Why is multi camera used?

Why is multi camera used?

Multi camera is used for a variety of different reasons, for example multi camera could be used so that less editing is used, because when using multi camera, it allows for editing on the fly, which is basically editing as you go along, whereas if it wasn’t multi camera then an editor would have to come in and do lots of work and it would take a lot of time. Another reason is that it covers a lot of area and allows for many shots from different angles, of one particular area, which might be useful for shows such as strictly come dancing which will need to focuses on the dancers from different angles. Multi camera is also used to capture emotion and reactions, this is because it can be instantly switched from camera to camera, for example, in deal or no deal, the contestant could have just been offered a very generous price, so the camera would want to capture their reaction and emotion with a close up. In short multi camera is used so that it can always be focused easily on the centre of attention in that point in time, a plus is that it is also cheaper and less time consuming.

How is meaning communicated to the audience?

This is done in different ways, it all depends on the show but in most cases this is used so that the audience can build a sort of relationship with the person in the show and related to them. For example in Deal or no deal the camerawork will make us focus on the contestant with close ups and it will show their emotions when something happens, this makes you picture what it would be like to be them or to be in their position and gives you an understanding of them. They also do this with the pacing of the show, the cameras can focus on the other contestants that hold the other boxes, this is captured by the multi camera and then suspense is build with the slow pace done by the vision mixer. The same can be said about This Morning, this makes us feel comfortable with its warm homely environment which is further emphasised by the hosts who talk in an informal friendly sort of way, this is all shown to use by the way the cameras capture the emotion, they are able to capture everyone in each individual camera so that we don’t miss anything.

How does it maintain the viewer’s interest?

Again, each show will do this in different ways, it all depends on the show, some can be simple ways and others can be more complicated. Using The Alan Carr Show as an example, they only way that this show maintains the viewer’s interest is by the different celebrity guests that they feature, but they capture this with multi camera  and they make it interesting by focusing on the celebrity and showing emotion and reactions which make the show interesting to us as the viewer. However, using Strictly Come Dancing as an example the reason it is interesting is the pace that the cameras are cut to, what I means is, when people are dancing on the show the cameras will switch at the speed of the music that is being used, this makes it exciting and suspenseful. But this isn’t the only reason this maintains the viewer’s interest, they use the cameras to focus on the different celebrities that they have on the show, and the different dancing and music that goes with it.

What are the constraints of the Studio?

The main constraint of every production is that there isn’t always enough space in the studio; this could mean that there isn’t enough space for all the cameras necessary to capture everything possible. Another constraint that most productions will face is that the studio set might become stale and boring to the audience, this is because since it’s a multi camera production the audience will pretty much know the whole set of whatever show they’re watching because it is covered by all the different cameras. Audience in a studio can always be a problem, this is because the audience itself is completely uncontrollable, so if there is massive traffic or an accident, or something of that nature, then some of the audience may not come and it could be a turnout of little amount. The problem of this is that since it is multi camera, the cameras cover pretty much everything in the studio, so this could be a problem as if the cameras capture the audience, which could be half empty then it won’t look very good. However when dealing with an OB it can be very difficult as you have to get all the things you would need in a studio e.g. cameras and gallery, outside, but this give you almost infinite space. An example of this is Total Wipe-out; there is lots of space to place everything they need, e.g. swimming pools and obstacle courses.