There are two main camera set ups that are used within film and tv. These two set ups are 'Single-Camera' and 'Multi-Camera', and both of these can be used for sitcoms.
Single-Camera
Quite a lot of shows these days use the "single-camera" set up like Modern Family, Outnumbered, Gavin & Stacy and so on.
"While the "single-camera" label is a misnomer - such shows often use more than one single camera - the key element is that the show is shot much more like a film, without a live audience."
The process of this type of shot is often the same as the film process, but instead of filming one movie, they often shoot more than one episode throughout a period of months. The humour can often differ depending on the set up, as "single-camera" set ups don't rely on a live audience for laughs and reactions on camera.
"Single-camera" scripts are typically 22 to 32 pages long, sometimes they can even by 35 pages long. Due to sitcoms consisting of a roughly 30 minute episode, it means that the format of the pages need to be the page-to-minute ratio. This is to keep the episode and the correct length and not go over or under. this is something we need to make sure we are consistently doing throughout our script drafts so we don't go over our desired duration.
Depending on the channel sitcoms are broadcast on, writer need to be aware of commercial breaks, and they need to make clear marks, within the script, as to where a commercial break will be. This is something we don't need to worry about, due to our show being broadcast, hypothetically, on BBC One. This broadcasting channel doesn't show any adverts during a show, so we don't need to make clear marks in our script for ad breaks.
Multi-Camera
This set up is more of a traditional approach to television comedies, with well-known shows such as Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Big Band Theory, and many more.
"Multi-camera sitcoms are basically everything filmed in front of a live studio audience."
The comedy in a multi-cam live audience sitcom is a lot different due to the live audience's reaction element. A single-camera set up is more equipped for feature film styles, and multi-camera set up is more similar to live theatre. Traditionally, multi-camera scripts have a more technical format and instead of being a 22-32 page script, it tends to be 52-58 pages long.
Our script is formatted in a single-camera format, and we are shooting on location without a live audience, BUT we are still using a multi-cam set up during our shooting days. We want to be able to shoot more than one angle of a scene at once, in order to spend our shoot time more effectively and get the most natural performances from our actors as possible.
One significant factor I want within actors performance is I want them to be as natural as possible. By having only a few takes of one scene, with more than one camera shooting, it means the actors won't get as bored during a scene, and won't lose their flow. This means they will be more natural in their acting of the characters and it will make for a more relatable performance.
We are all really happy with the decision to using a multi-camera set up, while formatting our script and show as a single-camera sitcom. The advantages of this, is it will make our shoot time more effective, we'll get more shot and done during a short duration, and the actors won't lose their natural focus. I also think it's a good idea, once we've completely finished a scene, to get the actors to do another take just for fun. This will give the actors more freedom and it will hopefully seem really natural from an acting point of view.https://screencraft.org/2016/06/21/differences-single-camera-multi-camera-tv-pilot-scripts/
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