The long take

Using the definition given on IMDb, a shot is "a continuous block of unedited footage from a single point of view." It can last from a fraction of a second to many minutes. Again from IMDb, a take is "a single continuous recorded performance of a scene. A director typically orders takes to continue until he or she is satisfied that all of his or her requirements for the scene have been made (met?), be they technical or artistic." Another way of saying it is that a take is what happens between when the director says "action" and "cut." It often takes many takes (how about that alliteration!) to get a finished scene and/or shot. Shots and takes are the raw material that the director and editor use to fashion the final product.

For film buffs the long take (or long shot) is a cherished subject. Like baseball fans debating whether Mantle or Mays was the greatest, cinephiles debate which is more impressive -- Hitchcock's shot in Notorious that begins at the top of the stairs and ends on a close-up of the key in Ingrid Bergman's hand, or his ten-minute takes that make up Rope. One of the most impressive is the 7:47 tracking shot that opens The Player. Here director Robert Altman (1925-2006) brilliantly sets up his satire on Hollywood while at the same time cleverly paying homage to famous long shots of the past. Rope and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil are both mentioned by name. Though the clapboard the camera opens on shows scene 1, take 10, it reportedly took 15 takes to get this intricately choreographed scene to Altman's satisfaction. All accomplished with no CGI tricks, just a camera crane, an adept camera operator, and actors hitting their marks. Oh, and a pretty fine director to conceive something like this in the first place.





Watch more of these here.