Single Camera vs. Multi-Camera Shooting with Rubidium Wu

In this video, Rubidium Wu looks at the differences between the two major ways to shoot a script in filmmaking: shooting with one camera at a time, or shooting multiple cameras simultaneously. He takes a look at the different factors involved, including how best to balance the advantages and disadvantages of each method in order to get the most from your scenes.
To watch the three versions of the scene, click the links below:
Single Camera - 10:26
• Single Camera vs. Mult...
Two Camera - 12:32
• Single Camera vs. Mult...
Three Camera - 14:28
• Single Camera vs. Mult...
To read the full post visit our blog: www.abelcine.com/articles/blo...
Check out Rubidium's KZbin channel, Crimson Engine: / crimsonengine
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To see more from Rubidium, visit his channel: / crimsonengine

[@YoungBlaze]

i kid you not, this is literally the only video ive seen on KZbin that goes into detail for film

[@silverlightphotoco]

Good points! I honestly like the 3 camera version the best, as you could see the characters reading and reacting to the other's body language IN REAL TIME (something that might be lost when editing a number of clips together?) I'm a former photographer, so I understand how picky many can be regarding lighting, but I think the lighting in the 3 camera shoot fitted the mood and scene the best (It didn't try to make either the good guy or the bad guy look better or worse, and it looked quite natural, and I think, for most people, it was completely acceptable and of pretty high production quality, good job😃😃😃)

[@daslolo]

same here, the 3 camera is more organic and i think that with clever grading it can be made to look as good as 1 cam

[@vincetherrien]

Great video. Very helpful. Seems like another important element is sound. The sound on the single camera was uneven - probably because the mics were placed differently in the different takes - or perhaps because the sound in the room just changed throughout the time filming. The sound on the 2 and 3 camera was smooth - probably because it was all taken at once. This was a wonderful explanation - and super cool to have the three demos as well as Rubidium Wu's clear explanation.

[@JoeTheViewer]

Yep that sound is different.

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Each take was different. Sound should actually be better on a single take, because you can get closer to the actor without worrying about getting in frame. Another way is to use both boom and lavaliere. Then the editor has a choice of sources to chose from. I prefer that, but hiding a mic is difficult. But not impossible. One can also put a mic on a stand just out of frame, or hidden. Lots of tricks. Look up Curtis Judd for more sound education.

[@primeminister7885]

I like the single shots because I can see how more freedom the editor has The sound difference in each take could easily be evened out but the up close and personal feel those single shots give you are captivating in my opinion. Easy to maneuver and and get that good angle. Thanks for taking the time to show the difference.

[@leonarddai4998]

if you're shooting dialogue with one camera, you should add room tone in post production

[@uzibatish172]

Why?

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

You ALWAYS need room tone. At least 30 seconds.

[@tillerman7272]

@@uzibatish172 because then the audio will be inconsistent and sound choppy, but adding in a room tone will keep it sounding constant

[@howardnwhite]

I enjoyed them all. I think it depends upon the scene. For this kind of dialogue driven scene, I actually think multi is better. For running around on location, perhaps the single. The lighting on the multi was a bit strong here, leading to what I call 'stubble on fire'. In the single, there were inconsistences in the background sound. For that to work, I think you need to have everything silent (except the dialogue of course) and dub background sound later. In the two camera, the notes being put on the table looked too obviously like an insert edit. All this is just my opinions, and well done to all and thanks for a great video with so much info and food for thought.

[@AlexLopez-iy4by]

Thank you for great demo. All the takes have nice framing and lighting. My favorite is the single camera take. The look and feel draws you in.

[@danishalishow]

What a stellar education on a 1 vs 3 camera setup. I liked the 3 camera setup the best, surprisingly the actors were at their finest there (as well as the 2 camera). Its interesting that in solo cam i liked their acting less. Food for thought, again a great video.

[@davistoddhebenstreit6259]

the audio in the single shot is way off as far as background noise goes. Thats definitely a big advantage to multi cam

[@raymitech]

Audio incoherent is another problem

[@jimmykrutakofficial294]

You can actually get the Mics closer with single cam. I don’t know why the audio was worse for single can versus multicam but I don’t think audio was the point of this video so there was probably zero audio equipment involved probably just camera audio

[@NIKONGUY1960]

Ridley Scott has been known to use 6 cameras at a time!

[@route3594]

It’s clear about description and example. Thank you so much.

[@afraidofrobots250]

Great video. I actually liked the multi camera scene better. The whole scene flows and it draws you into the dialogue.

[@rishabgupta5794]

Even I liked it better first... But then I watched the single camera take again and I started noticing the improvements. Plus I feel the single camera take has been edited quite well.

[@BRUCEXGAMING]

@@rishabgupta5794 background noise changes with single cam

[@Film_It_Yourself]

These are great insights! I didn't fully realize the lighting restraints. Thanks for the tips!

[@MJ-zo5gb]

Does over perfect lighting ever bother anyone else? It’s dim but everyone’s face and perfectly lit and their hair has down light. Or people are walking through a forest at night there is electric lights in the trees, clearly unnatural. No big thing This video made me think of it.

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Not a problem. Audiences expect it. And in dark settings, our eyes automatically adjust. Cameras do not. And most cameras do not work as well in darkness as our eyes do.

[@Chromedbustop]

It doesn't bother me but I do notice it. Sometimes it can look TOO artificial, and that can be disruptive, but film is a visual medium so it's generally better to see what's going on rather than not. Look at the battle of Winterfell in "Game of Thrones". It might have had very "authentic" lighting, but the biggest complaint from most people was that they couldn't see what was going on. Compare that to the battle at Helm's Deep in "Lord of The Rings" where you had this giant light source, even when it was pouring rain. There was a conversation that took place between one of the actors in LoTR and the DoP. The actor asked where the lighting came from in a scene and the DoP said "The same place as the music."

[@SuperPhunThyme9]

How about when they whisper to each other from across a room

[@philippebuston8164]

Two cams the best ! Thanks for this vidéo , very well detailed and explained .

[@Bgroundfilms]

There is something natural with the two camera shoot, that’s why I always like two cameras

[@senogamoses5319]

For Multi-Camera, do the cameras need to be of the same brand/type to maintain same image quality ?

[@dominicthewriter417]

THANKS A TON for this video!!!! I've noticed that the Double camera just might be able to get what I'm looking for to shoot my first feature film, however, the cost for my equipment just got REAL expensive LOL

[@lizz9896]

what camera will you be getting/renting? 😂

[@dominicthewriter417]

@@lizz9896 Canon C200

[@lizz9896]

@@dominicthewriter417 ah, I'm thinking about using the Sony fs7 (and multi-cam). but that's for around the year 2022. How long are you planning your shoot to be?

[@dominicthewriter417]

@@lizz9896 Well I'm not too sure yet. My script is 112 pages, so most likely for awhile

[@lizz9896]

@@dominicthewriter417 yeah it all depends. Although I won't do my script until I'm in the position to do film it all within a month. My script is 114 but nothing crazy goes into it so it's pretty doable

[@SlowandExpensive]

This was interesting. The single camera shots looked much better. Framing and lighting. I've been shooting with two for my little videos for while now. I like having the extra footage but it often comes at a price of additional choices. I sometimes think the single camera is nice because the edits are linear where I spend a lot of time stacking a and b shots and then sometimes struggle with the extra time it takes choose between the two but I'm not behind the camera either.

[@theshadishow]

Good point, the space is little small, well done brother, SINGLE CAMERA makes sense for the small space

[@JarradShaw]

That was great. Thank you

[@davidkirwan8494]

Super video, Thankyou so very much! D

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

This makes a ton of sense -- just did a shoot; effed it up slightly by lighting for two camera, but shooting it with one. Just realized I did it after watching this. Maybe an ep on how to deal efficiently with the three tracks of audio (did you lav the talent?)

[@Crimsonengine]

Thanks! We didn't lav the talent but I'm not sure it would have helped that much. The location was LOUD and the noises kept changing. The only solution when you're shooting in a location like this is to ADR the dialogue in post and it seemed a lot to ask the actors to come back and do voice over for a lighting test :)

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

@@Crimsonengine Yes and no; booms work best without a doubt, but lavs are closer to actor's mouth. It at least gives editor a choice. Another thing that can help is put anither mic on a desk stand, just out of frame. Your sound guy these days has at least 4 tracks, and you'll have a mixer to ride the gaun if needed. This is a camera test, but I'm glad so many noticed sound. As they say, audiences will forgive funky lighting; they will not forgive bad sound

[@JimRobinson-colors]

I guess the shot you showed up front with the two guys at the bar, if done with a single camera, the audio and the TV and other things would need to be dealt with in POST as well. The audio alone with multicam could be continuous, but in a single cam shoot, seems to be that might be a problem that gets passed on up the line.

[@Leotique]

great video

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Question I have is recording sound for multicamera. I've done it, and it's much more difficult. If you're using a boom, you can turn the mic as the dialogue goes from one person or the other, but your timing has to be right on. And staying out of frame is a problem. Single camera is a breeze by comparison.

[@satish8889]

Great video

[@COSCOSBEATS]

Thanks for this. Very informative. Subscribing fir more

[@bartbecque9354]

Is it just me or is the lighting off... I mean, in the close up shots, over the shoulder shots, it looks like there's a bright lightsource behind the counter/bar, lighting the faces of the actors from the side, (coming in from behind the counter/bar. In the overview shot nothing is visual what might suggest this bright light source... But again that is probably just me...

[@william.n4643]

How to shoot an eating scene with one camera and many angles? Is it must to prepare a lot of food/drink and the actor/actress must eat again?

[@lizz9896]

in movies and shows you never really see them eat, just playing around with the food. you'll just have to creatively work around that if you really want to show them actually eating

[@raphaelmorgan2307]

I would also point out that the sound in both the two- and three-camera versions was a lot more smooth, and the sound in the one-camera was... bad enough that even I noticed with an untrained ear. Background noise would skip between takes, different takes were louder or quieter than others... based on this, I would only rlly recommend the single camera in a setting with no background noise, or in a production that records video and audio separately (eg voiceovers)

[@PatrickBrianRiordan]

Great visuals but maaaan that audio is awful. Especially in the single-camera, the noise floor keeps clicking back and forth between the different takes. Really brings down an otherwise great production.

[@abrahamsotelo6188]

One camera: unnatural lighting (like a commercial or photoshoot), sound problems. Two camera: felt natural but was tedious to watch only two in a full dialogue. Three camera: Liked a lot the lighting, the natural performance and the third shot was what it needed for the scene to breathe.

[@StirlingPerry]

Honest question: Why does the audio sound awful on the sample shots? Was it on purpose? Examples: Room audio changes at 10:36; hissing S on "said" at 14:36; background sound effects almost louder than dialog at 10:38.

[@TSGEnt]

Could you give me your thoughts camera position on multi-cam of 4 people at a table-talk? 1 person at each side of a square table. I've got 3 cameras and only one take because it's a "live" feel. I'm trying to avoid cameras in the shot of course. I don't have multiple operators so it may be a lockdown of each camera. It's kind of like "Meet The Press". 1 person leading but all participating. Thanks for any ideas.

[@Crimsonengine]

I think you might need 4 cameras for 4 people if they're all facing different directions. You might want to place them in a semi-circle, or at least 2 at each side of the table. Take a look through other 'panel' discussion videos from Brands like Arri or Canon to see best practices. Good luck!

[@TSGEnt]

@@Crimsonengine Thanks for the input! I ended up putting 2 to a side and shooting "V" shaped across the table, with 3 cams.

[@TheBoondoggler]

This is why foley is important

[@andydebique2329]

Three camera for me.

[@Profmorphious123]

Think you.

[@thenannymoh]

I wonder what your boom op and mixer thought of this. Actually, I don't wonder... I know. Oh...and Nolan is on record for preferring single camera because sound is easily boned when the boom can't get in (complex shadows, tight/wide). Not a word about sound in your analysis.

[@AALavdas]

3-cam is my favorite by far. Compared to single cam the sound is better, the acting flows more naturally, you are more immersed in the scene. Single cam looks more artificial. Yes, the lighting is more impressive - but that is not always a priority. In fact, when shooting everyday scenes, a less manicured lighting scheme looks more natural.

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Sound has nothing to do with multiple camera; single camera allows you to get closer, and actually will give you the best sound. I've done sound for 10+ years.

[@hasibulhasanzeeshan5751]

But you should know most of the film made with single camera

[@maira.azzara]

I have a question, why are sitcoms with sets never use single cameras

[@adayyofilm2496]

Bald head dude has super potential. His acting was more realistic each take he was the same.The other guy seen like he just read the script on the day of and a lil stiff.. But all in all Good job and thanks for the camera shots.

[@iambounceback]

At first I thought the older gentleman beat him out but he continued to shine more each time. He seems like the type that will take constructive criticism and get better with each take!

[@catrionacolville2192]

Who is the english actor? I recognise him.

[@Leveluplivin]

At 13:48 subject on the left moves and then the next cut clips shows him stayed put? 🤔😣🤭😂😂

[@hasibulhasanzeeshan5751]

Continuity mistake😂

[@Leveluplivin]

​@@hasibulhasanzeeshan5751 right man it's been 2'years since I commented 😅

[@sportsracingraces]

I can't see the difference between single camera and two camera, I'm sorry I'm not a expert in the most minimum

[@thesolid9091]

Multi cameras save time but cost way a lot.

[@stereotype-official9147]

I personally liked the multi camera better the sound changed in each shot for the single camera and it sounded un proffesonal

[@JWS1968]

Do you wanna know why two cameras is ALWAYS best. Because if you have two cameras and at any time you only need one, just use one and use the other for something else like maybe letting a trusted friend go shoot another scene while you shoot this one or even use the second for behind the scenes work. But when you do need two cameras for any reason it's there and for me that's most of the time. If you only have one camera, well, that's what you're stuck with. And a second is always a back up. If one fails you're not screwed. Two good cameras is better the one great camera. IMHO.

[@barrettjolson]

Um Actually! bring anyone else here?

[@michaellee8815]

Am I the only one who seriously noticed zero difference?

[@eeronat]

You don't know what "economies of scale" means. Just say "economy" if you want to be be pretentious and not just say "savings" Sounds like you've taken Econ101 once and forgotten most of it.

[@Makta972]

not impress by this guy. The lighting is way too harsh and hot on the multicam setup.You can see the ugly highlights roll off. It doesn't fit that indoor scene

[@joshdiditt]

Saddam hussein and Woody Harrelson. Wow. Who would have thought, lol/