Shooting in One Single Take: A Guide On How To Direct and Write Your Next Film

If you‘re reading this…

It‘s because you like the challenge, the adventure or you‘re crazy enough. Shooting a film in one take is not easy task, as your intention is to do it for festivals like Run N GUN or even worldwide like VIFF or TIFF , you need to know this things in order to achieve it and survive and not let your crew to kill you in the second rehearsal.

Probably you‘re thinking that many films that used this format: ONE SINGLE TAKE, they have hidden cuts or CGI magic to hide those transitions, but I will tell you how to pull it off without the post production magic and shoot as your mind intended.

• THE PURPOSE

Think about it, one take films are not made to show off the format, they are made because that way of filming has a reason to be. You think films like Boiling Point, Birdman just use this format to show off?

Sometimes the reason is because the story needs it too. The story that you want to tell is the right thing to this format, if you‘re using it because it‘s going to be an adventure for your filmmaking skills, then, DONT. Your story needs to feel part of this place, a second character might you say, those movies wouldn‘t work without that format.

• REHEARSE WILL BE YOUR SAVIOR

One of the things that will save you for going crazy and seeing unicorns is to REHEARSE, like a lot, before actual shooting. Your script needs to breath and you need to plan how every transition will be made in your mind. For my film, Unbrewed, we rehearse like 20 times since 7 am on the 48 hours competition and we only shoot 5 takes. The characters needs to have space to move between scenes, your story needs to make sense in order to have a rehearsal. It‘s like doing theater, every play needs rehearsal and how to move on stage, this is the same thing. Even if it‘s a one take film, you need to rehearse the camera movements, where you want to go, how to frame it, if you arrive on set, and say “Just shoot and follow them“ then, you‘re making a big mistake.

Rehearse will save you time… and money.

• FIND A GOOD CREW

For films like this, you will need to hire a good Cinematographer and camera operator. They will be the guys who carry the film. Also, your camera operator will need to do the entire thing from scratch, he needs to know where to move, how and rehearse like that until he understands what you want to see in the frame. The camera movement in one take films needs to feel natural, not artificial or without a place.

And… your focus puller, he will need a raise, insurance or even coffee to survive the madness. Focus Pullers in one shot films are the most important thing in any production of this format.

• PREPARE TO FAIL

It‘s not easy to pull of a one take film, so… you will fail a lot during rehearsals. Your crew will hate you, but in the end, be happy with the version you want to stay. And the best part? You don‘t need to hide the cuts, shoot it as it is, it‘s better for format and storytelling.