Clips from 'Silent House' -- Shot in One Take!

This whole 'shot in one take' gimmick can't be taken seriously. Can't be done. Alternatively, 'presented as a single take' is a used car sales pitch.

The cut, or opportunity to cut, in this clip comes at :54. At this point, with the shot almost completely black and out of focus, you could stop shooting while the upstairs rooms are lit and set up. Then you could go back and pick up at the same spot, pan over and find Elizabeth Olsen at the foot of the stairs. Any fine tuning of the imagery could be done in post, but that would be minimal if you were careful. Certainly, any director and DP would do tests as to the best way to accomplish what looked like a seamless take before production started.

When the flick comes out I'll bet it's loaded with bits where someone or some object gets very close to the camera and blocks it totally, or the light levels drop to black for a second, or other some such thing, allowing for cuts every minute or two. The takes may be impressively long, but not seamless. The logistics of that effort would be mind boggling. The ruined takes would drive cast and crew crazy. Really, even if you tried it, the studio would step in and tell the director to just make it look seamless and quit throwing money away trying to get the whole 88 minute movie in one take.

Of course, it's all in good fun, but I can't help myself.



Have to say, I'm impressed by the quality of footage. Olsen is looking good. Movie has a flow.















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