Single Camera Work

Every now and again, a television network, production company, showrunner, or streaming platform sends us into the field with one camera to capture an entire unscripted scene. In these situations it’s imperative that the camera operator has a solid understanding of how a scene is edited together in post production. This involves intuitively directing the on-camera talent through the narrative process, being agile in capturing multiple angles without excessively breaking up the talent performances, and subsequently going back for cutaways so that the editor has plenty of footage to work with in order to complete the scene. A GoPro or two is quite helpful in these situations. Here is a sample of some single camera work by D.J. Dierker, that would have ideally been shot with a multi-cam crew but that has been effectively captured via “one man band.”

D.J. Dierker is a cinematographer and producer based in Denver, Colorado.

Pawn Stars Do America: Denver Gold Rush

D.J. Dierker, Camera Operator

Shot in Denver, Colorado, Summer of 2022

Last summer I had the opportunity to work as a camera operator on the History Channel’s, Pawn Stars Do America (a spinoff of the original Pawn Stars.) Check out this scene we shot in Denver, of a local woman pawning off her 1941 Plymouth Pickup Truck (of which 6,073 were built) to the series regulars and father and son duo, Rick and Corey Harrison. The seller and Rick were able to agree on a final selling price of $22,000 after the seller originally asked for $26K. Not too shabby.

D.J. Dierker shoots Pawn Stars Do America for History Cahnnel in Denver.