Long Takes: Children of Men

By E. M. Foster

In a world dominated by fast pace media, a long take is rare. On average only a few seconds per shot is spared, so shots lasting longer than 10 seconds can seem like a lifetime. This is large in part due to the fact that long takes can become rather boring if not done well. That being said, long takes done well are stunning, and if done right, can even make the viewer not notice the missing cuts.

To bring in an example, I want to share one of the most remarkable long takes I have ever seen. I cannot even imagine the how long this took to plan and choreograph. It comes from the film Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron (also known for Pan’s Labyrinth, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). 4 minutes of strait shooting. A seemingly impossible, mesmerizing shot captures the audiences attention from the first second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfBSncUspBk&feature=related

(I cannot embed the link- but click on it, it'll be well worth your time!)

The next is another long take from the same film. For this scene, in particular, the long shot makes sense. It gives the feeling of real time, and a sense of urgency constantly builds with the passing seconds. Again, the choreography and blocking with this shot must have taken days, if not weeks, to plan out.

There is one cut, actually (see if you can catch it), but the actual shots were filmed at once, and then pieces were edited together to get the blood of the screen before the end of the shot.

For those of you curious as to how some of these takes are done, below is video of the time and effort put into it!