Single Camera Analysis

Caleb Smith
Single Camera techniques in specific genres

Crime Drama (Luther)

Crime dramas are often more dark and focus more on the actual characters and their
emotions.
This is why they include a lot more close ups and extreme close ups in their
cinematography in order to properly portray the characters emotions to the audience
and further the depth of the storyline.
The lighting is almost always low key, very dark and a lot of the show is likely to take
place during night time rather than day time in order to maintain the darker lighting.
A Lot of the time, especially with tense scenes they use close ups on props such as
weapons in order to create tension, and use non-diegetic sound in order to build the
intensity of the scene in the mind of the audience.
Similar technical elements are also used for car chases and other scenes, with non
diegetic sounds such as music often accompanied by the diegetic sound effects such
as the car engine and traffic or gun shots etc.
Luther is a realist show because it follows realism and is based on lifelike events and
storylines that have been dramatised for the audiences viewing, but are still believable.
The narrative is almost exclusively circular because it often opens up with a flashback
to set the scene of the episode before filling in the blanks with the missing pieces
throughout the rest of the episode, and finally coming full circle.

Sitcom (How I Met Your Mother)

Sitcoms are situation comedies so they are overly dramatised versions of situations
that occur in real life, with a laughable comedic spin applied.
How I Met Your Mother is a good example of this, because although it follows a
structure that is similar to real life (A group of friends that do most things together in
their mid twenties) - it is also exaggerated and embellished for viewing purposes.
This is evident in the fact that they drink every night or seem to be able to do a lot more
things in a shorter space of time than what should be realistically expected of them.
There is a low of natural lighting used however it is often high key lighting to make the
actors and characters look better, and to put more focus on them.
As well as this, High key lighting emits a more positive and relaxed vibe on the audience,
loosening them up and allowing for a lighter atmosphere as compared to Crime dramas.
The Mise En Scene used in a sit com of this nature is very modern,because it is set in
the present and is supposed to look as believable as possible.
How I Met Your Mother specifically follows conventions that it set for itself, such as
particular characters having a dress code that they often follow and looking very similar
in each episode, but you can visibly see the characters evolve and age throughout the
series, adding to the realism of it.
There is a lot of shot reverse shot in a sitcom because it is largely based around
dialogue and conversations between characters, but also wide angles are used a lot
because Sitcoms rarely have a focus on one main character, it is often an ensemble
cast that each have their merit to the audience.
In terms of sound, Diegetic sound is used a lot because the majority of the show takes
place either in a bar or on the streets of manhattan; so you can usually hear traffic and a
busy street of people talking and doing everyday things.
Whilst in the bar, the scenes are being shot in a studio and are multi cam rather than
single cam, however when they are on the streets or anywhere else it is almost always
shot with single camera techniques.

Sitcoms often use non-diegetic sounds in order to accompany the mood set by events
in the storyline, such as a musical soundtrack that fits the emotional component of the
drama; A sad song for a sad moment and an uplifting song for an emotional
breakthrough for example.
The structure of the show is chronological, however it is entirely a flashback because it
is based on the main characters elder self telling a story to his children.
It is a heavy realist despite being embellished to make for better viewing, because the
situations depicted are everyday events, with exaggerated dramas added in to make it
more interesting; but the audience can easily relate.

Period Drama (Blackadder)

Period dramas are situational shows that are based around a period of time, usually a
time period that coincides with a significant cultural event.
This fits Blackadder especially because throughout its several seasons it moves
between significant cultural events; from the British middle ages all the way to World
War One.
Blackadder has an element of realism but in general it is anti realist because it portrays
a comedic spin on real life events but in a way that is parodying the real events with
comedy, to highlight the ridiculousness at times.
There is a lot of shot reverse shot due to a high volume of character to character
dialogue and conversation, but there are also uses of wide angles and both high and low
angles, allowing for a range of techniques to deliver the finished product.
The lighting for this series is almost exclusively natural and high key, to keep it relatively
bright but allow for the solemn vibe to remain in the background.
This is necessary because although a comedic drama it is heavily based on
black-comedy; rather than uplifting comedy, it is making a mockery and parody of
events that are actually quite dark and sad.
The Narrative structure of it is mainstream and chronologically correct, however
throughout the series there isnt always much continuity between episodes.
It is almost entirely diegetic sound as there isnt any music involved in the show, just
sound effects and natural sounds such as bombs being dropped in Blackadder goes
forth for example.
The Mise En Scene in Blackadder is a huge focus, because it focuses on specific time
periods.
This means that the actors costume always reflects the time period and props also
follow the same code, such as bayonets being used instead of a modern assault rifle for
example.
The enviroment is also important for a show of this nature, and it follows the same path
as the costume and props by mirroring the time period, such as the setting and location
of the show. I.E. Realistic looking trenches in Blackadder goes forth.