Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Nailing the one take

As the father of a 15 year-old boy, listening to the discussion around Adolescence has been quite rightly, unavoidable. It’s a complex issue and deserves the attention it’s receiving. In addition to the social commentary it offers, a lot has been made of the one-take technique.

Film directors often use this type of shot to heighten immersion and tension, drawing viewers into the story by creating a sense of real-time continuity. This technique eliminates cuts, making the audience feel like an active participant in the unfolding events. It also showcases technical mastery, with complex choreography of actors and cameras. 

If you’ve seen the footage of how the one-take on Adolescence was achieved, you’ll have a sense of why it was such a joyful challenge to produce the recently released music promo “Boy In Love” by artist Elliot James Raey. Directed by the talented James Slater, it uses the same method.

In music promo production there aren’t the huge budgets found in feature films available, so my advice is: preparation is key. Rehearse the s*** out of your shot and rehearse it some more! Time is very much money and the better prepared you can be in advance means less likelihood of failure (and overtime).

For “Boy In Love” this meant a pre-vis video by James to show the clients his vision and how it would work on location. After scouting the right place, he mapped out each of Elliot’s moves by steadicam, where props and extras would all land, all timed precisely. Each time recording it and updating the pre-vis with progress and sharing with client and crew alike. Elliot spent a good amount of time with Ethan Jacobs rehearsing behind closed doors to be as prepared as possible. Then comes a street rehearsal to get him as ready as possible. Any time there’s a mistake in a one shot you need to go back to the top, reset EVERYTHING and start shooting again. So my advice, start with a small section of action and add more to each time you run through the rehearsal until you’ve built up to the entire shot.

On the day of the shoot last rehearsals take place on location running through the action in close detail with steadicam, crew, extras, props, traffic and the general public in the mix. 

Side bar - we shot in a public place - in an ideal world and budget permitting you would do this in a closed environment. Fortunately for us the public behaved themselves on this occasion. Not always a given especially in Manchester. 

The result was several usable one takes to choose from for the final edit. It was simply a matter of selecting which one of the usable takes to marry up with the other. In this case the street shot and interior club scene were both one shots edited together. 

With vision (thank you James), a great crew and time, patience and a great performer, you’ll get a unique, watchable and memorable promo. 

Things I've learnt: A happy crew is a well fed crew

One of the joys of UK film production are the crew I work with. Over my years of being a producer and fixer I've built a network of talented and gracious crew who have taught me many things. In particular, a well-fed crew is a happy crew. Enter Bobby Tonge, my go to guy for exceptional shoot and craft service catering. Read my Q&A with Bobby to hear bout him, ballet and his heart-stopping pizzas.

A key insight I've gained? A well-fed crew is a happy crew. Enter my secret weapon: Bobby Tonge. For the past decade, he’s been my go-to caterer, impressing everyone with his delicious, from-scratch meals tailored for each shoot. Check out a little Q&A I did with Bobby on a recent shoot to learn more about him, ballet and his heart-stopping (in a good way) pizzas.

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