Single Camera Production

In single camera production, the director uses one camera to film all the shots instead of
using multiple. It came into the world in 1888, the world's earliest surviving motion-picture
film, showing actual consecutive action is called Roundhay Garden Scene, but was formerly
discovered by the Lumiere brothers and has remained as a standard mode of production to
this day. This method is most commonly used in Cinema, music videos, advertisements and
television shows because it not only offers more versatility and gives the director more
control over the shots, it can also be seen as a cost effective method of film, however time
consuming. This is because, in most single camera films, they wouldn’t include huge stunts
like car chases and crashes. However, for those that do have
those elements included, let's say the shot wasn't captured
properly, a lot of money would have gone to waste and they
have to re-film. If the shot didn't go to the directors liking from
his only camera in use, it would have to be refilmed until he
likes it. This would mean that the cast could be there all day
trying to film a few seconds. A great example of something
similar is in the money heist documentary where they explain
that the ‘money falling from the sky’ scene was very time
consuming as it was wet that day and the fans’ weren't working
like they wanted it to straight away, they had to try and try
again until the shot worked.
Even though multi camera production has more benefits, like
not having to recapture shots as much or paying as much
attention to continuity, single camera production can be seen
as the more intricate, close to perfection method. When filming
multi-camera you don't need to redo shots as you can focus on more than one person. In a
single camera, if you are filming a scene that has more than 1 person you'd have to refilm
the scene in the exact same way otherwise it could affect the continuity.
Throughout this essay I will be talking about a plethora of single camera tv shows
and explaining their formats, narrative structures and technical elements. To start things off I
have chosen the show criminal.

The Netflix original Criminal is a crime serial. It focusses on many potential real life cases of
murder, attempted murder, rape etc, providing the viewer with an inside look as to what it
would be like being interrorgated by the police. Each case that the characters take on gives
us a whole new perspective on how people could act in situations that threaten them. In
terms of narrative structure the show follows a realist linear format, from the moment we are
introduced to the suspect until the very end. The acting makes it feel very realistic.
The episode begins straight away with 6 minutes of a framed shot of the suspect
retracing his day. To anyone new to the show, it might be a bit confusing at first but,
eventually they'd understand what is actually going on. As the suspect maps out his day you
can kind of gain the understanding that he has been arrested and taken into interrogation as
he has been accused of something serious. His choice of clothing signifies that he is a
businessman, possibly someone of importance. From those 6 minutes we are told that Alex,
the suspect, and his sales friends went out for drinks, where he bought the first round
because he always does and then they carry on drinking. By midnight he makes the decision
for everyone to go home, but his new female co-worker wants to drink more with just him.
After dropping off one of his co-workers, Alex and his new female co-worker go back to his
apartment, drink more, kiss, and sleep together. He makes sure to consistently say that it
was her idea to continue drinking and go back to his place, it's as if he's trying to justify his
actions to not only himself but the police. We then cut to a wider shot with the rest of the
people in the room and the police tell Alex that they don't believe him, this is where the
tension breaks and the real conflict starts. This sets the scene for something more intense to
come though.
The next scene cuts to kyle, one of the interrogators, getting a snack and throwing
the packaging from a distance, as if he's a basketball player, you may think that this is
completely irrelevant but within that time, they also play the audio of the interview going on,
J-cut, what you saw in the first six minutes, which instantly signifies that wherever he is and
what he's doing has some sort of relationship with the interview, in this case they are in the
same building. Kyle also misses his shot of the waste in the bin by a long shot, but this may
only have some sort of correlation later in the show.
At the beginning of the show we see the assertive man who wants to justify his
actions not only to himself but everyone around him, but his character changes. After a lot of
back and forth conversation on the matter, we uncover two things, that the case they are
dealing with is in fact a rape case, and the second is Alex’s other side start to come out as
he begins speaking but doesnt want to be interrupted, showing off his authorotative side. As
a man like him in his position he would have these qualities. It's slightly aggressive but also
intimidating towards the rest of the people inside the room, showing that he is the man with
the power at that current time, he is the ‘alpha’ of the room. However he slowly starts to lose
that power after being caught out by the interrogators after they mention Alex’s girlfriend,
someone who he didn't think to mention in his own statement, instantly signifying to
everyone present that this man isn't honest. Even being drunk you still are aware of what
you are doing, the life you live and the people you share it with, so he shouldn't have
cheated on his girlfriend even if he claims to be breaking up with her in the near future. After
the mention of his girlfriend, dampening his power, the police continue to target him and start
to embarrass Alex talking about how he cries to a specific song, this was also a power tactic.
The narrative begins to push us even more into believing that Alex is guilty, therefore
showing off the goals on both sides clearly, Alex fighting with everything he has to portray
his innocence, meanwhile the police are trying to get Alex to mess up so they can
convict him.
At this point in the show we are at the climax, we hear the ‘raped’ girls
story saying that Alex expected too much from her, Alex declining it, and we also
see Alex's fall. The police use unethical ways in order to tip the balance of power
within the room. The police are supplied with very little evidence to claim rape, so
they put the evidence in an even bigger book in order to make alex feel scared.
The show uses specific camera angles in order to show how different Alex’s
mental state had changed the moment he saw the folder, the focus on the folder
and the shaking of Alex's legs. He goes from the authoritative figure, to the angry
man doing anything he can, to end up being the scared and nervous little kid
about to lose everything he’s worked for. However after more talk, the police
leave to give Alex and his solicitors time to speak. It is revealed to us that the
solicitor saw through everything the police did, whilst providing information for both Alex and
the police. She announces to the police behind the gallery that they can't use whatever is in
there whilst also talking to Alex. This was her power play. It switched the tables once again
in power.
The police eventually find out more information, showing that in the past the ‘raped’
victim’s friend didnt get a promotion in her past job, she ended up doing the same thing and
ended up getting paid to keep quiet. She then took her friend, who is actually also her
roommate, on holiday. As it turns out, when the ‘raped’ victim from Alex’s side didnt get her
promotion, she offered to also take her friend on holiday, signifying that it was her plan all
along. The case was as good as dead after the police heard that, so they decided to end it
all. Everything seems like it's going to end very smoothly, a fine resolution, however Alex
takes back a little bit of control at the loss of his integrity. He ends up pleading to the police
for recognition for his work place and all the friends and women of his family, see Alex is a
man of reputation, the police ruined it and didn't even think to try and put it back together.
Alex is forced out and that is how the episode resolutes.
Earlier throughout the episode Kyle likes to throw his piece of waste at the bin, he
gets closer every time. However even after Alex had left the building he still didn't get in, it's
as if it foreshadows that they made the wrong decision but there is no clear evidence that he
is guilty or not.

The next show on the list is the first episode of Breaking Bad. It's a nonlinear crime drama
series that focuses on the production and selling of drugs. It also holds the number one spot
on IMDB for having the highest rated Episode of all time, OZYMANDIAS, with a perfect 10
rating.
The show starts with Walter, the protagonist, in his moment of crisis, alone without
any trousers, a crashed RV(Meth cooking lab) and a gun in hand, the first of many conflicts,
his worst possible position at the start of his meth cooking career. He begins to film himself
saying his final words as he believes it's over for him as, what sounds like the police, begin
to approach him from a distance. An audiences first initial response would be, how on earth
did he get into this terrible situation, then the following scene, cut to 3 weeks earlier, leaving
the audience on a cliffhanger, instantly signifies that this show has taken a non linear
approach, and also that the main character has gone through a mental transformation from
the point he was at 3 weeks earlier.
The earlier part of the show shows off Walters' story. What I've learnt from this is that
Walter was living a routine life, he works 2 jobs to provide for his family, he's a science
teacher and also works in a car wash, he goes home tired, eats and sleeps, same thing
everyday on repeat almost. Walters students are the same everyday as well, they just get
the work done whilst staying quiet and listening to Walter make terrible jokes. Then out of
nowhere Walter faints, is put in hospital, and hit with lung cancer, this was his big crisis. It
made Walter think differently about his life, it freed him from this routine life, and since
seeing the money his brother in law captured from the meth sellers/distributors, he thought
he could help his family financially the same way as its just basic chemistry to him. It was the
perfect area where he could shine and he saw that. Throughout the show you can see that
he's progressively changing himself, he's willing to do more things he's never even
considered before, for example when his son starts getting bullied in the store, Walter walks
off as if he just doesn't want to help, and then out of nowhere he comes from the store
entrance and kicks down the bullies calf and then stands on it, he does this to show who is
the ‘alpha’ in the room. This is clearly out of his character judging by his wife's response.
You could tell he was doing whatever he could in order to provide for his family with the
unknown amount of time he has left.
 We are introduced to Walter White's partner, Jesse, in a later part of the episode,
when Jesse’s former partner is taken by the police and Jesse makes a narrow escape from
the woman's house next door. Not long after Walter approaches Jesse, blackmailing him
into a partnership of meth production. Jesse is the complete opposite of Walter, he's a
young, easily controlled drug dealer and a "nobody" who works for a dysfunctional gang, but
once he is introduced to his old teacher his life starts to take a huge spin, for example Walter
ends up killing Jesse’s former partner and his distributor, that held them at gunpoint.
We don't see Jesse take a mental transformation like Walter, he's still the punching
bag for the rest of the cast as he hasn't stood his ground against his ‘superiors’, that kind of
reminds me of Walter pre-crisis, but you can see he needs to mature before he takes on that
role otherwise he’ll never be respected. The first stage he needs to take is to not use his own
product, something Walter mentioned to him to make his life healthier, otherwise his physical
and mental state will only end up getting worse.
Walter White’s wife can be clearly seen as a main character within this show as she's
the one that looks after Walt and Walt jr mentally. Her role within the show from the first
episode is the loving, caring wife who wants to help her family financially by being a writer
but isn't making it. At the same time she is also pregnant so in some instances she cannot
do the things she would want to do. For now she maintains the role of the typical woman in a
nuclear family, therefore portraying Walter as the breadwinner, the man who brings in the
money, but only until he is hit with cancer does he fully start to emerge into the ‘Man’ of the
household. Walter's brother in law is however the definition of the ‘man’ of the house, I
believe that complex came from his line of work, being a DEA agent that busts drug dealers,
he likes to have power over others. Walter in comparison to Henry, his brother, is weak and
is slightly intimidated by him as seen on Walter's birthday. Even on Walter's birthday he
wasn't the man of the day in the end, it was all about Henry and his interview on tv. Henry is
a natural born ‘alpha’ male, but at the same time a bully, mostly to walter. He takes
advantage of Walter's lack of manhood by showing Walter jr a side of life that Walter doesn't
want his son to see, and since Walter doesn't do anything his son is being led onto a
different path in life.
Breaking bad episode 1 overall is just a rising conflict with simple resolution’s to the
minor conflicts, the big conflict being Walter’s lung cancer which completely changes his way
of life and a minor conflict being Jesse’s friends and their deaths for example. In terms of
exposition, setting up each character, the show starts off by introducing the characters,
showing the equilibrium that they live in. Only for Walter's lung cancer to be the breaking
point of the equilibrium. Whenever there is a break to the equilibrium,
the place in which the characters live in, things never go back to the
way they used to be, everyone and everything is set on a new path and
that is clearly shown in Walter.
The mise-un-scene in breaking bad plays a huge role. It tells a
lot about the characters. The best comparison would be Walter Whites
household and Jesse Pinkmans. Walter Whites household is very
clean and tidy, ‘breakfast is always laid out in a very sophisticated and
family orientated manner with the orange juice, pancakes and cereal
laid out symmetrically on the table so that it looks nice’. We can also
see that they are a middle class family from the size of the house and
the overall layout of everything. Jesse Pinkman’s house however is
completely different in the worst possible ways, ‘you can tell straight
away that Jessie does not really care for a sophisticated and clean house. He lets strangers
live in his house and as you can tell from the mise-en scene, there is graffiti all over his
walls. This tells us that in this specific phase of his life he really does not care and has an
almost rock bottom type attitude about him.’1
Throughout the first episode there are a series of J and L-cuts, these are used when
one piece of audio is played over the top of a separate piece of video to give the illusion that
they were happening at the same time. It helps the show flow smoothly. However, they did
not forget about the straight cuts, where one scene cuts to the next with no interruptions.

The next show on the list is The Last Dance. This is a Documentary based on true events
surrounding the Chicago Bulls before and after Michael Jordan. The effect he made on their
team was simply remarkable. This documentary follows a non-linear format as they are
constantly going backward and forwards in time, they focus on the full timeline for example
when michael jordan just started or when his team won their first championship.
Considering this is a documentary that does not act out scenes from the past but
actually shows us real life footage, essentially there are no stand out camera angles or
lighting metaphors, they mostly use mid-shots or close ups for the interviews and natural
lighting in most of the interviews and b-roll. However, the editing on top of the sound is what
really put this documentary together making it spectacular. We are granted with immersive
music that really brings out the intensity of each of the major events Jordan and the Bulls
faced. Around half way through the episode we see Michael Jordan and his mother, Michael
is looking at a sector where his mother left a note, they constantly cut between the live note
and the video he was watching, but the audio is clean, with no slight audio mess ups.
Straight off the bat in the first episode we are greeted with an establishing shot
behind the one and only Michael Jordan. Text is shown on the screen telling us what
happened in the past. A series of J and L cuts are used in this opening scene. We then cut
back to 1997 and 1984 footage of the team to show us Michael Jordan which shows us the
difference in his appearance across the years, how he changed and matured as a person,
and to correlate to what he is saying. After the quick insight as to what to expect from the
show, they introduce the pillars of the bulls, during their prime, with clips from their tv show
appearances. To add onto that, the production team added clips of some of their most
memorable and best clips to really introduce you to the person they are, and what they've
done with a chill beat going on in the background. The introduction brings you in leading you
with something that would bring a smile to your face, and then, we are hit with one of the
biggest controversies the team faced within that time. It's edited to the point where all this
information has been put on your plate, but you have to eat in order to find out (10 episodes
to get through). From the very beginning of the show I could tell that the people who put this
together would love to bui;d the scene up, giving you all this information and then dating
back to sometime in the past or future after, it may leave you wondering what happened.
The first conflict we are introduced to is Jerry Krause, the manager of the Chicago
Bulls of the National Basketball Association from 1985 to 2003, when he decided that he
wanted to rebuild the squad after coming from a win and wanting to change the coach of the
team. They start off by picking off his worst qualities like how he was born a little man with
no money, and how becoming the manager of a team made him resent the players a little
because he never received credit for the things he did. Michael Jordan and the few others
that carried the team for those few years took all the attention of the media. They also

1 https://imranqureshimedia.weebly.com/unit-22-single-camera-techiques/technical-elements#
pointed out that Jerry may have been a good coach, but he couldn't have done it without
Michael Jordan, known to be one of the world's best athletes of all time.
After ridiculing him however they start to make you feel sorry for him, as he was
picked on by the players, a lot more after making specific comments. They mention how he
was the nicest kindest man, but he liked people that didn't like him.
When we finally got onto the point of what it was that was so controversial we began
to see why people had mixed opinions on him, he wanted to get rid of the coach that Michael
Jordan, as well as the rest of the team well respected. Jerry saw him more of a piece that
could be removed and replaced unlike people like Michael Jordan, because he was the
superstar. Within this time we primarily see the interview from the Chairman of the Bulls,
who’s sat down with a well lit background and good camera angle that brings out his best
features, we see him most as he could talk from a non-biased perspective of how things
went down. We also bear witness to Phil Jackson, the Former Bulls coach
who was set to leave back then, sitting outside with natural lighting in his
background. The scene suits from then and we are taken to October 1997.
Whilst watching the show, we come to the understanding that
everyone who has been interviewed is comfortable where they are, they
have the clothes they want to wear, in a position that makes them look
good. It was professional to the level where you could take them seriously even though they
weren't wearing fancy clothes. The camera isn't too close either that it's intimidating. They do
include various close ups from the mid-shots however, throughout the interview, to make the
scene more intense.
Every now and then throughout the documentary from the interviews, they add a
touch of what Michael Jordan is truly like, his humor with the cast and their questions. This
shows the viewer a more personal side on what the All-star was like. As well as all the all-
stars that have been interviewed they also have famous guests like Barack Obama, as he
was also someone who was greatly influenced by Mchael Jordan.
The greatest part about this documentary is that the scenes aren’t acted out,
because we follow Michael Jordan, it's to no surprise that most if not all of his life, and
events are documented. The only issue with the documentary is that so much information is
being put in your face, it's almost overwhelming, however it makes you want to hear more.

The 4th show of my choice is Black mirror and the episode i chose was episode 2 of season
3. There are 5 seasons to this series but each has their own individual short story making
this a close ending serial. The theme around this show is futuristic, it takes off in the sc-fi
genre, and goes crazy. The episode of choice is called Playtest.
Since I chose an episode that is around half way through the series, the average
viewer would already have an understanding of the types of shows that they would be
experiencing. The ideas behind the show are not too far from realistic, however there would
still need to be a lot of technological advancements before we can get to that stage, anti-
realist. This episode starts off by introducing us to the protagonist, he's leaving his home at a
strange hour of the day in a very secretive way, which signifies he’s sneaking out of his
parents home. This gives us a small insight into the type of man he is, he wants to escape
the uncomfortable realities of his home by travelling the world. From the next scene we see
a highlight reel of him travelling the world. Since he's willing to leave his home so secretively,
he must be trying to find himself as he's gotten to that stage in life where he doesn't know
what he's doing.
 The story begins with the protagonist stuck in London, his money is almost finished
and he can't get back home to his Mother who he declined a call from earlier. With pretty
much no more money left after the night he had, he decides to meet the same girl he slept
with the night before, they matched on tinder, for shelter and a good night because he
would've ended up being on the streets. Going back for a second night with her, gave him
the ability to look at some quick jobs for money, they came across games testing from a
company that are very well known but also very secretive. They don't leak content out to
their audience or the media. He takes the job and the scene cuts to Cooper, the protagonist,
being driven in. This is where the introduction really ends and the story's conflict begins.
The scene is set, we start with a birds eye view of Cooper entering the area and then
an image of a strange building, inside the image of a man screamin which actually highlights
the episode. The shot fades backwards and then switches focus to Cooper turning towards
Katie, the person helping Cooper with all the information and the procedure. There's a small
level of awkward humour surrounding the show as Cooper is shown around. Everything
looks very high tech and new. As Cooper enters the room, a very important piece of
information is told to him. That is to turn his phone off, he didn't know why, but he was eager
to get a photo of anything the company was doing, so he could earn money. He is sat down
and told to sign an nda but the sign sheet is missing, Katie leaves the room to get the sheet,
and in an instant Cooper gets up, turns his phone on and takes a picture of what was inside
the box that was laid out in front of him. We get a nice wide shot of everything he does, a
close up, a mid shot and a pov. You could tell that at this point Cooper was desperate for
money, he wanted to get home as fast as possible. By selling an image of what the company
was doing he could get home faster. He may have ignored his mother for the most part but
he wanted to get home. From this point onwards the story takes a huge twist, if you were a
fan of the other previous black mirror episodes you would understand that something very
unexpected would happen. His mother rings during the medical procedure, we hear the
interruption between the phone and the tech during the initialization stage. He lives through
a false reality in his head, where he is scared to death, quite literally. The show makes us
believe that most of it was just the programme messing with him, he left and then carried on
with his life, however that was all fake and he is faced with his biggest fear. But once he
comes to the realisation of what happened, the show cuts to Cooper back in the seat where
the first procedure went through screaming in pain calling for his mother, and we see the
phone still ringing. At the end of the show it is revealed to us that everything he ex[erienced
was all in 0.04 seconds.
‘When the first twist happens, it’s still effective, but not completely unexpected. A
corporation cruelly destroying someone’s very existence is believable by Black Mirror
standards, but Cooper’s greatest fear — losing his memory like his father before him — is
uncomfortably close to home both for the character and for viewers. Finally, Cooper seems
to escape that nightmare, intact. That’s when “Playtest” really strikes.
The episode's final twist, which results in Cooper’s actual death via cell phone, is
jarring. The one aspect of his life that he’s been running from, his grieving mother, is the
force that kills him. It’s somber, powerful, and oddly devoid of the typical smug “told you so”
tone Black Mirror episodes tend to take. In short, “Playtest” is a horror story that ends in
needless tragedy.
The most disturbing part of “Playtest” is that there is no antagonist. There’s no
corrupt corporation or government force, no branch of technology that we learn is implicitly
evil. Cooper’s death and the horrors that he faced are a mistake, and that is where this
episode goes from creepy to alarming. At its core, “Playtest” is a story about our inability to
reign in technology. There are no answers to find in its many twists or really any criticisms.
After all, Charlie Brooker was once a video game journalist, and the episode is lovingly
packed with video game references. It’s not technology or innovation or even human error
that’s on trial in “Playtest.” It’s just the story of a trial test that went horribly wrong for one
nice, normal person. If there’s anything more horrifying than life completely destroying you
for absolutely no reason, I can’t think of it.’2
As confusing as the story may be, it follows a linear structure, everything happens in
order, the things Cooper experienced may have all happened in 0.04 seconds in the real
time, but to him it felt like hours. It's similar to inception in that aspect.

2 https://decider.com/2016/10/24/black-mirror-playtest-is-pure-horror/