Single camera set up questions

[Konstansis]

Hi all,

I hope someone could answer a question for me, i can't seem to figure out the answer.

I just read that most movies are filmed with a single camera set up. Does that mean then that every time we see a new angle on a scene it has been filmed again for that angle? so scenes can be filmed 4 or 5 times?

also, i saw a scene in pirates of the caribbean where 2 people are walking along a corridor talking. the scene alternates between front and behind views of the actors, but the dialogue is still in sync. if they filmed that scene twice, once from the back and once from the front, then the actors would have had to deliver the dialogue twice, meaning their speech would be slightly different the second time around i.e pitch, speed, emphasis etc, so how come the dialogue matches perfectly with their actions? How do directors do this?

Thanks for any help.

 

[PaulGriffith]

Single camera is the norm for most of the time.

Good actors and a script supervisor are the key for it all syncing up. A good actor gives the same performance every time, and a script supervisor watches for continuity between takes, angles ND scenes.

Keep in mind, when someone's mouth isn't visible in the shot, the audio can be from a different take. Also, good audio editors (with good actors) can lay audio from different takes and sync the lips.

Also, most bigger budget movies do ADR when needed, where acts come and re-record the dialogue in studio for better audio quality.

It's movie magic.

 

[Ernest Worthing]

Yes, lots of takes and angles are edited together. I think there is a lot of information in older threads.

I would use the search function and im sure you'll have all your questions answered and more

And welcome!

PS

In POTC, if they were filmed from front and back views and they used two cameras at the same time, wouldnt u see the other camera in the shot?
Anyway, directors dont do that, sound editors do.

 

[Nuk]

Great answers, i think you got your question answered. haha, takes a lot of dedication and hardwork from everyone to make movie magic

 

[Cracker Funk]

so scenes can be filmed 4 or 5 times?

That would be the low end. If you do 2 or 3 takes for each shot (and you can easily do more than that), and if a scene has 6 or 7 shots (a "shot" is what you previously refered to as an "angle"), then it's not at all unusual for the actors to perform the exact same dialog and action 15-20 times. And, depending on the scene and the production, that's still on the low end.

 

[directorik]

if they filmed that scene twice, once from the back and once from the front, then the actors would have had to deliver the dialogue twice, meaning their speech would be slightly different the second time around i.e pitch, speed, emphasis etc, so how come the dialogue matches perfectly with their actions? How do directors do this?

Acting looks easy.

Not only did they film that scene once from the front and once from
the back, they shot it from the side, they shot it in close up (each actor),
they did a medium shot, they did a full shot. and there were multiple
takes for each shot. and every time the actors had to deliver their lines
the same way - pitch, speed, emphasis etc. must be consistent.

This is called "coverage". A director will cover a scene from many different
angles so they have choices in the editing process.

 

[Konstansis]

Wow, very enlightening stuff, thanks a lot everyone. I had no idea it was so demanding. I always assumed there were several cameras per scene and maybe one or 2 takes were done, it just seemed sensible. Why film once from every angle and spend all day when you can cover every angle at the same time?
But then as people mentioned i never saw the camera in other shots, and i always assumed it was just out of view of the other camera and i cant believe i never put 2 and 2 together this way! I also forgot about the ADR possibilities. What does that stand for?

Thanks for explaining this for me, its a paradigm shift for me!

 

[chilipie]

I also forgot about the ADR possibilities. What does that stand for?

Depending on who you ask, either Automated Dialogue Replacement or Additional Dialogue Recording (also sometimes called "looping"). It involves recording dialogue after a scene has been film - usually because the dialogue recorded at the time was not clear or intelligible enough due to background/ambient noise, wind, traffic, rustling clothes and things like that. The whole crew should try and avoid issues like this as much as possible, but sometimes they are just unavoidable. ADR is also used to improve an actor's diction or emphasis, or even to rewrite lines completely if the actor's mouth isn't visible.

 

[Ernest Worthing]

Wow, very enlightening stuff, thanks a lot everyone. I had no idea it was so demanding. I always assumed there were several cameras per scene and maybe one or 2 takes were done, it just seemed sensible. Why film once from every angle and spend all day when you can cover every angle at the same time?
But then as people mentioned i never saw the camera in other shots, and i always assumed it was just out of view of the other camera and i cant believe i never put 2 and 2 together this way! I also forgot about the ADR possibilities. What does that stand for?

Thanks for explaining this for me, its a paradigm shift for me!

I did say that but just fyi sometimes the camera is just out of the others way. Multicam setups are used for some scenes and projects, its just not the usual thing to do on a movie. Another thing you'll find out as you learn more is lighting setups also make a single cam shoot simpler.

But remember, there are no hard and fast rules, just what is done for the majority of the time which is what we told you in the above comments.

Some examples of exceptions are:
When filming something like a house exploding, you generally use more cameras to get more angles. It is easier to capture it by several cameras at one time than have it blow up several times and capture it by one cam.
Sitcoms use multicamera setups.
The DP on the set of 24 had CTU lit in such a way that the camera and actors could move around freely without having to stop and readjust lighting.