Take

A take is a single recording pass: the camera runs, the action is played, the camera stops. Every pass is counted and named so that it can be found again later in the cut. A two-minute scene can consist of twenty takes, of which three are used in the end.

Why there are so many of them

The most common misconception among newcomers is that a take is repeated until the performers “get it right”. In fact the majority of repeats have nothing to do with the performers at all. It is repeated because the same action is needed from several positions, because safety material is created, or because a technical factor did not fit.

That is usually called with scene and number, for example “scene four, take seven”. The number serves only assignment in the cut. It is not a count of your failed attempts, even if it can feel that way on the third shoot day.

What aborts a pass

• Sound: a plane, a fridge, a phone in the next room, a creaking floor. Sound is the most common abort reason of all.
• Light: a shadow where none should be, a cloud in front of the window, a lamp in the picture.
• Continuity: something does not match the previous setup; see Continuity.
• Technique: focus lost, card full, a cable in the picture, camera move not clean.
• Process: someone is in the picture, a movement came too early, the positions do not match.

Only after that come content reasons. And even those are usually fine-tuning: a small thing in the timing, a look that was a second too long.

A repeat is not a judgement

A take that is run for the fifth time says nothing about your suitability. Experienced crews therefore say why it is being repeated — “again, we had a noise” instead of a wordless “again”. If nobody says anything, you may ask. The answer costs nobody anything and takes an unnecessary tension off you.

The reverse also applies: a pass you yourself consider failed can be exactly the one that is used. The judgement falls in the cut, not on set.

Pacing your strength

Many takes mean physical repetition, often over hours. That is the part of the work that is most underestimated. Two things help concretely:

First: actively demand drink and breaks. Between passes there is time, and nobody expects you to leave it unused. Second: if you notice that it is no longer going physically, say so before the next take and not in the middle. A planned stop costs ten minutes; an abort during the take costs a whole pass.

You may still stop at any time — that is what the command Cut is for, which does not belong to direction alone. How such a day feels overall is described in the article on the shoot day from arrival to wrap.