Single And Multi Camera TV Shows

Silent Witness:Choices

What happened in the first episode:

Main Story: In the first episode we see a club shot up by a rival gang, an investigation begins into who committed it. Ballistic evidence is found at the scene of the crime to show that two different guns were fired but the bullets were identical, this evidence shows that instead of the rival gang killing Ainsley's girlfriend, he in fact killed her with the ricochet from his gun. The identical bullet casings at the scene led the police to believe that an arms dealer was supplying both sides of the gang/turf war with home made bullets, we later find out that the arms dealer is Chris an ex army engineer.

Side Story: A body of a young girl is found with drug paraphernalia wrapped in a blanket, the body has been mummified from being left for so long and has decomposed beyond recognition. The police find the girls identity by looking for people in the police database of addicts who have a telltale tooth gap, this helps them to find out who she is.    

Side Story: Leo Dalton returns to work after the death of his wife and daughter, he struggles to re-adjust to the work environment and takes out his anger on his co-workers. After talking to a therapist Leo realizes that he is being irrational and seeks to make up with his co-workers.

What happens in the opening scene:

We see a variety of people showing up to a club, we cut to Ainsley and his girlfriend in the car discussing the ring, they kiss and leave the car to enter the club. An SUV drives along the road and the people inside open fire killing and wounding people outside the club, we see Ainsley's girlfriend fall to the ground after being shot.

Who were the characters involved in the opening scene?

Ainsley Modest, Ainsley's girlfriend, the rival gang, Ainsley's friend Simone Campbell, and other extras in the scene.

Were there any elements that could be considered indicative of single camera production?

A lot of the scenes where two characters are talking to each other it is obvious based on the angle and cuts that there is only one camera in use. This is because instead of having two cameras filming at different angles the director will have to do two takes and cut between them in post. Another indicator of single camera production is the positioning of the camera, the camera can be put anywhere on set without the fear of filming any other cameras since only one is being used.

Edge Of Darkness: Compassionate Leave

What happened in the opening episode?

In the first episode of Edge of darkness, Ronnie,the main character has his daughter killed by an unknown gunman. At first the police believe that the gunman was aiming for Ronnie, however Ronnie after investigating his daughters possessions he discovers a folder labeled Gaia, containing a Geiger counter, a gun and some sort of nuclear material. After using the Geiger counter he discovers that the folder, it's contents, and a lock of hair given to him by his daughter are all radioactive. This leads him to believe that his daughter was working on something to do with nuclear energy.

What happened in the opening scene?

Ronnie is talking to his boss about a fixed election, he asks to be sent up to Blackpool in order to try and solve the case. His boss disagrees however, claiming that he already has too much 'other' police work. He likely wants to work on this case because of his daughter.

Who were the characters in the opening scene?

Ronnie, Jim, a trio of policeman, the gunman (briefly) and another man named Adam.

Were there any elements in the programme that could be considered indicative of single camera production?

The shot types were typical of single camera productions sticking to one angle and shot type for a while since there was no second or third camera to cut to easily. Lighting is a lot easier for single camera productions since the lighting can be set up for each individual shot without the worry of it not being well lit at a different angle since when the camera is moved so is the lighting.

Single and multi camera comparison

Friends Season 1 Episode 7:

In this episode of friends New York is hit with a black out and the characters stay in their apartment, meanwhile Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with a Victoria's secret model

Scrubs season 7 episode 1:

In this episode JD's brother comes to visit the hospital and helps JD to realize that he needs to grow up, meanwhile Dr cox lectures Dr Kim on hypocrisy   

Comparison: It is obvious that Friends is a multi-camera production based on the type of angles, shots and the way the set is utilized Friends sticks to a relatively flat plane since going outside of this area would mean leaving the set and seeing the other cameras. However Scrubs shows a lot of signs of single camera production with each shot showing as much of the location as it needs to since there are no limitations on the set, additionally the lighting is more complex since it can be set up for each shot individually rather than getting the lighting go work for every angle and shot in a multi camera production.