Camera setup: Single camera or multi-camera?

[eagle]

Hi, all.

When I'm watching a TV show, I like to try to figure out if the show was shot in single-camera format or multi-camera format. I can't really tell with Magnum, p.i., but if I had to guess based on the way episodes play out, I'd guess that it was shot with multiple cameras. Anyone have any idea?

Sometimes wikipedia will list that information (e.g., see the wikipedia entry for ER), but that info is not listed for Magnum.

Anybody know for sure?

[thechickinthemiddle]

Hm, best way for me to explain is the difference between the first season of The Odd Couple and the rest of the series. The first followed the characters' movements with closer shots and had a laugh track, while the other seasons had a three-camera setup with a live audience. Modern Family is an example of single camera, while Big Bang Theory is three-camera. With drama, of course, it's a bit different, but it's best to call Magnum a single-camera show.

Hope this helps!

Edit: Sitcom Magnum tho . I think the majority of Magnum and Higgins' best moments together could qualify.

[Pahonu]

When Magnum pi was made, three-camera filming was usually reserved for sitcoms, and was usually videotape not actual film. Videotape couldn't capture subtleties of color and contrast without strong, consistent light, therefore it was reserved for studio filming, i'e' "videotaped before a live studio audience" where the lighting could be totally controlled. Film, which had much finer resolution, but was also much more expensive, thus one camera, was used for most other dramas and was particularly needed for action scenes or those in lower light. An unusual example of a sitcom from that era that used film was Cheers. The bar would have to have been much more brightly lit if videotape was used. Digital filming today renders all this moot.

Magnum used Panaflex film cameras, which were ubiquitous at the time, and only one at a time. There are some behind-the-scenes shots floating around the site that show this. I remember one particularly, filmed in the tidal pool using a ladder. Anyone remember that one?

[ConchRepublican]

I am totally ignorant about filming techniques and styles, thanks all for the info!

[eagle]

Wow, great info - thanks!

Pahonu, if you find those behind-the-scenes pics, I'd love to see them!

And, I totally buy the 1-camera explanation. It's easier to see with ER than Magnum (multiple shots in a single scene that are about 180º apart from one another are a dead giveaway), but on further consideration I have no reason to suspect multiple cameras for MPI.

[thechickinthemiddle]

I should add, back in pre-digital days, this would vary by country. A lot of UK shows (comedy or otherwise) would use film for outdoor sequences while using videotape for indoor scenes, which were the bulk of the show. Japan's Super Sentai franchise was entirely film like Magnum until digital's introduction. When the Sentai series Kyoryru Sentai Zyuranger was adapted and edited into Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, the obviously-videotape American footage stood out like a sore thumb against the Japanese filmed footage.

[Pahonu]

Here's a page from Rick Romer's blog that shows a Panaflex camera http://magnumdecorator.blogspot.com/200 ... xt-to.html Third one down.

This shows the scene in the tidal pool with the ladder I mentioned. http://magnum-mania.com/Pics/Behind_the_Scenes.html

It also has a photo of them shooting with two cameras next to one another, which I find highly unusual, as they would be essentially the same shot. I've never seen that before.

I worked in the "Industry" as they call it here in SoCal, during the early to mid 90's, which was not long after the show ended. I was involved in location production and am pretty familiar with the process and technology from that period. The process of location filming today is basically the same. The technology, though, is totally different. There are lots of things to take note of in the top few photos in regards to filming. You can see the lights and shiny boards used by the lighting crew, the boom mike and recording deck of the sound crew, and the tracks for the dolly of the camera crew. I would also have some pretty good guesses as to what various people's titles are based on what they are doing in the photos.

[Pahonu]

I am totally ignorant about filming techniques and styles, thanks all for the info!

...and glad you enjoyed.