[TheForge] multi-camera shoots

[tristerk at aol.com]

There are two ways of running a multicamera shoot, like a live studio 
tv show or like a movie.

A live studio tv show is edited in real time, by a crew of at least 
two, one to "Call the shots" the other to do the switching. You've 
probably seen this, the director "calls the shots", indicating which 
camera feed should be broadcast, saying "Take camera ONE . . . now" and 
the guy running the switcher (or whatever they call it) executes the 
command. The director also sets the shots, he talks via headphones to 
the camera operators, telling them to zoom in, take a 2 shot, etc. This 
has the great advantage of running in real time - when the event is 
over, all the editing is done. The flip side is that this requires a 
lot of expensive gear that takes up a lot of space and - it ain't easy 
to call a show in real time, even in a studio with cameras that barely 
move. It requires a highly skilled individual to get good results and 
it's hard work.

Most movies are shot, most of the time, with a single camera, but 
sometimes multiple cameras will be used to capture an elaborate effect 
or stunt, or anything that would be difficult to restage. This footage 
is then edited together in post-production. This takes a LONG time. 
Even if one was just trying to integrate a closeup cam (for the work) 
with a wide shot (for the speaker) with continuous audio,  I'll bet 
you're talking days of work to edit just one two hour demo. Modern 
digital editing on a computer makes this possible to do at home, it 
does not make it any easier or less time consuming.

So, I think one camera, with the operator doing his best to edit 
in-camera, is the best way to go for demo's given the large amount of 
material and limited budget.


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