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Production3 min read

LESSON 116

Multi-camera shoots

Several angles in one take.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. What multicam is
  2. The trade-offs
  3. Keeping cameras in step
  4. Practice: a two-camera interview

What multicam is

A multiple-camera set-up, or multicam, uses several cameras recording or broadcasting the same scene at the same time. It is the opposite of the single-camera method used on most films. A typical arrangement places a central camera on a wide master shot while the outer cameras take closer shots of the two most active characters. Several shots are captured in one take without stopping the action, which saves time both on set and in the edit. It is a near necessity for daily soaps, live television and sport.

The trade-offs

Multicam is fast: there is no need to relight or reset for each angle, and continuity is easier because every angle shares one performance. But lighting must be a compromise that works for all cameras at once, and microphone booms and lamps are harder to hide from several lenses. Storage grows with every camera: four cameras can fill as much as four times the media of one on each take. Larger feature films have increasingly used two cameras on the same set-up, a lighter form of the same idea.

Keeping cameras in step

All cameras in a multicam set-up must be synchronised so the edit lines up and so cameras do not run at different scan rates. The two main methods are SMPTE timecode and genlock. Genlock locks each source to a reference signal, so frames start at exactly the same moment; this is essential in live production, where a vision mixer cuts between sources. Waveform monitors are also used to match the look of cameras shooting the same scene. Mismatched cameras are among the most common faults in small multicam shoots, and they are cheap to fix before the take and costly after.

Practice: a two-camera interview

This is working practice. Place camera A for a medium shot and camera B for a close-up from a different angle, both on the same side of the line. Match frame rate, shutter, white balance, picture profile and, if possible, lens type. Point both at a grey card and compare them on a waveform. Jam timecode or clap at the start. In the edit, use your editor's multicam tool to switch angles like a live director. Keep a third, locked-off wide as a safety if you have a spare camera.

Try it today

  1. 01Set two cameras or phones to the same frame rate and white balance.
  2. 02Frame one medium and one close-up of the same speaker.
  3. 03Clap once in view of both cameras at the start.
  4. 04Build a multicam clip in your editor and cut between the angles.
  5. 05Note any colour or exposure differences and fix them next time.