How "The Bear" Filmed An Entire TV Episode in One Take

affects his latest show the bear is a stressful watch sometimes exhausting and it makes me feel grateful that I never had to work inside a kitchen the story follows a young award-winning Chef named Carmen who returns to his hometown in Chicago to fix up his brother's wounded Italian beef shop after his sudden suicide it's one of those shows where its setting is perhaps the most influential character in the restaurant coming apart at the seams giving each of the other characters at least their surface level day-to-day conflicts while still being the one thing to bring them all together the defining example of this dysfunction comes in the seventh episode of the series review which follows the kitchen on a particularly stressful day leading to the near destruction of the entire restaurant all in one 17-minute unbroken take in this video I'll be discussing the history and theory behind the one take in TV and why it works so effectively to build tension in the bear [Music] the Warner the one take the long take whatever you want to call it used to be impossible to do for a full movie or TV episode in 1948 Hitchcock wanted to film his psychological Thriller rope all in one unbroken take but had to settle with dividing the film into segments of only up to 10 minutes the length of the film camera magazine available at the time but with the invent of digital video cameras the Warner became possible although still very very hard to pull off sometimes the water is selectively used for big intense moments like in the over six minute long climax sequence in Children of Men or in the corridor fight scene in old boy sometimes the entire movie is edited to appear as one take like in the case of 1917 Birdman Enter the Void or the aforementioned rope but every now and then as the biggest directorial Flex of them all the entire movie is shot in one take 2021's boiling point interestingly enough also about a dysfunctional kitchen was even marketed specifically to demonstrate the impressiveness of its singular take but there's probably too much to talk about in any one of these movies so I would like to turn our attention to the small screen and I think it's a little bit more interesting given the more suffocating time and budget constraints that TV has compared to film at least in general when I think of one take sequences in TV three notable examples come to mind other than the bear the first is the Mr Robot episode 3.4 runtime error a 45 minute episode going in and out of buildings and computer screens disguised as one uninterrupted take in research for this video I came across a YouTube video breaking down that episode and finding all the hidden Cuts check it out but what I found so compelling about this shot or rather series of tracking shots was the methodology behind it writer producer of the show core Adana notes in an interview that the chief difference in the episode compared to others in the series is that there was nothing to cut to Stakes had to have been raised in real time and before you roll your eyes and say duh I think that Insight is pretty apt in demonstrating when the one take should be utilized and when it doesn't need to be many technically impressive one takes are often criticized for just being there to show off not really serving a narrative purpose and even with movies I adore like Birdman I can understand this point of view even if I don't completely agree with it chauvinist Sam a smile understands this as well arguing that the conversation of Warners could easily fall into gimmicky and Showmanship for him the episode's priority was the tone despite also being of course wildly entertaining the sitcom has become a playground for impressive camera work and run-on sequences despite the use of the long take for comedic effect being something that is widely underused in TV as a whole perhaps it's due to the one week production schedules that many sitcoms have to abide by perhaps it's a lack of imagination but the 10-minute sequence in Charlie work from It's Always Sunny proves just how well the Warner can create a sense of chaotic urgency that adds to the humor the hidden Cuts here are a little bit more obvious and basic than those employed in Mr Robot but that doesn't take away from the magic of this sequence we see classic tricks like going through Darkness or focusing on the wall or an article of clothing when going through doorways some of the same methods we see Hitchcock use in rope in addition to these hidden Cuts physical set changes had to be made to make the sequence work despite appearing like a real bar in Philly Paddy's Pub is just another Sound Stage somewhere in La the bar the bathroom the alleyway are all typically filmed in different locations but for this episode an entirely new bathroom room and Alleyway were built connected to the main stage so that the camera could move through doors and capture all 360 Degrees okay but why does this matter to the comedy as the title suggests this episode explores all the odd jobs Charlie has to do to keep the bar from collapsing in on itself all during a surprise health inspection all while the rest of the gang attempts a chicken and Airline mile scam the one take sequence is the moment of comedic payoff everything's set up in the First Act the news that the health inspector is coming the gang's plan to contaminate the steaks with chicken feathers the stool with the nail sticking out of it Frank's Shoes being flushed down the toilet the vacuum sealer taking the power out the talk America sign the carbon monoxide in the basement the safe delivery guy all this plays out and provides conflicts specifically in that continuous sequence it's a chaotic mess that only Charlie's Insanity can fix everything in the sequence is also time sensitive logically unraveling during that specific point in time forcing Charlie to think and do on the Fly no better place to deploy the Warner my last example before we get into the bear and the work that inspired the production of Charlie work is the six minute long closing sequence in the episode who goes there from the first series of True Detective unlike the previous examples this appears to be a genuine one take and for my money it's probably the most technically impressive example I can think of for TV given the amount of action and location changes the scene offers this shot follows Matthew McConaughey's character Russ Cole during an attempted raid that quickly turns into a massive gunfight throughout the neighborhood and we're part of all of that the shot continuing until our character is fully protected inside the getaway car we go from the streets to inside the Stash House to outside again back into another project house back on the streets into another project house back out over a fence and into a car and there's like at least around 10 coordinated camera movements and characters coming in and out of each of these separate locations it's Bonkers in addition to creating chaotic urgency another reason to do the Warner is to make your characters feel trapped here this is due in large part to the fact that because of the length of the take we can get into every building and see every person in fact are involved at least the important ones we are In Harm's Way 24 7 and the show wants to keep us there as I mentioned previously the bear is a show about a damaged kitchen operated by an even more damaged head chef and review the 17-minute one take episode is without a doubt the climax of the entire series the boiling point if you may so far we've learned that the Warner is best used when one we have nothing else to cut to two when we need to create a sense of chaotic urgency and three when we want to make our characters feel trapped in messy situations the bear is a perfect demonstration of all three rules not that many other examples weren't unlike these still extremely impressive Mr Robot episode unlike the action sequence in True Detective unlike Charlie work this is a genuine full episode one take with no hidden cuts and I would argue that it isn't done in a way that is just flashy and cool but rather crucial for creating the definitive climax of the Season as a whole where previous episodes of the bear communicate intensity and stress mostly through dialogue sounding Quick Cuts not too unlike films like uncut gems reviews Warner gives you an in almost two honest POV in the most dire situation yet the one take TV episode is also much more narratively impressive in comparison to the sequence from True Detective for example because it has to be an entire TV episode it has to have acts and structure in the beginning we're dropped into this busy evening where it's established that a High Praise review was published about an off menu dish created by new Chef Sydney where it's communicated that it may be good for business along with that we are briefed that the kitchen is piloting an online ordering program organized by Sydney that Tina's son will be shadowing karmi and that Richie is antagonizing Sydney but we've come to expect that last one oh and how could I forget the donut guy is making donuts this character in the show is so frustratingly underdeveloped he just likes Donuts but I will say his donut making is actually paid off in this episode The inciting incident occurs about halfway through the episode when an insurmountable influx of orders come in because Sydney left the pre-order option open on her own program this sends the kitchen into a frenzy Carmen who was initially on Sydney's side with the new program is pissed Cindy and Richie are approaching the peak of their resentment towards each other and donut guy is still making donut in the climax of these shows climax Cindy accidentally stabs Richie in the ass Carmen throws donut guy's donut on the floor and donut guy and Cindy eventually quit at the height of the mess I apologize for just describing plot for the last minute but all that to say it's an entire story being told in one take so it's underselling the scope of the take just to label it a sequence considering the episode is a bottle episode of corsi take satisfies my first rule of when to do the wanna when there is nothing else to cut to it's not just World building every character and situation plays out naturally and completely so much so that it almost feels like this has to be done in one take the ticking of the printer and the setup that they have almost no time to complete the largest order in the sandwich Shop's history also communicates the sense of chaotic urgency that is so crucial to the long take like I mentioned in the case of True Detective the winner also requires that we feel trapped the star of the show Jeremy on white explains in an interview with Indie wire that the decision to do the One-Shot enhanced the stakes of the episode stating that because the tension is built so quickly the show doesn't want to give the audience a break from it there's no reprieve it's consistent the show knows that even though we might want a break not cutting Keeps Us in the character's point of views which will help us better understand their true colors the hierarchy of the kitchen the Brigade as it's called is broken and what we were left with are a bunch of messy humans whom we know much more about despite how ridiculously tedious it must have been to rehearse in film The Wonder does offer a few upsides for those brave enough to attempt it the first one is the most obvious a no pain post-production you don't have to edit when it's only one cut there's probably some ads are and some sound work and maybe some effects inserted here and there but that's it it's also efficient from a writing perspective many dramedies and sitcoms will spend a lot of the time in its first season independently pairing specific characters together to help establish their Dynamics the best shows do this I'm not saying it's bad thing it's often necessary but having a One-Shot bottle episode with every character interacting with each other in real time is a perfect way to introduce and further develop these Dynamics more organically in stress inducing situations like this the winner also benefits the actors in some ways and likely feels more like performing for the stage rather than the screen having all the actors moving together creates a natural energy and Rhythm that can make it easier for them to feel like they're actually in that situation you are using that anxiety that you feel trying not to [ __ ] up the entire take as your character's anxiety from working in that kitchen but these upsides will never take away from the tedious rehearsal choreography and praying for luck that it takes to pull off these types of sequences and even if if they aren't as pivotal to the story as the Bear's excellent example I will never grow tired of watching them thank you all for watching please like And subscribe to support my channel and let me hear your favorite one take sequence in the comments section below cheers

Channel: Come Watch TV

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Keywords: video essay, tv show video essay, movie video essay, comewatchtv, television analysis, TV, TV review

Id: zVeqD4nDav8

Length: 12min 15sec (735 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 23 2022