The Art of the Single Take

When Birdman was released last year, the art of the "single take film" was brought back into the spotlight. Alfred Hitchcock was (of course) the pioneer for this technique, with his 1948 release of his film Rope. Birdman was also shot in a similar manner, but took advantage of digital masking techniques in addition to using natural transitions. There is an absolutely incredible video describing every cut here:

 

When I heard about Victoria, a German film that also was done with one take, I knew I had to see it. First going into Birdman, I had little idea what to look for as I'd never seen anything of the like. Going into Victoria, however, I was prepared with my newfound eye for match cutting and transitions. I loved the film, and I walked out not only satisfied with an amazing story, but also knowing that I had identified several of the cuts that they had used.

When I was researching it afterward, however, I found out that they used NO CUTS. That's right, one hundred percent done in one take. It only took them 3 attempts to make an entire movie using mostly natural lighting and their few locations. Knowing now it now makes sense why the story seemed to drag at points - there was no way that improved dialogue would have the pacing expected of a feature script.

Absolutely amazing job, I highly recommend you see this film when it is released.

Russian Ark

Russian Ark is a film directed by Aleksandr Sokurov that was filmed in one shot. The storyline of the film is a guided walk around Russia's Winter Palace, touching on small portions of Russia's history.

This is a film that in my opinion is not the most cohesive story, but what it lacks in communication, it makes up for in choreography. The entire film was shot in a single take, this means that each other the actors seen on the screen had to be at the right place at the right time, and had no room for error. Truly remarkable.

The camera operator was fitted with a Steady-cam rig and the entirety of his camera movement course was longer than 2 miles. The run time of the film is 99 minutes. This was no easy task, but
Tilman Büttner was up for the challenge.

The movie while scened in one take did take a total of 2 try to perfect, which anyone who has been on set would know that this is almost unbelievable. Russian Ark was able to pull it off however and also made a great film as well. 

While I am not personally a major lover of this work, I do respect its creation and think that there is something truly beautiful about its uniqueness. The film took on a challenge that seemed almost impossible to execute with such a large production and made it look easy. 

 

My overall review of the film is a 6/10 

While this isn't very high, 

I still think it is something everyone should

try and make time for.