<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def _create_empty_array(self, frames, always_2d, dtype):
 """Create an empty array with appropriate shape."""

        import numpy as np
        if always_2d or self.channels > 1:
            shape = frames, self.channels
        else:
            shape = frames,
        return np.empty(shape, dtype, order='C')