Single Camera Vs. Multi-Camera Sitcoms – A Salon Review

Salon has an awesome article that explores the difference between a multi-cam sitcom and a single cam sitcom. It’s something I’ve never consciously pondered before, but it is a very noticeable point once you think about it. Take shows like the Big Bang Theory and Whitney and compare it to Arrested Development and 30 Rock, and you’ll instantaneously see the difference in filming and writing style. Shows like 30 Rock and Arrested Development immerse you into the characters and you become part of the story. Whereas in a multi-cam show like the Big Bang Theory, you’re a member of the studio audience, and you aware that you’re part of a performance.

While I do respect the delineation that the author of the Salon article poses, I depart from the elitist nature of the article. I appreciate the new style of filmed on location TV, but I also enjoy some of the traditional sitcoms. For the record, I do watch quite a bit of TV and am fond of both styles of shows. I’m not sure why, but I have been enjoying Whitney although I recognize it to be one of my guilty pleasures. How I Met Your Mother on the other hand, I’ve been enjoying immensely and feel no shame in saying so. While I feel the writing for the Big Bang Theory is applaudable, it’s not something I’ve ever enjoyed.

If you’re accustomed to single-camera comedy, watching a multi-camera show is a startling change. Most films and shows eliminate all signs of performance, thereby boosting realism, by inserting multiple distancing layers (editing, music, specific camera lenses, etc.) between the viewer and the actor. Consider this scene from ”30 Rock”:

In comparison, the actors on multi-camera shows barrel forward with fascinating vulnerability. Each actor has jokey jokes to pound out and laughs to wait for. An actor’s reliance on his partner’s performance in a scene is perhaps nowhere as clear as on a multi-cam show. All this without the helpful and flattering gauze of expensive cameras and location shooting. This might make the multiple-camera sitcom the perfect place for comic writers and actors to prove their ability, and simultaneously, since it is so exposing, the riskiest place for the untalented. You can’t hide in a multi-camera show, and unfortunately, most of these show are less than stellar.

Via: Salon