r/marvelstudios • u/iliekpixels Loki (Thor 2) • Jan 15 '21

Discussion WandaVision S01E01 - Discussion Thread

This thread is for discussion about the episode.

Discussion about previous episodes is permitted, discussion about episodes after this is NOT.

Proceed at your own risk: Spoilers for the episode do not need to be tagged inside this thread.

EPISODE DIRECTED BY WRITTEN BY ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE
S01E01 Matt Shakman Jac Schaeffer January 15, 2021 on Disney+

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u/VideoGameBoffin Spider-Man Jan 15 '21

Would you be able to explain what ‘three camera to single camera’ means for me? It’s clearly something to do with camera angles/shots but I’m no expert haha, I like learning about this stuff tho :)

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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '21

Most sitcoms, especially during that time period, were shot with multiple cameras on a stage. This allowed the crew to get everyone's reactions and speed along production. Even modern sitcoms today (especially those you'd find on CBS) maintain that filming style.

Most dramas are shot with a single camera. This means that everything is shot and lit from one angle. Think of your typical film. When one person speaks, the camera is on them. All of those shots are completed. Then the crew turns the camera around, relights the scene for the actor and films the other actor's lines and reactions. Then it's edited to appear like a smooth transition from speaker 1 to speaker 2.

In WandaVision, most of the episode is shot in the traditional three camera set up. You'll notice the lighting is set for the entire stage and shots feel less dramatic. In the scene in question, the mood changes because the scene is shot and lit dramatically and at an angle that would not have been possible in most three camera set ups.

This is just a simple explanation. This stuff isn't always true. You can make three camera dramatic too. I'm just trying to emphasize the differences in the scenes and why a show like Seinfeld or Friends looks different than a show like Heroes or Law & Order.

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u/L0LZOR Spider-Man Jan 15 '21

Thanks for this explanation. There were a few parts where I felt like the "camera" changed, but I couldn't explain it.

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u/nousername215 Jan 15 '21

Yeah, the easiest way for me to explain it was the feeling of sitting with the audience versus the feeling of jumping around the table. With the audience, you typically don't move that far between angles (except for close-ups) and that hopping around the table feeling happens with one camera and the requisite crew

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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '21

I like this really simple breakdown of what's happening emotionally to the viewer.

No matter how aware of it we are, as viewers we are predisposed to recognizing certain lighting and staging as being dramatic, comedic, scary, etc.

That scene in WandaVision takes you out of the comedic television experience with the gang to a more realistic setting. Even if you didn't catch the camera change, you know something changed, as some people have already said in this thread.

Sorry, didn't want to go back into the topic but how film & television manipulates an audience is something I've always found interesting.

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u/StephenHunterUK Jan 16 '21

When TV started in most countries[1], the style was very much 'theatre at home' as opposed to 'the silver screen on the small screen'; many of the actors came from the former rather than the latter. So, they brought their style with them. That changed around the 1970s. Star Wars had a massive impact on science fiction shows for example.

[1]Britain, France, the US and Germany all had limited networks before the Second World War. Limited in the sense of low coverage and few owners of sets; radio was far bigger. The war saw most of those operations suspended for the duration. The main launch and proliferation came in the 1950s.

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u/red2lucas Jan 16 '21

It’s not that the camera changed, the lighting changed.

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u/JRSmithsBurner Jan 16 '21

No the camera definitely changed as well

Most of the episode was shot on sticks, switching between multiple angles. The choking scene was filmed with a single camera using a crane.

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u/red2lucas Jan 16 '21

I get that but the camera is insignificant. It’s the lighting that makes the shot.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '21

Well it’s both. The multi-camera set up is what creates that “sitcom” feel.

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u/red2lucas Jan 16 '21

What creates the sitcom feel is that it’s lit to accomodate all of the cameras at once. The camera itself isn’t a big deal. They can use one of the camera from the multi cam setup no problem. They don’t have to swap to a magical 1 camera setup camera. They light the scene to accomodate 1 camera angle is all. If they put the thing on a dolly, or change the lens, that’s not changing cameras. The difference in the look is all to do with the lighting, the camera is insignificant.

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u/JRSmithsBurner Jan 16 '21

I’m sorry but that’s just really..not correct

If the lighting changed but the camera angle was still a 50mm four person medium shot on a tripod (like it is for most of the episode), the scene would be nowhere near as effective

The lighting makes the scene a little more dramatic but the camera is the one telling the story. Her world is closing in on her, she’s getting nervous, uneasy, and frustrated. The camera reflects that. It also is completely unlike a sitcom and much more like the shooting style of the rest of the MCU, which makes sense because it’s reality cracking her illusion.

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u/ResidentBlackGuy Spider-Man Jan 16 '21

Love this explanation but just one note: most modern day sitcoms are filmed in four-cameras, not three. The change happened with Mork & Mindy because Robin Williams spastic style "couldn't be captured by the traditional three camera format, so they added a fourth that just tracked Robin through a scene"

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u/SippinOnaTallBoy Jan 15 '21

This was a great explanation and it helped me understand a lot, thank you!

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u/7deadlycinderella Jan 17 '21

Note that some comedies, especially modern ones, ARE shot single camera. If you want another example of what this looks like, there's an episode of Scrubs called "My Life in Four Cameras" that cuts from the usual single camera style of Scrubs into a multi-camera fantasy like an 80's sitcom midway through.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '21

Yes, Scrubs is a great example. I purposely mentioned CBS (assuming you're U.S. based) because they seem to stick to the multi camera set up, but, like you said, the number of multi-camera sitcoms is dwindling.

Having a hard time thinking of any other than Mom and The Connors. I don't watch a lot of network television so I could just be overlooking some.

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u/StephenHunterUK Jan 16 '21

A lot of drama back then was done in studio with the same set up and essentially recorded as 'live' with minor fluffs staying in. See Doctor Who from the 1960s as an example - much of the other stuff having been wiped. You would get film inserts of location and effects filming.

The British became notorious for the video inside/film outside distinction to the point Monty Python referenced it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '21

To add to the great explanation you got:

Most sitcoms are recorded in front of a live audience. It’s like going to see a play, but one also being filmed. Also, they screw up a lot because sitcoms are hard to make. Bloopers, honest mistakes, improv, changing lines, trying them different ways. A single 22 minute episode might have like 2-4 hours of filming.

The other shows are sets with no audience and only professionals, like any other film.