Multicamera setup
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Pioneered by Desi Arnaz with three cameras, commonly now four, the multicamera setup is used to shoot most studio-produced television programs such as situation comedies, soap operas, news programs, game shows, and talk shows. Television dramas, however, are usually shot using a Single-camera setup, as are movies.
Generally, the two outer cameras shoot close shots or crosses of the two most active characters on the set at any given time, while the central camera or cameras shoot a wider master shot to capture the overall action and establish the geography of the room. In this way, multiple shots are obtained in a single take without having to start and stop the action. This is more efficient for programs that are to be shown a short time after being shot as it reduces the time spent of editing the footage. It is also a virtual necessity for regular, high-output shows like daily soap operas. Apart from saving editing time, scenes may be shot far more quickly as there is no need for re-lighting and the set-up of alternate camera angles for the scene to be shot again from the different angle. It also reduces the complexity of tracking continuity issues that crop up when the scene is reshot from the different angles. It is also vital for live television.
While shooting, the director and assistant director create a line cut by instructing the technical director to switch the feed to various cameras. The line cut may later be refined in editing, as the picture from all cameras is recorded, both separately and as a combined reference display called the quad split. The camera currently being recorded to the line cut is indicated by a tally light on the camera as a reference both for the actors and the camera operators. A recent addition to this technique, borrowed from sports broadcasting, is called the 'iso' recording, where each camera's signal is recorded independently on a separate VTR, in addition to feeding the switcher for the line cut.
Today many situation comedies are shot on film. Each camera films the entire action, and cuts between cameras made during the later editing process where the footage from each camera is cut together. In the 1980s several sitcoms had been recorded on the less expensive video and the footage had been switched during the taping process.