Everyone is talking about the new Netflix mini-series Adolescence, which consists of 4 episodes, each shot in a single take.

The technical execution of the show is truly phenomenal. As I watched each episode, I had to keep reminding myself that the camera had never cut. It seemed almost impossible.

One of the most dynamic shots involves the camera zooming through a window, following a chase on foot, flying up into the sky on a drone, and coming back down to ground level to catch a reaction shot.

Technical brilliance aside, though, what really makes it special is that the execution perfectly matches the story and vision.

Most one-take shorts or feature films feel gimmicky. They could have (and usually should have) been shot in a standard way. It’s as if the filmmakers decided to do it to be cool but didn’t really think about whether it would hurt their final product more than help it.

Adolescence is the exact opposite. I genuinely think that if it were shot in a traditional style, it would not be half as powerful. Despite the great acting, story, and other factors.

With that in mind, below are a few things that separate Adolescence from so many other projects shot in the same way.

Building Tension

While there is plenty of tension baked into the story and characters of Adolescence, there is also an unspoken tension that comes from the camerawork. And more specifically, the lack of editing.

As a rule of thumb, when you’re editing, holding on a shot creates tension. Cutting releases it.

Because there are no cuts used in the entire series, the tension starts building quickly. It’s almost a subconscious thing – you get lost in the story and quickly stop thinking about the way it was shot.

But on a visceral level, you still feel the lack of cutting and the intensity that comes along with it. There’s a certain energy that was captured that wouldn’t be the same under normal circumstances.

Releasing Tension

Most one-take projects suffer from pacing issues and lack the natural ebbs and flows you find with fully edited projects.

Adolescence, again, is the exception. Each episode has a very organic progression, with moments of relief delivered just at the right time.

More intense and complicated scenes are often followed by very simple ones. For instance, the camera may be passed off from character to character as it flies down a hallway. Eventually, we land in a room with 3 characters alone.

Then it gets quiet. The camera sits on one side of the room in a master shot for several minutes as the scene plays out.

These moments are crucial for the audience to feel like they are going on a journey. Many of the “one-take” films that are faked (and use VFX / stitching to sell the effect) fail to accomplish this.

On Adolescence, nothing could be cut around. So the filmmakers inevitably built in some scenes that were less intense to shoot. This would not only serve the story but also tactically allow them to reset, hand off to a different operator, and gather some energy before moving into the next sequence.

It’s a perfect example of making choices that equally serve the narrative and the needs of the production.

Performance Quality

Second to the camera work, the biggest praise for Adolescence has related to the incredible acting. The lead actor had never done a film or TV show before but delivers a truly amazing performance, as does the rest of the cast.

Part of this comes down to rehearsal time.

On many productions, rehearsals are non-existent. Or limited to a few days at best. On Adolescence, though, there was no choice but to rehearse the series countless times in order to nail it perfectly before going to camera.

I can only imagine the complexity of those rehearsals. It’s like a stage play on steroids, with hundreds of other technical and creative variables to consider.

Ultimately, this meant the actors got a ton of time with the material before getting to set. And once they did go to camera, they were given 10 full takes of each episode.

On your average production, an actor might get 3 or 4 takes of a given scene. The combination of intense rehearsals, plus a full 10 takes to iron out the kinks on set really let the actors spread their wings.

Pacing With Dialogue

In some episodes, there are long dialogue sequences that might involve just 2 or 3 characters. These types of scenes always run the risk of feeling slow or boring, but that was never the case here.

The dialogue in Adolescence was carefully crafted to build more peaks and valleys into longer scenes.

What the filmmakers were not able to achieve through cutting or more manipulative editing techniques, they achieved through dialogue and performance alone.

This turned moments that could have been slower into some of the most riveting parts of the film. As a viewer, you always feel like you’re in good hands. And that the filmmakers were acutely aware of how to ratchet up dialogue and performance tension to counteract some of the less visually dynamic moments.

Reaction Shots

Another way the filmmakers really kept things interesting was through their use of reaction shots.

With a traditionally produced show, the editor would normally cut to the actor who is speaking. Only occasionally throwing in a reaction when necessary.

But in Adolescence, there was no choice but to take a different approach. The camera couldn’t whip pan back and forth between actors the whole time. So, instead, it would land on one actor for a key part of their dialogue but stay with them as the character off-screen was speaking. Then, it would float to the next character and do something similar.

Sometimes, the camera was on the person speaking, but often,n it wasn’t. And those moments where it landed on the reactions were often the most interesting.

These shots didn’t just happen by chance though. It’s clear watching the show that every moment of every scene was meticulously planned. Including when to focus on reactions vs. direct dialogue.

All in all, this is probably my favorite example of one-take filmmaking that I’ve ever seen.

It elevated the story in every way, delivered a more tense experience, brought out some incredible performances, and pushed the boundaries of what is possible on a technical level.

While most films would not work in this format, many of the tactics here could still benefit them. Whether it’s the extra rehearsal time, control of tension, or honing in on the focal points of any given scene.

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