View source for Multiple-camera setup

{{short description|Method of film making and video production}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2020}}
[[Image:multicamera-diagram.png|thumb|right|300px|Diagram showing a multicam setup]]

The '''multiple-camera setup''', '''multiple-camera mode of production''', '''multi-camera''' or simply '''multicam''' is a method of filmmaking, [[television production]] and [[video production]]. Several cameras—either [[film cameras|film]] or [[professional video camera]]s—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene. It is often contrasted with a [[single-camera setup]], which uses one camera.

== Description ==
Generally, the two outer cameras shoot [[close-up]] shots or "crosses" of the two most active characters on the set at any given time, while the central camera or cameras shoot a wider [[master shot]] to capture the overall action and establish the geography of the room.<ref name="Schaefermeyer2012">{{cite book|author=Scott Schaefermeyer|title=Digital Video BASICS|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eQIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189|date=25 July 2012|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-133-41664-7|pages=189–|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=30 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630102918/https://books.google.com/books?id=9eQIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189|url-status=live}}</ref> In this way, multiple shots are obtained in a single [[take]] without having to start and stop the action. This is more efficient for programs that are to be shown a short time after being shot, as it reduces the time spent in [[film editing|film]] or [[video editing]]. It is also a virtual necessity for regular, high-output shows like daily [[soap operas]]. Apart from saving editing time, scenes may be shot far more quickly as there is no need for re-lighting and the set-up of alternative camera angles for the scene to be shot again from a different angle. It also reduces the complexity of tracking [[continuity editing|continuity]] issues that crop up when the scene is reshot from different angles. 

Drawbacks include a less optimized lighting setup that needs to provide a compromise for all camera angles and less flexibility in putting the necessary equipment on scene, such as microphone booms and lighting rigs. These can be efficiently hidden from just one camera, but can be more complicated to set up, and their placement may be inferior in a multiple-camera setup. Another drawback is in the usage of recording capacity, as a four-camera setup may use (depending on the cameras involved) up to four times as much film (or digital storage space) per take compared with a single-camera setup.

A multiple-camera setup will require all cameras to be [[Synchronization|synchronous]] to assist with editing and to avoid cameras running at different scan rates, with the primary methods being [[SMPTE timecode]] and [[Genlock]].<ref name="MedoffFink2012">{{cite book|author1=Norman Medoff|author2=Edward J. Fink|title=Portable Video: ENG & EFP|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fnpAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT65|date=10 September 2012|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-136-04770-1|pages=65–|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=30 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630102918/https://books.google.com/books?id=-fnpAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT65|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Film ==
Most [[film]]s use a single-camera setup,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/arts/television-radio-networks-rediscover-the-single-camera-sitcom.html|title=TELEVISION/RADIO; Networks Rediscover the Single-Camera Sitcom|last=Battaglio|first=Stephen|date=July 8, 2001|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 12, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821002410/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/arts/television-radio-networks-rediscover-the-single-camera-sitcom.html|url-status=live}}</ref> but in recent decades larger films have begun to use more than one camera on set, usually with two cameras simultaneously filming the same setup. However, this is not a true multiple-camera setup in the television sense.{{unclear|date=March 2023}}

Some films will run multiple cameras, perhaps four or five, for large, expensive and difficult-to-repeat special effects shots, such as large explosions. Again, this is not a true multiple-camera setup in the television sense as the resultant footage will not always be arranged sequentially in editing, and multiple shots of the same explosion may be repeated in the final film—either for artistic effect or because the different shots can appear to show different explosions since they are taken from different angles.{{Clarify|date=April 2014}}

== Television ==
[[File:Al Jazeera English Newsdesk (cropped).jpg|thumb|Live news, such as [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]], uses multiple cameras for their broadcasts]]
Multiple-camera setups are an essential part of [[live television]].<ref name="Utterback2015">{{cite book|author=Andrew Utterback|title=Studio Television Production and Directing: Concepts, Equipment, and Procedures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt7GCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163|date=25 September 2015|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-317-68033-8|pages=163–|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=30 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630102919/https://books.google.com/books?id=mt7GCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163|url-status=live}}</ref> The multiple-camera method gives the director less control over each shot but is faster and less expensive than a [[single-camera setup]]. In television, multiple-camera is commonly used for [[light entertainment]], [[Broadcasting of sports events|sports events]], [[television news|news]], [[soap opera]]s, [[talk shows]], [[game show]]s, [[variety show]]s, and some [[sitcoms]], especially ones filmed before a live [[studio audience]].

Multiple cameras can take different shots of a live situation as the action unfolds chronologically, and are suitable for shows which require a live audience. For this reason, multiple camera productions can be filmed or taped much faster than single camera. Single-camera productions are shot in takes and various setups with components of the action repeated several times and out of sequence; the action is not enacted chronologically, so it is unsuitable for viewing by a live audience.

In multiple-camera television, the [[television director|director]] creates a line cut by instructing the [[technical director]] ([[vision mixer]] in UK terminology) to switch between the feeds from the individual cameras. This is either transmitted live or recorded. In the case of sitcoms with [[studio audience]]s, this line cut is typically displayed to them on studio monitors. The line cut might be refined later in [[video editing|editing]], as often the output from all cameras is recorded, both separately and as a combined reference display called the q split (a technique known as "ISO" recording). The camera currently being recorded to the line cut is indicated by a [[tally light]] controlled by a [[camera control unit]] (CCU) on the camera as a reference both for the talent and the [[camera operator]]s, and an additional tally light may be used to indicate to the camera operator that they are being ISO recorded.

A sitcom shot with a multiple-camera setup will require a different form of script from a single-camera setup.<ref name="scraftscripts">{{cite web |last1=Miyamoto |first1=Ken |title=Single-Camera vs. Multi-Camera TV Sitcom Scripts: What's the Difference? |url=https://screencraft.org/2016/06/21/differences-single-camera-multi-camera-tv-pilot-scripts/ |website=ScreenCraft |access-date=13 June 2020 |date=21 June 2016 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414151929/https://screencraft.org/2016/06/21/differences-single-camera-multi-camera-tv-pilot-scripts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History and use ==
<!-- [[WP:NFCC]] violation: [[Image:Honeymooners Electronicam.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''[[The Honeymooners]]'' was filmed using three [[Electronicam]]s.]] -->

The use of multiple film cameras dates back to the development of narrative silent films, with the earliest (or at least earliest known) example being the first Russian feature film ''[[Defence of Sevastopol]]'' (1911), written and directed by [[Vasily Goncharov]] and [[Aleksandr Khanzhonkov]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kulturmultur.com/itwas/123/Oborona_Sevastopolya_Voennyy_blokbaster_Rossiyskoy_Imperii_28_08_2014/|title=В Салюте в День российского кино прошел показ немого фильма "Оборона Севастополя" под живое музыкальное сопровождение - Фильмы - КультурМультур|website=kulturmultur.com|language=ru|access-date=2017-12-10|archive-date=2017-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701180806/http://kulturmultur.com/itwas/123/Oborona_Sevastopolya_Voennyy_blokbaster_Rossiyskoy_Imperii_28_08_2014/|url-status=live}}</ref> When sound came into the picture multiple cameras were used to film multiple sets at a single time. Early sound was recorded onto wax discs that could not be edited.

The use of multiple video cameras to cover a scene goes back to the earliest days of television; three cameras were used to broadcast ''The Queen's Messenger'' in 1928, the first drama performed for television.<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen's Messenger |url=http://www.earlytelevision.org/queens_messenger.html |website=Early Television Foundation and Museum |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=29 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529072130/http://www.earlytelevision.org/queens_messenger.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The first drama performed for British television was [[Luigi Pirandello|Pirandello]]'s play ''[[The Man With the Flower in His Mouth]]'' in 1930, using a single camera.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Richard G Elen |title=Baird versus the BBC |url=http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/baird/bairdvbbc.php |website=Baird: The Birth of Television |publisher=Transdiffusion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417050011/http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/baird/bairdvbbc.php |archive-date=2010-04-17}}</ref> The [[BBC]] routinely used multiple cameras for their live television shows from 1936 onward.<ref name="allypally">{{cite web |title=Alexandra Palace |url=http://www.earlytelevision.org/alexandra_palace.html |website=www.earlytelevision.org |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807033833/http://www.earlytelevision.org/alexandra_palace.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="restelli">{{cite web |title=The Birth of Live Entertainment and Music on Television, November 6, 1936 |url=http://framemaster.tripod.com/index5.html |website=History TV: The Restelli Collection |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=5 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405002124/http://framemaster.tripod.com/index5.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>"Telecasting a Play", ''New York Times'', March 10, 1940, p. 163.</ref>

===United States===
Before the pre-recorded continuing series became the dominant dramatic form on American television, the earliest anthology programs (see the [[Golden Age of Television]]) utilized multiple camera methods.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

Although some claim the multiple-camera setup was pioneered for television when producer and co-star [[Desi Arnaz]], associate producer [[Al Simon]], and cinematographer [[Karl Freund]] of [[Desilu Productions]] used it to film ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' in 1951, other producers had been using the technique for several years.<ref>Jon Krampner, "Myths and Mysteries Surround Pioneering of 3-Camera TV", ''Los Angeles Times'', July 29, 1991.</ref>

According to Thomas Schatz, [[Jerry Fairbanks]] is the first to develop a 16mm multi-camera system to film a made-for-TV show when he used it to shoot the pilot episode of ''[[Public Prosecutor (TV series)|Public Prosecutor]]'' in 1947.<ref>Thomas Schatz, ''Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s'', University of California Press, 1999, p. 436. {{ISBN|9780520221307}}.</ref> Fairbanks went on to film 26 episodes for a planned network premiere in September 1948, but it was pulled from the schedule, and the show did not air until 1951.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=hUUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 Bristol-Myers Mulls 'Prosecutor' Series]", ''Billboard'', August 27, 1949, p. 10.</ref><ref>Stanley Rubin, "[http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa/2/xmlpage/4/article/312 A (Very) Personal History of the First Sponsored Film Series on National Television] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229152708/http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa/2/xmlpage/4/article/312 |date=2012-02-29 }}", ''E-Media Studies'', vol. 1, issue 1 (2008).</ref> 

Assisted by producer-director Frank Telford, Fairbanks also used a multi-camera system to film [[Edgar Bergen]]'s ''Silver Theater'' which aired in the 1949-50 season.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080111214551/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858670,00.html Flight to the West?]" ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', March 6, 1950.</ref> He continued working with this system for the pilot of ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'' in April 1950. When Al Simon joined [[Ralph Edwards Productions]] in producing ''Truth or Consequences'' several months later, he improved the system by substituting 35mm film for 16mm film and adding a more sophisticated intercom system.<ref>Jon Krampner, Myths and Mysteries Surround Pioneering of 3-Camera TV : Broadcasting: A popular belief is that Desi Arnaz created the technique for 'I Love Lucy' in 1951, but evidence of the system dates to 1947. Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1991</ref>

[[File:1960s Cinecraft - Ohio Story film crew on sound stage.jpg|thumb|Ray Culley of [[Cinécraft Productions]] used two or more cameras with [[teleprompters]] and rear screen projectors extensively in filming early television programs. Image courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.]]
In 1949, Ray Culley of [[Cinécraft Productions]], a [[sponsored film]] studio, filmed the first TV [[infomercial]], ''Home Miracles for the 1950s'', for [[Vitamix]] using the technique.<ref>{{"'}}But wait! There's more.' Papa Bernard and the first TV Infomercial." ''ACADEMIA Letters''</ref> Culley also used the technique for three made-for-television TV series featuring [[Louise Winslow]], a pioneer in sewing, cooking, and craft "how-to" programs on daytime television - ''Adventures in Sewing'' (1950), ''Food Is Fun'' (1950), and ''Kitchen Chats'' (1950).<ref>Copies of many Louise Winslow TV programs are posted on the Hagley Library web site</ref>  A 1950 article in ''Printers' Ink'', "Three-Camera Technique used to shoot TV film", discussed Cinécraft's innovative production style.<ref>Dodge Barnum, "Three-Camera Technique Used To Shoot TV Film,' ''Printers' Ink'', 1950</ref> In 1966, the studio made a film,  "Cinécraft, Inc. Multi-camera Filming Technique Demonstration", showing how the technique works and describing rear screen projection and teleprompters, other innovative technologies of the era <ref> A copy of the film is posted on the Hagley Library website </ref>

In the late 1970s, [[Garry Marshall]] was credited with adding the fourth camera (known then as the "X" Camera, and occasionally today known as the "D" Camera) to the multi-camera set-up for his series ''[[Mork & Mindy]]''. Actor [[Robin Williams]] could not stay on his marks due to his physically active improvisations during shooting, so Marshall had them add the fourth camera just to stay on Williams so they would have more than just the master shot of the actor.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://io9.gizmodo.com/mork-and-mindy-was-one-of-the-most-unlikely-miracles-in-1745289352|title=Mork and Mindy Was One of the Most Unlikely Miracles in the History of Television|last=Anders|first=Charlie Jane|date=December 2, 2015|work=Gizmodo|access-date=May 12, 2017|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703190110/http://io9.gizmodo.com/mork-and-mindy-was-one-of-the-most-unlikely-miracles-in-1745289352|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uV2gZKvQwR0C&pg=PT340|title=Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America|last1=Kantor|first1=Michael|last2=Maslon|first2=Laurence|author-link2=Laurence Maslon|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-0-446-55575-3|pages=340}}</ref> Soon after, many productions followed suit and now having four cameras (A, B, C and X/D) is the norm for multi-camera situation comedies.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

Sitcoms shot with the multiple camera setup include nearly all of [[Lucille Ball]]'s TV series, as well as ''[[Mary Kay and Johnny]]'', ''[[Our Miss Brooks]]'', ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'','' [[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'', ''[[All in the Family]]'', ''[[Three's Company]]'', ''[[Cheers]]'', ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[Seinfeld]]'', ''[[Family Matters]]'', ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]'', ''[[Mad About You]]'', ''[[Friends]]'', ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'', ''[[Frasier]]'', ''[[Will & Grace]]'', ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'', ''[[The King of Queens]]'', ''[[Two and a Half Men]]'', ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', ''[[Mike & Molly]]'', ''[[Last Man Standing (American TV series)|Last Man Standing]]'', ''[[Mom (TV series)|Mom]]'', ''[[2 Broke Girls]]'', ''[[The Odd Couple (2015 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]'', ''[[One Day at a Time (2017 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'', ''[[Man with a Plan (TV series)|Man with a Plan]]'', ''[[Carol's Second Act]]'', and ''[[Bob Hearts Abishola]]''. Many American sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1970s were shot using the ''single camera'' method, including ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'', ''[[Leave It to Beaver]]'', ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'', ''[[The Addams Family (1964 TV series)|The Addams Family]]'', ''[[The Munsters]]'', ''[[Get Smart]]'', ''[[Bewitched]]'', ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'', ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'', ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'', and ''[[The Brady Bunch]]''.  The earliest seasons of ''[[Happy Days (TV series)|Happy Days]]'' were filmed using a single-camera setup before the series transitioned to a multi-camera setup (which also occurred alongside its increase in popularity). These did not have a live studio audience, and by being shot single-camera, tightly edited sequences could be created, along with multiple locations and visual effects such as magical appearances and disappearances. Multiple-camera sitcoms were more simplified but have been compared to theatre work due to their similar setup and use of theatre-experienced actors and crew members.

While the multiple-camera format dominated American sitcom production from the 1970s to the 1990s,{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} there has been a recent revival of the [[Single-camera setup|single-camera]] format with programs such as ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' (2000–2006), ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' (2000–2024), ''[[Scrubs (TV series)|Scrubs]]'' (2001–2010), ''[[Arrested Development]]'' (2003–2006, 2013–2019), ''[[The Office (American TV series)|The Office]]'' (2005–2013), ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'' (2005–2009), ''[[Everybody Hates Chris]]'' (2005–2009), ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'' (2005–present), ''[[30 Rock]]'' (2006–2013), ''[[Modern Family]]'' (2009–2020), ''[[The Middle (TV series)|The Middle]]'' (2009–2018), ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]'' (2009–2015), ''[[Parks and Recreation]]'' (2009–2015), ''[[Raising Hope]]'' (2010–2014), ''[[Louie (American TV series)|Louie]]'' (2010–2015), ''[[Veep]]'' (2012–2019), ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'' (2013–2023), ''[[Black-ish]]'' (2014–2022), ''[[Silicon Valley (TV series)|Silicon Valley]]'' (2014–2019), ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]'' (2015–2019), ''[[Superstore (TV series)|Superstore]]'' (2015–2021), ''[[American Housewife]]'' (2016–2021), and ''[[Young Sheldon]]'' (2017–2024).

===United Kingdom===
The majority of British sitcoms and dramas from the 1950s to the early 1990s were made using a multi-camera format.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-return-of-the-sitcom-2201279.html|title=The return of the sitcom|last=Walker|first=Tim|date=February 2, 2011|work=The Independent|access-date=May 12, 2017|language=en-GB|archive-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909154424/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-return-of-the-sitcom-2201279.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the United States, the development of completed filmed programming, using the single camera method, was limited for several decades.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}  Instead, a "hybrid" form emerged using (single camera) filmed [[Insert_(filmmaking)|inserts]], generally location work, which was mixed with interior scenes shot in the multi-camera electronic studio. It was the most common type of domestic production screened by the [[BBC]] and [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. However, as technology developed, some drama productions were mounted on location using multiple electronic cameras. Many all-action 1970s programs, such as ''[[The Sweeney]]'' and ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' were shot using the single camera method on [[16mm film]]. Meanwhile, by the early 1980s, the most highly budgeted and prestigious television productions, like ''[[Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)|Brideshead Revisited]]'' (1981), had begun to use film exclusively. 

By the late 1990s, [[soap opera]]s were left as the only TV drama made in the UK using multiple cameras.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} Television [[prime-time]] dramas are usually shot using a [[single-camera setup]].

== See also ==
* [[3D reconstruction from multiple images]]
* [[Camera rig]]
* [[Circle-Vision 360°]]
* [[Light stage]] is a device used for capturing the [[3D model|shape]], [[texture mapping|texture]], and reflectance of a target, usually for [[virtual cinematography]]. Light stages are usually a combination of multiple cameras and [[structured light]] techniques, and additionally, [[polarizers]] are included to find the [[subsurface scattering|subsurface scattering component]] of the target's skin.
*[[Omnidirectional camera]]
* [[Single-camera setup]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.hagley.org/librarynews/innovation-cinecraft-multi-camera-production-television Research Note on the use of a Multi-camera set-up for filming a 1950 TV show], [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
* [https://digital.hagley.org/FILM_2019227_FC387_07Multi-camera 1966 Multi-camera and Teleprompter Demonstration Film], [[Cinécraft Productions, Inc.]]

{{Cinematic techniques}}
{{TV production}}

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[[Category:Cinematic techniques]]