I was doing a bit to camera.

[Couch Tomato]

As we drove in the sunshine past the golden sands of Ipanema beach I was doing a bit to camera about how much I thought I was going to enjoy my time in Rio.
(An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington - Karl Pilkington)

Does the boldcaced part sound right to you? Why didn't he say I was doing a bit to the camera? It doesn't make sense to me to treat "camera" as an uncountable noun. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English tells me that "camera" is a countable noun.

What do you think?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Beryl from Northallerton]

It's a variation on the set phrase 'doing a piece to camera' which means standing (in this case sitting, I presume) in front of a camera, usually on location (ie. not inside a studio), whilst being filmed talking about something. Often that something is vaguely related to the what can be seen behind the person who's talking. As we have learnt, Karl Pilkington is fond of taking slight liberties with language for comic effect.

 

[entangledbank]

Both are possible. 'To camera' is an idiom, perhaps influenced by 'on film' or 'on air', perhaps by directions like 'to stage right'. I wouldn't say the lack of an article makes it non-count, any more than it does in other idioms such as 'in school' or 'by hand'.

 

[Couch Tomato]

Thank you, Beryl and entangledbank.

 

[pob14]

Is "doing a piece to camera" a British-only phrasing? I've never heard it.

 

[Beryl from Northallerton]

Is "doing a piece to camera" a British-only phrasing? I've never heard it.

It does sound a bit BrE, doesn't it? Let's see.

 

[PaulQ]

I'm happy with piece or bit.

 

[pob14]

I was actually intending to refer primarily to the "to camera" part.

 

[PaulQ]

Sorry! I found that unremarkable, so did not remark. - perhaps it is BE; it's very natural.