One shot Wonders..

ONE TAKE FILMS.

Shooting a whole film in one take is both demanding and precise; setting up and running through the piece is not only time consuming, but a necessity. The pre-production will also be longer than the post because it would just be choosing the right take and adding the final little tweaks. This also puts a lot of pressure on the actors and crew involved, especially the camera crew; hitting their marks and remembering all the shots needed to make the films work- The director would work along side and descibe what he/she wants.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK is a good example of this for his film "Rope."


The 1948 classic was filmed on only four reels of film, each done in one take. This would have worked at the time as in a cinema, the film would have been shown in four stages anyway, (changing the reels).

We, as a class watched the first few minutes of this film and it was interesting to analyse. We saw that instead of cutting away to a close-up for example, the camera would simply pan in and out and tracked the character as they walked etc. I have to say, it wasn't the most exciting film to watch but perhaps that's becuase I'm from a generation where films are short/quick action packed shots. I do, however, appreciate and respect the time consuming and patient job it would be able to create a one shot full length feature.

I think this is a good example for a one-shot film as you can see just how rehearsed everyone involved would have had to be to get this right. I think it's definately something I want to try as I know it would be a big build up in pre-production, getting it right...But obviously post would be a lot quicker than usual, perhaps only adapting the audio slightly.

Another gooooood example!....

ALEXANDER SOKUROV's "RUSSIAN ARK"

(The trailer fades in and out but every scene you see has been filmed continuously.)

This a 2002 Russian film and was captured using a single 96 minute steadicam sequence shot. The location was The Hermitage Museum In St. Petersburg. Sokurov was given permission to shoot there for a weekend, which wasn's a lot of time to film it and get the perfect shot. This would put a lot of pressure onto everyone in the film to hit their marks at the right time.

A plus for this film would have been that the whole film was shot in mute and the audio was added in post production, which meant that Sokurov followed the camera and shouted out the shots needed and his vision for the film as the camera moved along with him. This would have made things easier for everyone.

I enjoyed this film as it was such a big vision to get right, and the shot was very adventurous- making its' way around the whole museum with a narrator talking over it. The whole shot was very "floaty"- ghost-like.

So the post production would be quicker than most other films. However, the pre-production took three years to complete- Planning the whole film step by step, considering...
-lighting
-exposure
-white balance
-actors
etc ETC
Also, ensuring the cameramen chosen were reliable and good enough for the job... A lot of pressure for one weekend of filming after such a long time!

There was 20 minutes of film that was shot at the beginning.. The director had to decide there and then whether to start it all again or carry on and this would be the final film. The whole production took 4 takes... The final product being the final take... LUCKY!

EVERYONE'S AT IT.....

http://www.single-shot.co.uk/

-Beach Jam by Tula Parker and Anna Weatherston

I loved this little piece! I thought it was so inventive, very engaging and really enjoyable to watch.
I thought the beginning was very clever, starting off blurry with the sounds of cars, making the viewer assume these are real cars, before revealing what we're really watching.

At first I was a bit confused with where this was going, but I love the camera change when the car goes into the air, tracking it until you see the final outcome.

This was also done in ONE SHOT.. A film, no matter how short or long it may be, should always have a beginning, middle and an end to the piece with developments between the two points- start and finish!

IDEAS FOR A ONE SHOT:

We were asked to shoot our own One Shot Film. I had an idea...

-A journey from house to bus stop (some sort of destination)..Showing the simple journey of up and out for an everyday student. I would have the camera tracking the body of the person around the house, panning up and down and she buttered some toast, went to the fridge etc and finally walk out of the house.

-I wouldn't have revealed the face just yet, and have the camera tracking her feet, legs as she walked, catching some of the cars driving past etc.

-She would stop for a moment, and at this point the camera would pan around her the shot is now in front of her- This is where it will pan up to see the face and show finally where she's going.. The bus stop. Not very exciting, but I thought chosing something simple would make it easier to get the shots perfect and interesting.

So preparing for this shot means rehearsing it through with the character a couple of times, walking and practicing the shots outside; considering people/cars etc and the journey there, and obviously checking the camera's in top notch condition- batteries, set-up etc.

I intend to film this soon to see the outcome!!