A single camera would be used in creating a drama series instead of a multi camera as the single camera is much easier to film in small areas and places for example in a house as you would only have one camera and won’t have to worry about taking it to film in small places rather than having two cameras in a small place. Moreover, one camera would make it easier for the editor to gather all of the scenes and edit them as they are all on one camera rather than having two cameras which would make it harder. It is also easier as directors have more control over the camera and for each shot for the scenes, however the multi camera would have someone to take responsibility of it.
Advantages:
- The most important advantage of using a single camera for a drama is the fact that the scenes do not need to be shot in sequence, this is useful as there will be more detail and effect whilst editing.
- It is easier as you will only have to worry about the scenery and lighting on only one camera rather than more than once.
- Using only one camera means there should only be one camera operator which is helpful for the low budget productions.
Disadvantages:
- It will take longer to film as you are only using one camera and that means there will be a lot of moving around and changing the position of the camera to get the right shots and camera angles by using only one camera rather than several.
- There is a risk of losing footage as all of the footage is on only one camera, therefore if the camera breaks or you lose it, all of the footage is gone.
- It is very time consuming as you will have to keep moving the camera around every time you need to record in a different location or a new scene which will take up a lot of time.
This is an eye-line match shot, it shows two characters having a conversation and looking at each other. It is effective as it lets the audience know who is speaking in that scene and what the character is looking at, it also helps the audience see what the character on-screen is seeing. The lighting is low-key lighting as it is dark in the room which makes the scene more effective and realistic and also gives us an idea of what the genre might be. The mise-en-scene fits the genre as the genre is science fiction and horror, the way they dress is from the 80s style clothing such as baggy clothes and baseball caps that the boys wear. In this scene there are a lot of scientific props like the wires on Elevens head, this relates to the genre.
This is another scene from Stranger Things and the camera shot is the 180 degree rule, it is similar to the eye-line match shot however this rule is when the camera has to be on one side of a conversation or interaction with two people. The lighting is high-key lighting and it is quite bright in this scene, this sets the mood of the scene as there is light in the room which shows how not much is going to happen in this scene as good lighting is used instead of no light. They are wearing casual, everyday clothes and it is set in a shopping centre which does not fit the genre as it is meant to be a scientific/horror themed tv show and the mise-en-scene does not fit this genre.
Single camera genres:
The genre for the tv show ‘Stranger Things’ is both horror and science fiction.
- Single camera techniques: Stranger things has shown some examples of single camera techniques by showing a scene of when Mrs Wheeler meets Billy and starts to have a conversation with him, this shows use of single camera techniques as there are camera shots and edits of over shoulder shots showing their conversation.
- Sound: There is a lot of dramatic music played in some scenes from the show and it includes sound effects in order to help the scene be similar to the diegetic sounds and match with it. There are also some use of sound tracks which helps build tension and emotion to the shot for example, when there are sad scenes throughout the show there is always slow music being played and when there are fast/dramatic scenes the music is usually loud and energetic.
- Lighting: The lighting used throughout Stranger Things are natural and are usually either high-key lighting in normal scenes and low-key lighting in dramatic scenes. For the outside frames they use natural lighting to help set the whole scene however in action scenes there is use of different lights such as filler, back lights and high/low key lighting.
- Camera angles: The camera angles that are used are usually close ups, long shots and over shoulder shots. They are also filmed in high angled shots sometimes, these angles help fill the scene and shows the whole action and what is going on in that scene which makes it seem realistic.
The best single camera genre that fits best to my chosen Netflix series is camera angles, this is because for my series I will be using a variety of different camera angles in order to make the whole series seem realistic and helps the audience see everything that is going on clearly by using different camera angles. Also, if I want people to be having a conversation in my series I would use camera angles like close up shots, over shoulder shots, eye-line shot and the 180 degree rule to show their facial expressions and who is speaking to who.
I chose to talk about Stranger Things as it is one of the most popular T.v. shows on Netflix at the moment and everyone is talking about it. This tv series’s target audience is teenagers from the ages of 11+ and adults, they aimed the show at these ages as in the show there are kids acting more than adults and the storyline would be more appealing to young teenagers as there is a lot of dramatic, action scenes which they would find interesting to watch. The show is presented in a way that makes it seem realistic, this is because of the props that are used and the different camera angles that are shown throughout the whole series. The soundtrack goes well with the genre of the show as it is horror themed and brings out the whole show.
Video streaming is successful as it does not include ads which makes it easier for everyone to watch t.v. shows on. Also because it helps kids and younger people watch on different devices such as computers or phones.
Caren Lamaa 