How One-Shot Technique Was Achieved In Gripping Series Adolescence
Directed by Philip Barantini, Adolescence uses a one-shot technique where each episode is filmed in one continuous take.
Adolescence became one of the top shows on Netflix. Following its success, Netflix revealed some details about how this Stephen Graham-led series was made. Directed by Philip Barantini, the show was filmed using a one-shot technique where each episode was captured in one continuous take. This means there were no cuts and the camera followed the action from start to finish.
Netflix shared the details of which takes were used in the final episodes in a thread on X. The first episode, mostly set in a police station, was filmed in the second take. This was the first of a five-day shoot for that episode.
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The second episode that captures the chaos in a school after the crime is discovered, was captured on the 13th take. This episode had 370 extras which includes 320 teenagers playing students and 50 adults as teachers, parents and shoppers.
A tense scene between the accused teenager, Jamie Miller (played by Owen Cooper) and a psychologist in the third episode took 11 takes before it was perfect. The final episode, where the Miller family faces the harsh truth about their son, was filmed on the 16th take and like the second and third episodes, it was shot on the last day of filming.
Initially, the plan was to film each episode twice a day meaning 10 takes in total. But some takes were abandoned which resulted in more than 10 attempts for some episodes. There were also moments when the actors made mistakes but continued their performances.
The cast prepared for the shoot by rehearsing parts of the script each day. They started with just five minutes of material on the first day and added a bit more each day after that. By the end of the week, they were doing full run-throughs of the entire episode.
Netflix also explained how the crew managed to stay out of the shot as the camera moved around. During rehearsals, the cast practiced their choreography which helped the director of photography (DOP) plan where the camera would go and how the crew would move throughout the take.
“Sometimes it was necessary for some of the crew to remain in shot, in these instances they were dressed in costume so that they could blend into the show to serve as extras in the shot," the streaming giant added.
One of the standout moments of the series happens in episode two when the camera smoothly transitions from the school to the crime scene without any cuts. This technically complex shot had many viewers wondering how it was achieved.
“So we strapped a camera to a drone that took off over traffic lights and then suddenly you’re at the murder scene. Emotionally it kicks you in the stomach," co-writer Jack Thorne told Deadline.
“The DOP carries the camera and follows a school pupil to the traffic lights with a wide shot as she goes at the end of the school day. Before she crosses the road, a team attach the camera to a drone, which then flies a distance of 0.3 miles across the site to the murder scene, where it comes down to a camera operator and team of grips who smoothly catch the camera and transition into a close shot of Stephen Graham. Easy," Netflix explained.
Adolescence is currently streaming on Netflix.
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