ABSTRACT
Most dramas that are produced for television are shot motion-picture style using a single camera. This chapter focuses on multiple-camera television and the techniques used in directing programs such as daytime dramas, most sitcoms, classical music, operas, ballet, and theatrical productions shot as they are being performed. The format for shooting scripts in a production using the quad-split technique is different from that used for a line-cut production. Shooting scripts for quad-split productions indicate each camera's assignment. Multiple-camera scripted sitcoms are limited in the number of actual shooting hours they may use, because they often work before live audiences, which demand real-time performances. The director of scripted material must be very prepared, and the three things that can help him or her to do that are conventions, the ground plan, and the shooting script. The shooting script is the single most important element to making the shooting plan repeatable and reliable.
