What does Single Cam Comedy mean?
Single Cam Comedy is a television comedy format filmed with a single camera — the same approach used in dramatic productions — as opposed to the multi-camera format used for traditional sitcoms. Single-camera comedies typically do not use a live studio audience or a laugh track, and are edited more like films — using varied camera angles, locations, and visual storytelling techniques that the stationary multi-camera format does not allow. The format has become the dominant approach for prestige comedy since the early 2000s, producing acclaimed series including The Office, Parks and Recreation, Arrested Development, and Modern Family.
Example:The child actor found the single-cam comedy environment very different from the multi-cam sitcom she had worked on previously — instead of performing scenes from beginning to end in front of an audience, scenes were shot in pieces from multiple angles, assembled in the edit to create the comedic rhythm.
Example: The casting director explained that the mockumentary format of the single-cam comedy required a specific performance style — naturalistic, understated, and camera-aware in a particular way — that was different from the more projected, timing-conscious approach that multi-cam comedy demanded.
Did you know?
The single-camera comedy format actually predates the multi-camera sitcom — early film comedies were single-camera productions, and the multi-camera format was essentially an invention of television in the 1950s, pioneered by I Love Lucy. The revival of single-camera comedy in the 2000s was partly a reaction against the perceived staginess and artificiality of the laugh-track sitcom, and partly enabled by advances in lightweight digital cameras that made location shooting and naturalistic coverage more practical and affordable.
You can also find “Single Cam Comedy” and related terms in this category: Filming and Production.
