What is a One Shot?

•A complete story told in one continuous shot.

•No Edits

•Planning is the critical key

•Complicated in planning yet simple in execution.

Purpose of One Shot

•To show an idea or story-line in one take

•Demonstrates the importance of planning

•Forces previsualization (Storyboards / Schematics) before you pick up the camera

•Filmmaking Process Time Ratio: Development, Preproduction, Production, Post-production. (7 : 5 : 1 : 3)

“The Rope”- HitchcockHitchcock filmed each scene in segments lasting up to ten minutes (the length of a reel of film at the time), each segment continuously panning from character to character in real time. Several segments end by panning against or zooming into an object (a man’s jacket, or the back of a piece of furniture, for example) or by having an actor move in front of the camera, blocking the entire screen; each scene after that starts a static shot of that same object. In this way Hitchcock effectively masked many of the cuts in the film, a technique that has frequently been used since to hide edits.

The film is Hitchcock’s most experimental, abandoning many standard film techniques to allow for the long unbroken scenes. Each shot ran continuously for up to ten minutes without interruption. It was shot on a single set, aside from the opening establishing shot street scene. Camera moves were planned in advance and there was almost no editing.

The walls of the set were on rollers and could silently be moved out of the way to make way for the camera, and then replaced when they were to come back into shot. Prop men also had to constantly move the furniture and other props out of the way of the large camera, and then ensure they were replaced in the correct location. A team of soundmen and camera operators kept the camera and mics in constant motion, as the actors kept to a carefully choreographed set of cues.

“The Rope” Trailer

“The Player”- Opening

First 10 minutes of “The Player”

One Shot StructureBeginning - Middle - End

•Introduction of characters

•Plot point I

•Rising conflict

•Plot point II

•Climax

•Resolution

Development of the One Shot

Ask questions to flesh out the story

•What is your story about?

•Who are your characters?

•What do they want or need?

•What obstacles are in the way and how do they overcome it?

Previsualizing the One Shot

•Storyboards

•Schematics: Plan the movement in detail

•Rehearsals (Timing, Pacing, Transitions)

Polish the One Shot

•Review the film

•Identify missing elements

•Reshoots - Pickup shots (enhance the film quality)

•Add sound effects

•Basic Editing: Tighten pacing, insert pickup shots

Exhibition of the One Shot