Single Camera Short Pre-production Paperwork

Music Video Pre-Production Paperwork

Animation Pre-Production Paperwork

Single Camera Techniques

Single Camera Techniques

Variations and changes over the years of TV genres has meant single camera techniques have become more and more commonly used in today's media. With platforms such as Netflix rising in popularity, so have Dramas & Sit-Com's such as Brooklyn-Nine-Nine, Entourage and Cuckoo. These genres and shows are predominantly shot using single camera techniques. So with more opportunities than ever to enter employment in these kinds of production, I'm going to explore some of the main features/techniques used in a single camera production and compare them multi-camera productions.

Specifically in single camera production, the director will spend a lot more thought on using the camera to create a connection between the viewer and what's happening on screen. In a multi-camera production a director has multiple shots to edit between after the scene is shot, whereas in a single camera production you can act a scene multiple times but only capture it one shot at a time. So these requirements gives the director a lot more control and input over what can/will be shown on screen at any given time. Using various angles, shot lengths and movements, the director can then create & depict emotions for the viewer. An example of this is in The Office (2001) when the camera is placed behind a plant or looking through blinds. This is done in scenes such as when characters Tim & Dawn are flirting and its to make the viewer feel as if we're spying on them and shouldn't be watching.

Similar to using the camera, lighting use can be much more thought out and controlled due to it not having to be the same for each of the multiple cameras. In multi-camera productions you see light often looks artificial and its obvious the scene is set in a studio/different location. Whereas in single camera production each shot has more time, thought & effort put into it so the director will control it to induce emotions or create themes etc.

In single camera production, diegetic sound such as dialogue requires shots to include some sort of overlay at the beginning and end of each shot to avoid continuity errors and choppy transitions. We actually encountered this problem in our own single camera production in editing when it came to putting clips together. We didn't have enough footage at the beginnings and ends of each clips in some scenes to make speech seem fluent. One way to overcome this problem, and what many single camera productions will do, is just to use multiple cameras for scenes containing a lot of dialogue. In doing this your the able to easily create shot-reverse-shots during conversation and create fluent speech between cuts. Most multi-camera productions don't encounter the problem because a lot consist of reality TV shows such Big Brother or First Dates where we know the subjects are being filmed so microphones are openly shown.

Editing in single camera & multi-camera productions actually have a large impact on on the time/money required when filming. In single camera productions a scene will often have to be shot multiple times to get different angles/viewpoints in a scene, whereas in a multi-camera production you can pre-arrange the angles and points of view you want to capture before the scene is acted out, meaning as long as its a clean take the scene will only require a single take. Live events can also just be quickly edited or 'mixed' using vision mixers. So in single camera this then obviously impacts the amount hours production teams are required, the amount of footage you need to take and directly increases the costs of production by significant amounts.

Genres and formats will generally stick to one form of camera production because certain genres/formats have a lot of advantages when having the option to shoot with single or multiple cameras. For example TV series such as The US Office (2004) can use a single camera to pre-arrange a zoom in on a characters face to amplify their expression and convey their emotions to the viewer. You can see a perfect example of this in the following clip when character Micheal is joking around & insulting Pam unintentionally (see 0:19 & 0:25).


                                                                                               - The US Office (2008) Season 4 Episode 9
                                                                   
Shots and techniques like this will generally not be used in multiple camera productions. These shots have been predetermined and the actors, cameraman & director have all worked together and communicated to create a unique effect for the viewer. Using this effect they convey the emotions the characters are feeling. Its a very powerful technique used, for example at 0:19, zooming in on Jim's face without any words you see Jim say to the viewer "Wow, is Micheal for real?" and the same at 0:25 the camera zoom shows us Pam's expression saying "Hey that's not fair". These are things you may otherwise may miss and would be in the background of the shot for the viewer without using these camera techniques.

Whereas in multi-camera productions such as Newsnight, The Voice, Deal or No Deal & other reality shows scenes will not be rehearsed down to specific marks like seen in The Office, so in editing a scene will just jump between angles and points of view in the most fluent order. As mentioned before as well, live events such as reality show finals or sporting events will be editing through a 'vision mixer' which allows editors to actively cut between shots as events happen. These advantages for the genres mean they will conventionally stick to using either single or multiple camera productions.

So in conclusion single-camera techniques differ in many various ways however both have their advantages an disadvantages. Like mentioned genres and formats will conventionally stick to using one or the other just because of the amount of pros producing a multiple or a single camera production can bring. Using a single camera the director, cameraman and actors can all communicate & predetermine what the viewer will see on screen at any given time which can create strong connections with the viewer and help them empathise with the characters. But if all formats we're shot & created with single cameras then shows such as X-Factor, Question Time, The Chase would be very boring to watch only having one view point the entire time.





Sources:

US Office Video:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x327fyi

Research and Planning: Responding to the Brief

Research & Planning: Responding to the Brief

Learning to follow a brief in this task was a challenge and it was tempting to deviate at certain points however I did manage to follow the majority of the requirements in the brief. I managed to make the animation ten seconds long after adding some more onto the end. This was a struggle because it was hard to estimate how much footage you would end up with during the story-boarding stage. Another way is I used one of the required tunes given to us by E4. I really didn't like this requirement because I felt like it restricted creativity however I understand why this requirement was necessary due to copyright issues. Lastly I didn't include any offensive themes, I kept it family friendly and targeted it towards a younger audience. 

The only significant change I needed to make to the end production due to brief requirements is extending the scene. At the end of filming I only found myself with 7 seconds of footage so I went back and filmed an extra scene bringing to the full 10 seconds with the logo included. The production was small scale so no health or injury risk measures we're taken. 

I'm the only person involved in the production so I will be constructing models, taking the images and editing the footage. The production deadline is 15/06/2018.

Music Videos: Styles, Conventions & Techniques

Music Video: Research & Planning

Music Video: Research & Planning
Jamie T - Sticks & Stones

My chosen track is Jamie T - Stick & Stones (2009). I chose this track because of the theme/pace of the video. I think its a perfect visual aid for the feel of the song. The colors, shot types and camera movements all add up to create a really good music video that matches the music. 

Jamie T spoke in an interview with Q Magazine in 2010. Talking about the track he said "I think it sounds a bit like The Police. Its about traveling on the train and reminiscing about things I've seen on the line, like running away from gangs down side alleys. On the website 'songmeanings,com' people discussed the track in a forum and one use posted "I like how it tells a short story of his life as he goes to visit one of his old friends. Basically its Jamie recounting his past and how times were better/worse. Later he realizes that he misses the old times a lot more than he thought he would". I like this interpretation because a lot of sense in correlation with the lyrics and fits the events in the music video. I think the start and the end of the song highlights this best when Jamie says 'boys like "him" don't shine so bright' at the beginning and changes it to 'boys like "us" don't shine so bright.

The official Wikipedia for Jamie T reads "21st May 2009 saw the release of the official video for his single 'Sticks & Stones'. In an email received by subscribers to his website, Jamie said, 'Just a little note to say thanks to everyone who's supporting Sticks & Stones. We just finished shooting a little video for the track the other day, so fresh out the edit room it is here for your enjoyment. It was a lot of fun to make and we hope you like it. Hope to see you all soon, Thanks, Jamie'. The video was shot in Wimbledon, and features scenes of himself and others including fellow band members".
- https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_T 

The video tells a narrative but in quite a hidden and discrete way. At first glance the shots all just seem like its Jamie T singing into the camera, however if you pay closer attention you start to notice smaller details. For example, in the first 60 seconds of the video there's not a single shot with more than one person. Its just Jamie T and this strange clown character. However as the track and the video progresses we start to see shots of Jamie T among a crowd of friends more and more frequently. This is telling the the viewers the story of him coming to see old friends and returning to his roots. The track is quite fast paced but the video does well to correlate this and suit the feel of the video. Features such as shaky camera movements, tracking shots and cutting to the beat are all incorporated in order to match the feeling of the track.

Researching The Artist - Image and Representation

To research the artists image and representation, created a mood-board of some of the artists work to understand the style/themes and ideologies. In this I included/thought about; photo-shoots, old music videos, new music videos, his clothing types, music video locations.

You can see from the mood-board the artist does have a certain image and theme. You see in 8/9 of the photos I found he's wearing a black jacket. Even in the bottom right photo which is a lot more recent compared to the other photo's, some of which are over a decade old. So from this you can conclude he's always stuck with this cool black jacket look. I noticed also that nearly all his videos are shot in very urban areas, generally rather more housing estates and pubs though than big cities and large expensive helicopter shots. So when making my video I will definitely set locations around these themes and try to follow the brown/grey/black color scheme.

Lyric Analysis

 

• In the first two lines of the song he says "When there's no one left to fight, boys like him don't shine so bright". I think this means that when someones run out of excuses or when they've been avoiding a situation their true colors will eventually shine through.
• In [Verse 1] he says "To see a friend I hadn't seen since I was drinking underage". After some research I found this is referring too a long time friend Jamie T hadn't seen in years until the making of this song/video.
• In another line he mentions a band called 'The Jam' The Jam were an English punk rock band active during the late 1970's and early 1980's. The Jam was the forefront of the mod revival movement. 

• In [Verse 2] he says "With the boys across the platform shouting lightweight prick, I'm a featherweight champion, cheap to get pissed". This is referring to the fact he gets drunk easily and his mates let him know about it. This is common is British culture among young people, taking the mickey out of the person in your group too get drunk, and lets us know more about Jamie's friends that they are that 'lad' type of group. 
• In [Verse 3] he says "As I travel down the track, all my memories flood back". This talking about him going back to his hometown on the train. As he travels closer and closer & see more sights he recognizes he remembers more & more about event that happened in his childhood.
•  He then says "We were running like infantry men back to my mumma's flat, it's the only place but home I feel relaxed enough to crap". Even though it is a 'crude' example its demonstrating that his mum's flat is the only place he can feel at home and safe at other than his own.