2 Camera shoots: How many do you do?

F

firehawk

Veteran
Curious how many of you do 2 camera shoots these days. Over a decade ago I did a lot of interviews, corporate etc with 2 cams but not so much now.
I prefer the look of cutting 2 angles but budgets often don't justify it.

Even many events just don't justify multiple cameras anymore. I'm doing more 4K crop zoom to HD.
How about you?
 
Most of the shoots I do are 2 camera these days. Of course I'm a "1 man video company' so
that may differ from many people on here.

I typically always do 2 camera interviews. Even when I'm shooting cover, I often have one camera shooting
a timelapse, while I run around shooting B-Roll. Events, pretty much always have 2 cameras.
I don't do much 'shoot for someone else and hand over cards/hard drives at the end of the day' though,
I do mostly end to end work, so I just build it into my price for the finished product.
 
I am amazed at how many two camera shoots I do where the second camera angle is never touched by the clients. They usually tell us, "Deadline was looming and we didn't have time to go back and insert the second angle shots". I recently completed a corporate edit that I shot myself with two cameras and the client kept requesting so many changes, adding pieces to the mix while not giving us more edit time that the second angle for the interviews, I never touched. I shot the second angle with our Rhino EVO and it looks great. But basically, the client wasn't going to pay more edit time for me to go back and insert second angle so I figured, why bother? This is not a super cool, beautifully shot showpiece, it was actually underbudgeted and while we shot good footage, it's not something I would put on my reel as the interviews subjects are boring.

Also, from a DP POV, to me, multi angle interviews are super "TV" looking, they don't look and feel cinematic, they generally look and feel as if the subject presented is waving their hands and shouting, "Look at me, multiple angles, late 90's television aesthetic". I guess, in a way, multiple angles, the way they are often used and photographed feel like much ado about nothing. It feels as if audiences and directors would rather have a single, beautifully shot and lit frame, than a bunch of editing around multiple angles just to jazz it up. I asked the producer and director for a recent documentary I am still shooting this year if they wanted multiple angles or second camera on slider and they both replied, "No, that looks like cheesy television, it doesn't look cinematic". Same with framing, the CU or ECU interview shot at 85mm from 10 feet a F1.8 or 2.8 with the background completely soft seems "out" as well. Most of my recent stuff, I have been shooting with the 17-55 2.8 IS set at about 35-40mm it seems. More environmental than just a head shot. Just seeing talking heads with shallow DOF is beginning to seem dated, it's like we are wanting to see talking heads in interesting settings again.
 
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puredrifting said:
I am amazed at how many two camera shoots I do where the second camera angle is never touched by the clients. They usually tell us, "Deadline was looming and we didn't have time to go back and insert the second angle shots". I recently completed a corporate edit that I shot myself with two cameras and the client kept requesting so many changes, adding pieces to the mix while not giving us more edit time that the second angle for the interviews, I never touched. I shot the second angle with our Rhino EVO and it looks great. But basically, the client wasn't going to pay more edit time for me to go back and insert second angle so I figured, why bother? This is not a super cool, beautifully shot showpiece, it was actually underbudgeted and while we shot good footage, it's not something I would put on my reel as the interviews subjects are boring.

Also, from a DP POV, to me, multi angle interviews are super "TV" looking, they don't look and feel cinematic, they generally look and feel as if the subject presented is waving their hands and shouting, "Look at me, multiple angles, late 90's television aesthetic". I guess, in a way, multiple angles, the way they are often used and photographed feel like much ado about nothing. It feels as if audiences and directors would rather have a single, beautifull shot and lit frame, than a bunch of editing around multiple angles just to jazz it up. I asked the producer and director for a recent documentary I am still shooting this year if they wanted multiple angles or second camera on slider and they both replied, "No, that looks like cheesy television, it doesn't look cinematic". Same with framing, the CU or ECU interview shot at 85mm from 10 feet a F1.8 or 2.8 with the background completely soft seems "out" as well. Most of my recent stuff, I have been shooting with the 17-55 2.8 IS set at about 35-40mm it seems. More environmental than just a head shot. Jut seeing talking heads with shallow DOF is beginning to seem dated, it's like we are wanting to see talking heads in interesting settings again.
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I would love to see your showreel that you mention if you don't mind linking. I'm always fascinated by your replies and curious to see your work. Would that be possible? I understand if not.
Best wishes. Patrick.
 
I've only seen it on here. But has anyone used the Titan add on to the Q7... the demo I saw was they framed 2 people on the right and one on the left and then the program puts it out as three sorta different angles.
 
Most of the sitdown stuff I shoot is with 3 cameras. But it really depends. Many times I have a camera shooting straight on from the interviewers spot, a second from my preferred angle, and the third on either a parallax pocket dolly, or a Dana Dolly if I was using a larger camera like the Alexa or F65. While I enjoy the ability to reframe shots using 4K, I absolutely hate the look of single position cuts between wide and zoomed 4K which looks like a bad jump cut.
 
I have to agree with the jump-cut feel of zooming in in post.

To get away with it I would want a different shot in between...unless we were specifically going for that as an effect.

I personally like to have two angles on interviews just because it's easier to cut if you need to cut but don't want to show a non-interview shot. But I'll usually try to shoot a wide and center (a la Cohen brothers), then I shoot a 3-quarters or slightly off to the side so that it still works with the light and is not compromised.
 
As an editor, I love that second camera. Being able to use the tighter angle to emphasize a point, or going with the wider composition as we're exiting a thought... all of it is so, so useful. Muchos gracias to you guys who provide that second camera. Editors love you. :)
 
A best of both worlds could be to shoot your wide as Puredrifting described it - the general trend shifting toward wider shots with people in an interesting environment, but still having a tighter (not necessarily ecu) 2nd cam.

From an editing standpoint, it's when you do really need it that it becomes very regretful to be stuck with the one angle.
 
Zak Forsman said:
As an editor, I love that second camera. Being able to use the tighter angle to emphasize a point, or going with the wider composition as we're exiting a thought... all of it is so, so useful. Muchos gracias to you guys who provide that second camera. Editors love you. :)
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Ayup.
 
I edit as well and I guess it comes down to how much material, how many repeated questions you have in a batch of interviews. For the music documentary I am shooting, we will end up with 25-30 interviews so not a problem finding something to cut to but if you are doing a small scale piece with only a few interviews, yes, having that second camera angle can be a lifesaver. I'm just not getting requests to shoot two cameras much anymore.
 
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puredrifting said:
I am amazed at how many two camera shoots I do where the second camera angle is never touched by the clients.
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I love it when we have to compromise the shoot to accommodate a THIRD angle(usually subject, reporter reversal, wide dolly two-shot) and then they only use two of them...
 
David W. Jones said:
Most of the sitdown stuff I shoot is with 3 cameras. But it really depends. Many times I have a camera shooting straight on from the interviewers spot, a second from my preferred angle, and the third on either a parallax pocket dolly, or a Dana Dolly if I was using a larger camera like the Alexa or F65. While I enjoy the ability to reframe shots using 4K, I absolutely hate the look of single position cuts between wide and zoomed 4K which looks like a bad jump cut.
Click to expand...

Yep. The problem with SO many of the 'two different shots on the subject', is that the shots aren't different ENOUGH even when they use two separate cameras and it feels like a bad jump cut.
 
GaryinCalifornia said:
I've only seen it on here. But has anyone used the Titan add on to the Q7... the demo I saw was they framed 2 people on the right and one on the left and then the program puts it out as three sorta different angles.
Click to expand...

Well having that feature is better that nothing I guess but I prefer to do that in the NLE, More fine control. I guess for live streaming or very fast turnaround it could have its uses.

Oh, and on the two camera shooting, I always carry tow cameras even when run and gunning. My little a6300 complements my FS5 nicely and fits in my camera vest pocket.
 
good thread.

thanks for the sharing.

for me, i'm in the 2-camera/2-different angles camp.

the above works for me when i have 3-6 interviewees since not everyone speaks to all the subjects the other interviewees may/may not have covered.

i will bring up that the second angle does need to be different but not too different.

it is not effective if the second camera is a profile while the first is 5-10 degrees left or right from dead-on.

i also try to use a longer lens on the second camera-i like the compression.

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions
 
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firehawk said:
Curious how many of you do 2 camera shoots these days. Over a decade ago I did a lot of interviews, corporate etc with 2 cams but not so much now.
I prefer the look of cutting 2 angles but budgets often don't justify it.

Even many events just don't justify multiple cameras anymore. I'm doing more 4K crop zoom to HD.
How about you?
Click to expand...
I love multi camera recordings, it gives so much more flexibility in post to make an interesting program.
 
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