one camera cannot be seen in another camera’s shot, this will add more time to the set-up process, this applies more to narrative shows like Friends and The Big Bang Theory because seeing the camera would ruin the illusion.

Studio Constraints:

I think the biggest constraint to recording in a studio would be the cost, it would cost a lot of money to own and operate a studio, lots of people who have to be employed in order for a studio to be efficiently run.

Location constraints:

The biggest constraint with filming on location is space, if it’s an interior they do not have as much space as they would in a studio, in studios there is no fourth wall and therefore more space for camera’s and other equipment, this is not the case when filming on location. If they are filming outside there is also the issue of the weather, and if it rains the camera’s and other equipment must be covered up. For an event like Radio 1’s Big weekend or the London 2012 Olympics there is lots of logistics when it comes to setting up an outside broadcasting service to cover an event of that scale, they will need to figure out how many cameras they’ll need, how much staff and crew (technical and physical) are required, where the cameras will be placed, how much space there is etc.

Conclusion

It is clear that a multi camera setup is used for one main reason, covering the action, it allows the viewer to see more of what’s going on in the programme, be it a sporting event, a concert or a scripted drama. Multi cam allows the audience to have a better experience while watching a programme. It is also clear that a multi cam setup can be used for most, if not all types of television programming

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