The Delicate Art of Bravura Shots
Already early in LVL4, I was fascinated by the bravura shot – or long take or ‘oner’ – that has been employed in the music video for Robyn’s song Call Your Girlfriend (2011):
I admired the style and how crew and singer were able to create such a beautiful performance within one single shot. The same admiration befell me last spring when I learned about Kiesza’s music video for Hideaway (2014), which was much more elaborate in terms of cast, timing, and surroundings:
This style and my fascination with it led my to my conviction that I wanted to at least try my hands at a long take before leaving university. While I know that this is still an ambitious goal for a film student (it is, after all, already a massively ambitious goal for a versatile film crew), I think that I should use my current resources to the best of my abilities while I still have access to them.
Has My Time Come?
With the assignment of our job roles for this module, and my obtainment of the script for Poppie’s Café for Monsters, I saw my first vital chance of implementing a long take that is not only done for the sheer demonstration of technical skills, but that also serves and befits the story:
The human Benjie is hired as an assistant in a witch’s café. Whilst he is settling into his new workplace and the strange tasks attached to them on his first day, he is kidnapped by a shape-shifter at the behest of Poppie’s grandmother, who wants to perform a ritual on him to gain her long-lost powers back. However, Benjie is comically relieved by the appearance of Poppie, who steals her grandmother’s voice. As Benjie is about to quit his services, she reminds him of the fine print of their contract – which claims that he still has two years left to serve.
Whilst reading the script, there were two instances in which I could directly imagine a long take: The beginning of the story, in which Benjie enters the bewilding café for the first time, and a ‘montage-like’ scene later on, in which he is hurrying to serve all the strange customers on his first day.
Whilst I imagined a rather slow and conspicuous pace for the first long take, the clou of the second long take would lie in a quick pace and movement pattern that would put the audience into the seat of a carousel, showing the stress of a first day at work.
Or so I imagined.
Since long takes require a lot (and by that I mean, like, A LOT) of practice, planning, and hard work, I decided that I would first conduct further research into the matter to see whether the use of a long take would
Be beneficial to our project,
Be feasible within the means we have,
before I decide further on that matter. So for now, the answer is: I don't know, but I might in a minute.
The Definition
A long take – or bravura shot or ‘oner’ – as stated in the introduction, is a single scene or more contained in only one seamless, continuous shot. Although they have been around for a while – Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope was the first film to attempt the seamless look of a scene in one shot – it has only been until recently that bravura shots also entered TV shows such as HBO’s Game of Thrones and Netflix’ Daredevil.
They are physically demanding, as they require the timing of cast and crew, special effects and sets, exposure and focus to be immaculate. This is undeniably a difficult endeavour and the more elements there are or the longer the take is, the more appreciative these shots become, at least in five out of six cases. But I’ll come to that now.
Six Types of Long Takes
Generally speaking, there are six types of long takes that can be applied, each of them with their own specialist application area. These six types are:
Establishing Long Take or Establishing Oner
Tracking Long Take or Tracking Oner
Exposition Long Take or Exposition Oner
Action Long Take or Action Oner
Stationery Long Take or Stationery Oner
Fake Long Take or Fake Oner
Establishing Oner
The establishing oner is a long take right at the beginning of the film, in which the story’s environment, the characters, the genre, but also time and atmosphere are established. This would be the first of my two intended bravura shots, if I found them feasible. One example of this would be the opening shot of Gravity.
Tracking Oner
This long take is based on a character and closely follows that character around, either showing their actions or actions happening to them. This would be the second of my two intended bravura shots. One example of this would be the battle escape scene at the end of Children of Men.
Exposition Oner
This type of long take is sort of a cheat, as it is usually used to tell the story rather than show it. It’s a long take that allows the characters to tell significant events or explain relations, usually whilst they are walking down a long hallway. One example of this would be the hallway scene’s in the Netflix series Suits.
Action Oner
These long takes are usually used in an action scene to depict battles and underline the force, chaos, and brutality of a battlefield. One infamous example would be the Battle of Bastards in Game of Thrones.
Stationery Oner
This type of long take is rather unusual, since it only involves a highly static camera that does not move, thus taking away a lot of work for the camera department. However, it thus puts more effort on the actors who will likely be in frame all the time and need to be able to deliver the entire scene without breaking character for a single time. One famous example would be Woody Allen’s film Manhattan, in which a homecoming scene is purely shot from one angle.
And Fake Oner
According to my research, this type of oner is the most used one in Hollywood, although it is – technically – a cheat. For, this long take is not long but consists of several cuts, which are visually hidden in the take to make the shot appear to be a single long one. One splendid example of that would be the film Birdman.
There are also – as always in filmmaking – several ways to hide cuts:
In under- or overexposures
In colour grade match cuts
In the motion blur of whip-pans
In CGI-composits, aka green screens
In foreground objects hiding the action
One aspect that I found amazing was the fact that, as long as the entire image is covered or affected by any of the means stated above, a single frame would be more than enough to hide a cut – provided the ensuing clip matches to the previous one as closely as humanly possible.
Technicalities
Since my main field of interest lies in cinematography, I naturally have to have a brief excursion into the technicalities of a bravura shot.
Since bravura shots stylistically usually require a massive amount of movement on the part of the camera operator, the use of a steady cam, a dolly, or a pedestal would be best advised (depending on the exact shot, area and flooring of course). However, some cinematographers also decide to go hand-held, especially in small spaces when support systems are rather bulky. However, I personally find this more challenging attempt, regarding the overall shakiness of the image that will be enhanced.
However, there are tricks to reduce the shakiness of handheld shots, such as e.g. using wide-angle lenses ideally below 35mm that will reduce the overall shakiness of the image. Or using cameras with large sensor sizes and reduced or non-existent crop factors to give you more of the actual image to work with and stabilise later in post.
Furthermore, lighting a long take will also become an enhanced feat, since you will require far more care and strategy in hiding lights and using bounces. Another matter, which I will have to look into if I decide to proceed with this endeavour.
Issues with Long Takes
As already stated above, long takes are not a simple feat to pull off shortly before lunch break and cannot be improvised either. The amount of planning, choreographing, rehearses, and attempts, is massive, time-consuming, and exhausting, as any mistake on any part in cast or crew can render a shot useless and the single reset time for a scene – as in the case of the Battle of Bastards in Game of Thrones – as long as 3,5 hours.
But the application of the long take is also vital for its success. As the sources have rightly stated, a long take can lose all its impact if it is not deemed appropriate for the development of the plot, but rather deemed a show-off of skills (and of efficient budget-wasting). If it does not fit into the greater story – be it in style, feel, pace, length or any other factor – all you get is a ‘logistical nightmare’.
One example of a repeatedly criticised long take in filmmaking was a oner used in the film The Revenant. Here, the creator of this clip juxtaposed both the long take, and a recut version of the long take for analysis of emotional impact on the audience:
However, with this shot, and especially with his recut, I don’t share the filmmaker’s opinion on the matter. While I can understand his criticism of the pan across the rocks and later across the riverbank, I still felt that the long take was much more impactful without cuts than with the incisions he made himself. With the first, I really felt being pulled into the story and I found myself crouching in my seat to not be seen by the enemy. With the latter however, the scene felt like just another chase scene in a film.
The Effort’s Worth
If all is done, and done well on top of it all, however, the outcome could be as massive as this:
Okay, okay, I am more than aware that this is far beyond what we will be able to pull off as a student production and by no means a realistic standard. However, I was amazed by the amount of planning and discipline that must have gone into the production of Atonement, to make this long take work with more than a thousand extras and three seamless changes of transportation for the camera operator (!) alone.
However, with this prime example above, you can tell that this shot enhances the story to a totally new level. Here, the shot does not only literally enhance the calamities and chaotic state of being at war; its momentum and the beats within are also befitting the storyline.
My thoughts
After conducting the abovementioned research, I feel that taking on a bravura shot would be a massive endeavour that could easily fail within the parameters given to us. However, since I am still hesitant to bin this idea without even trying it, I will sit down with Lynley and discuss both the pros as well as the cons with her to have at least a second opinion on that.
If she agrees, I will advocate for creating both a storyboard version with and without the bravura shots to have them ready regardless, and start checking all the boxes for the further elements, such as location, location access, required equipment, etc. With this project as it is without the bravura shots, I am well aware that we will already need a massive amount of time to make it work. This will however, be subject to the further progress of the project.
References:
Allen, W. (1979) Manhattan [DVD] USA: Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions
A Matter of Film (2018) How to Shoot a Long Take [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9xjsCpebfk&index=2&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Aputure (2016) 6 ONE-TAKE Shots You Need to Know About [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27hCXKdyD2U&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=6&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Cinefix (2014) 12 Best Long Takes in Film History [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLFHdagIw6o&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=1&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Cuarón, A. (2006) Children of Men [DVD] USA, UK, Japan: Universal Pictures et al.
Cuarón, A. (2013) Gravity [DVD] USA and UK: Warner Brothers et al.
Fandor (2017) SFX Secrets: False Long Take [online] Image taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LExypxS18Rc&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=11&frags=wn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Game of Thrones. Battle of Bastards. (2017) USA. Netflix. 1 April [online]
Hitchcock, A. (1948) Rope [DVD] USA: Warner Brothers Studios
Iñárritu, A. (2014) Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance [DVD] USA Fox Searchlight
Iñárritu, A. (2015) The Revenant [DVD] USA, Taiwan, and Hongkong: Regency Enterprises et al.
Kiesza (2014) Kiesza – Hideaway [online] Image taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnoz5uBEWOA [Accessed on 12 February 2019]
Looper (2017) The Greatest Long Takes in Film and TV [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZfPKxqxns0&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=7&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Marvel’s Daredevil. (2015-) USA. Netflix. [online]
Rati Kharatishvili(2016) "Atonement" - Dunkirk Scene, Five minute single take tracking shot [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QijbOCvunfU&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=9&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
RennsReviews (2017) 4 Clever Tricks Filmmakers Use to FAKE Long Takes! RennsReviews [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSMfLV8nmfw&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=3&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Robyn (2011) Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend [online] Image taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ImxY6hnfA [Accessed on 12 February 2019]
Rossatron (2018) Daredevil | The Art of the Long Take [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5uMcn4mx_w&index=5&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Sonduck Film (2016) How to Shoot a Long Take ‘Oner’ Filmmaking Tips [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSuRlBQ-Fvc&index=4&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]
Suits. Good-Bye. (2018) USA. Netflix. 25 April [online]
Thomas Flight (2016) Recutting the Revenant: How a Long Take Can Fail [online] Image taken from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzh_PB6XDuY&list=PLRG4t0YYtkIzejIqbZ-qKOLjQchEri9ev&index=10&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 20 February 2019]