The Multi-Cam Temptation
Everybody wants to look like they’re working on a Netflix doc now. Three cameras, every angle covered, a sea of memory cards—you know the drill. I’ve seen folks walk onto a set, drag out an A, B, and even C camera for a single talking head. Why? Because somewhere along the line, “professional” started meaning “shoot every possible angle at once.” I call it insurance shooting. At least, that’s the excuse.
But what does all this coverage buy you? In my experience, not much. You end up with stacks of boring side angles, hours of extra footage to sync, and a post house full of dread at the thought of wrangling it all. Hell, last year on a healthcare client project in West LA, we ran two cams because they “expected variety.” When it came time to edit, did anyone cut to the B-cam? Once in fifteen minutes. And that was just to punch in on a boring answer.
Multi-cam is usually about nerves. Clients imagine they might need every possible reaction. Producers are terrified of missing something. The best interviews I’ve cut were shot on a single camera, with a DP who moved with purpose instead of leaving everything to “fix it in post.”
The Power of Single-Cam
Nobody wants to hear this, but single-camera interviews always look better. When you’re forced to commit, you pay attention: to the framing, to the light, to the story coming out of your subject’s mouth. Take that Sag Harbor shoot we did—tight old loft, no room for a second camera, and guess what? It’s some of my favorite interview footage from the last five years. Intimate, cinematic, every decision deliberate.
You get depth, natural movement, energy. The DP has to stay engaged, not zone out and let the other cam do the work. You can slowly push in, re-compose, actually build shots instead of treating each camera as a coverage robot. And don’t even start about “cutting around mistakes”—good interviewers don’t let their subject ramble. If you need a cutaway, get it with b-roll or, God forbid, a reaction shot after the fact. But cutting to the wide, just to cover ums and ahs? It always feels cheap, and viewers notice even when clients don’t.
Editing: Quality Over Quantity
Now, let’s talk post. There isn’t an editor alive who likes syncing up three cams for a single-person interview. You think multi-cam buys options, but it usually just means three times the drive space, and a tripling of your decisions in post. I’ve been on edits where the director begged for “more options” from the wide. Editors reluctantly obliged, but every time, the client picked the composed, intentional shot—the single-cam angle.
There’s this fiction that multi-cam saves time. That’s rarely how it plays out, not unless you have a stacked team of assistant editors prepping every project. On a 5-figure schedule, maybe. But for most of us, it’s just more data, more stress, and way more stuff to color match. Give me one great shot, a little punch-in for variety, and let me focus on rhythm and pacing instead of second-guessing every switch. The project ends up feeling cohesive, not stitched together from a director’s FOMO.
I’m not saying you never break out the B-cam. For panel interviews? Sure. Live events when you can’t get a second pass? Makes sense. But don’t bring out two cameras for a basic sit-down just because you’re scared to make choices.
When One Camera Isn’t Enough (But Usually Is)
There are cases where multiple cameras genuinely help. I’ve shot product demos, cooking spots, roundtables—you need to see hands and faces, maybe a wide of the setting. Totally valid. But these aren’t interviews. They’re choreographed for a reason, blocking and staging thought through in advance.
The single-camera sit-down is a specific beast. The more gear you throw at it, the less personal it feels. Get in the room with your subject, set the frame, build trust. Just last quarter, I worked a founder doc for a fintech client, shot everything on a single C300, and afterwards the client said, “It doesn’t look like every other tech video on the internet.” That’s no accident—it’s the product of not hiding behind coverage, but being present in the room.
So drop the second camera next time. Make a choice. Your footage—and your crew—will thank you.