Making a Movie with 1 Camera: Is it possible?

[Craig]

The title really says it all, I only have one camcorder at the moment (miniDV). Will the actor need to stay dead still when I move the camera to get a different angle, or is there a "shortcut"? I really don't want it to be one angle throughout a whole scene, how boring lol. I have had one or two stabs at it hence the conclusion it looks boring.

It really is tricky, help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Craig

[darrigaz]

Course it is, It's awkward but possible. You just have to think about what you're going to film and plan your angles better.

[Clarence]

Yeah, it's possible, but you need to work out every shot and every angle ahead of time (storyboard). You could shoot two angles of the actor saying something, and mix them together in post, just using the sound from one of the shots.

[puje]

The actors doesn't have to stand "dead still". Just copy the moments made in the last few seconds and no none will notice...

[TroubledCobraStudios]

it really all comes down to editing...

[bloodymess]

yeah, I'm going to shoot a 1 camcorder movie in a few weeks, and I worked it all out on script, it'll be easier than some may think.

[TroubledCobraStudios]

well...ive never shot a movie with more than 1 camera and it really never seemed that hard.

[Nba185]

You can get seperate shots from different angles.

[Zac]

well...yeh, obviously. me and rhys both only have mini DVs but say if there is a conversation you just do the conversation and film it from one angle then do the whole thing (not always the WHOLE thing) again at another angle and yeh as clarence said just edit them in together how you like.
i mean youve prob never seen anything ive made but do you really expect me to have a 3min fight scene and every different angle is a camera on its own?

[Craig]

Yes, thanks, but what about the facial expressions and posistions? It could all be verry sudden.

[Zac]

well, if you have someone as the camera-man then when youve finnished filming one angle you get him to just move to the next desired position while the actors stay in the same place. but if its a scene where they are moving just try to make it as close as possible each time, or you could get some chalk and draw the steps on the ground to follow, but even if its not exactly the same movement you usually dont realise that much when watching it (unless of-course its a HUGE difference).
and as for expressions/emotions it really just depends on your actors.

actually, i need to know what sort of movie your planning on making, so i can help you properly

[Grant]

One camera is the essence of guerilla film making lol and what I do best

[ctbullet]

i think its all down to your actors, if they can do the same scene wiht the exact same expressions mulitple times then they're your actors, i can do it, its called 'skill' lol

not difficult really, its already been said, just take into account everyones ideas and post some work

[SgtPadrino]

Alright, I'm going to be honest with you. I read the thread title, then the first post, and nearly died laughing.

Set up one shot. Press record. When finished, press the record button again. Keep your dead actor from moving. Set up another shot. Press record. Repeat.

I've been doing this for almost ten years, and never once have we ever used over one camera. It really ain't that hard

[ALove]

Uh... I think that's what most of us do.

Maybe I'm wrong?

But anyways, a good way to make it seem like you had more than one cam is to do the entire scene more than once, moving the camera around for each time. Then you have the scene from 3+ different angles, makinging editing that much nicer.

[Epsilon]

Using more than one camera is a luxury AND requires more work in editing. Keeping track of multiple reels is often a pain in the rump without proper preparation.

[santi]

And when I just thought that I've seen everything...

If you are shooting some live event (for example some kind of show at school or theatrical play) whern there's no chance to repeat shots using more then one camera i strongly advised. But to shoot action movie one camcorder is enough. Using more requires a lot of practice, knowledge and organization skills. It could be helpfull in dialog scenes where two people just standing and talking. You know what: take pencil and piece od paper, watch some movie and try redraw some scence shot by shot. You'll get the point.

[Lee]

Obviously, when capturing a 'one-time only sequence', more that one camera is recommended, but it is not imperative that several cameras will be needed all the time. Remember this, even professional film crews sometimes prefer to shoot scenes from one angle and then shoot the the entire scene again from another, all using just one camera at a time. The benefits of this are down to simplicity and the advantage that you can sort out everything such as lighting for just the one camera at a time without worrying that the setup will require a great deal of preparation with two. I have two cameras but when shooting simple scenes involving dialogue and small-scale action sequences, I prefer to use only one camera for the reasons stated above. Just shoot each angle at least twice and then when you come to edit, you'll have a lot more footage to consider and then you can mix and match, depending on your preferences.

Good luck.

[Metronome]

I only use one camera. Just take double shots.

[Lawriejaffa]

This is the stupidist question ive seen yet on this forum...

OBVIOUSLY you can can make your movie with 1 camera... Its what most films and television programmes do in fact.

Craig... this is film 101 really, but for any scene you basically have your actors 'rehearse' (if you have actors) cos that an rehearsing would be a first for most here...

Then you shoot the scene from 1 angle, then shoot it from other angles, cos guess what... your actors if their rehearsed (and know where there marks are) will be able to do the same thing from each angle.

The after getting the whole scene from 1 - 2 or however many angles u want, you can come in and do some close up shots (any reaction shots necessary) or any special action shots, like guy getting shot or blown out a window say hehe.