1.3: Production Styles

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Page ID: 116737

Jennifer Vaughn
Laney College, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, Los Angeles City College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

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Production Styles

The type of video you are producing often dictates whether you will shoot single or multi-camera. Single-camera production refers to lighting and shooting one set up at a time. Documentary and Corporate videos often use single-camera shooting techniques when recording interviews with their subjects. Narrative short films and features use this technique when breaking down a script scene by scene, shot by shot. These types of productions rely heavily on editing and the post-production process to pull the entire story together for their audience. There are many single-camera productions that call for a second camera unit, referred to as “2nd Unit” or “B Cam”, which is not to be confused with multi-camera productions.

Multi-Camera Production

Live events recorded for broadcast, cablecast and live streaming, such as Local News, Sports, Music, and Talk Shows utilize multi-camera production techniques. This style of production has multiple cameras on set, or in a venue or arena, that send their feeds into a control room, where the director has the ability to view all camera angles simultaneously and cut between them live creating a “line cut” for the audience to view in real-time.

During multi-camera live productions the Director typically sits in the control room and calls the cuts for the Technical Director (T.D.) to perform on the Switcher. Graphics are added to the program live from a Character Generator (C.G.). The Audio Engineer (A1) mixes the audio signals from the microphones, video roll in's, music and sound cues. Depending on the type of production, either a Producer or Assistant Director is responsible for relaying time cues to the talent and Stage Managers.

Figure $\PageIndex{1}$: Multi-camera Control Room shows a student director watching the monitors

(Creative Commons License; Image by Jen Vaughn via Los Angeles City College)

Multi-camera content produced for Live Broadcast or Live Streams, such as Local News, Daytime Talk Shows, Late Night Talk Shows, and Awards Shows use Two-Column Scripts with the Visual Cues in the left column and Audio Cues in the right column.

These programs use Rundowns to break down the timing of each segment in the program, including graphics, video roll in’s, talent, and cameras. Scripts are written according to the information in the rundown. There are many software and hardware systems used for creating Rundowns and Scripts, such as iNews (which is used in broadcast news stations) and Rundown Creator (which can be used on a subscription-based service for independent productions).

Short-form content, such as Commercials, PSA’s and Digital Content (programming produced for the web) also often use Three-Column Scripts. These concepts will be covered in more detail in Chapter 3: Scripting and Formatting.

Single Camera Production

As the name implies, single-camera productions typically only require one camera. The audio can be recorded directly to the video camera, however, it is often recorded separately to a digital audio recording device. Single-camera productions for narrative are set up shot-by-shot and the actors perform multiple takes of each shot until the director is satisfied. Camera set ups and shooting schedule are determined before production begins by the Director, Assistant Director and Director of Photography. The goal of creating an efficient shooting schedule is to maximize the coverage you can get for each setup and minimize the number of times you need to reposition the camera and lights. You can jump ahead to learn more about the duties of each production position in Chapter 6.1 Who Does What.

Behind the Scenes Single Camera_Pixabay_VicotriaBorodinova.jpg

Figure $\PageIndex{2}$: Behind the scenes of a Single Camera Production shows an actor in a sword fight scene with smoke effects.

(Pixaby License; Image by Victoria_Borodinova via Pixabay)

Low budget vs. Big budget

The most important factor that determines how you will produce a video is how much money you have in your budget to accomplish your vision. Determining a realistic budget for your production is dependent on being as detailed and thorough as possible during pre-production.

Budgets are broken down into tiers for high budget productions and low budget productions. Using this system, lower-budget films can set the rates based on budget limitations without exploiting the worker's compensation. The DGA Low Budget Agreements are multi-level contracts that cover the production of narrative and documentary films intended for theatrical or home video/DVD release with budgets of up to $11 million and can be found on the DGA website.

The first thing to determine with any film or video project is if it is a signatory to a union or is a non-union production. The union has negotiated minimum rates for its members. If the production is not affiliated with a union, then using standard union rates can be a good guide to determine fair wages for your crew.

There are several unions that oversee the interests of the film industry crew. Research the links below to find out current union rates for your production.

IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees)
DGA (Directors Guild of America)

To calculate a crew member’s day rate, there are a few considerations to take into account:

Is the crew member union or non-union?
What tier does the budget fall under?
Is the production filming in a ‘Production City’?
What is the length of the shoot day? How many days?
Is transportation or lodging needed/covered?

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