another probable discussed question

More than one?! It really depends on whether you're someone who likes multi cam setups. If you do, you're more likely to get your production in the can quicker but I personally am not a great fan, partly because I love the cutting room process. It's not a nessicity it's merely an aesthetic. Single camera setups are great.

Oh, and ps. never trust conversations with salemen.

thanks much

People like Scorsese use more than one camera in a lot of scenes, simply because he works so much with improv. When he gets that "perfect take", he already has multiple angles to cut between.

I say if you can get multiple cameras, then it might be beneficial to use them all. But if you only have one, and can only get one, then only use one and use it as best you can.

The multi cam set up works well for a certain type of movie, a dialogue heavy movie. It can work for others but it's not a sure thing.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that it isn't a must or a need, but it might be nice.

For a good look at what a multi cam set up can do for a DV movie, check out Melvin Goes to Dinner

Poke

pokewowplayer1 said:

The multi cam set up works well for a certain type of movie, a dialogue heavy movie.

Click to expand...

Right. Dialogue, and stunts. Expensive stunt set-ups have up to 6 cameras rolling.

Remember, you will have only one DP. That's the person you want behind the camera, so most of the time you will be using one camera.

In Tradtional Movie Land, a good cinematographer can make a classic with several shots from a still camera. But in the Land Of The Low Budget, the inspiration of the moment is hard to come by and harder to capture. The Great Advantage of digital is that it's cheap to shoot so _shoot lots of footage_. One way that works particularly well is to equip a dv camera array (more than one) with RF video links to a central switch. Each camera has its own tape, and the timecode goes with the radio link. The output from the switch is recorded onto an edit master which serves as the reference for post. When that Magic Moment happens, it is recorded from the several different angles represented by the array and the editor knows exactly where to get the drama from the timecode reference. Then the camera tapes are conformed and the best shot selected from the available cameras. Do it in PAL and you can go straight to film, frame-for-frame. Transfer to film negative and di color correction from your film negative in telecine.

Personally, I do a lot of interviews and live setups where you just can’t do multiple takes. I usually use a 2 camera setup, but I prefer a 3 camera setup. I’ll have one be the master, and one on close-ups for both subjects. It takes more syncronization and color correction in post, but I get most things in one take. If I only have the two cameras, I’ll setup one as a CU on the interviewee, and the other as a WS. Then, after the interview, I’ll setup the B camera as a CU on the interviewer, and leave the A camera as a WS and just have him/her ask all the questions at once. In dramatic setups, I still prefer at least 2 cameras, but I grew up using only one.