In the single camera set up there is only one camera and scenes are shot individually, usually in non-chronological order, therefore meaning that each scene is shot in convenience to the cast, crew and stages of plot available and pre organised. The usual set up of multi camera is when more than one camera is used to capture shots and multiple angles simultaneously. This is usually shot in chronological order therefore allowing there to be a very small amount of editing.

The most common situations that use only one camera are Drama’s, Situation Comedies, many areas of film and Television, documentaries and music videos.  The reasons behind only using one camera in these situations are because the film-maker/director can focus more on specific shots, angles and scenes that are appropriate to the relevant filming. When wanting to capture multiple shots simultaneously however in chronological order, you need multiple cameras. Situations for this set up are in nearly all live performances such as sport, game shows, news bulletins and some situation comedies.

                               Single Camera                                                                              Multi - Camera

The advantages of using only one camera are that you have far more space for production; it is far more flexible and practical for the cinematographer, meaning that it gives them time to alter, adapt or improve their shots. This also allows more control for the director which makes room for improvisation and a calmer more naturalistic approach.

The advantages of multiple cameras are that it captures the action from different angles at the same time, this is therefore more practical to the entire production and post-production process as it saves time and potentially money from less editing. This set up also enables there be a smaller risk of a mistake in continuity due to filming from beginning to end and using multiple angles that are filmed simultaneously.

The disadvantages of single camera however is that there is a much larger post production set up and this therefore adds to the costs of the entire project quite substantially. Another disadvantage is that there is more room for mistakes in continuity in so many areas such as, cast, backgrounds of shots, lighting and indispensable objects such as cigarettes etc.

The disadvantages to the multi camera set up are that there is far more equipment used such as the cameras, tripods and recording devices (tapes). More crew would therefore have to be involved. It is also possible to get other cameras in shot which does look slightly unprofessional.