How did 'The Studio' execute complex one-take shots for every episode? Explained

The new Apple TV series The Studio tells the story of a recently appointed head of Continental Studios, Matt Remick, who is struggling with creating a balance between the business and the creative aspect of running a studio while also being desperate for celebrity endorsements.

After Adolescence, the discourse around single-take shooting has scaled up, and The studio also came to light for its seamless long takes. However, unlike in Adolescence, they have used visual effects to weave multiple shots together seamlessly. In a recent interview with The Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast, Seth and Evan revealed the filmmaking process of The Studio.

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How did the makers of The Studio achieve a single shot in episode 2?

The character is often shown amidst the dilemma and confusion that comes with surviving in Hollywood and making a name. To complement this tone of the story and character, the makers, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, have used several long takes in The Studio. It appears as if the world is revolving around the character with lesser participation of his own.

“We want you to feel the panic and the stress,” Goldberg said. “There’s no better way to plunk you right in it, and if you’re in it, you’re not cutting to a wide shot.”

The Studio depicts an ever-evolving industry, and according to reports, the pilot episode itself features several long takes. In addition to this, the show is also inspired by The Player by Robert Altman, which opens with an 11-minute long shot.

The second episode, The Oner, seems to have a single long take. However, several smaller but elaborate shots have been combined using match cuts. They used a single lens and camera to cut them into each other seamlessly on the edit table.

“If you’re making something about Hollywood, to do something technically difficult asserts your position as someone who has any right to be speaking about this stuff,” Rogen said. “‘The Player does that. He’s doing one of the hardest things you can do, and now he’s gonna go make fun of movies for the next two hours. But he’s clearly doing it from the position of someone who understands every intricacy and challenge of filmmaking.”

The cinematographer of the show Newport-Berra revealed to Indie Wire that they used a 21mm lens for all the Oners as it is a wider lens and, therefore, doesn't distort much. He further added that after a point, even the actors understood the magnification. When he is 2 feet apart, it's a close-up shot, and if it is 20 feet apart, then it's an extremely wide shot.

“It takes one more element out of the conversation so we’re able to focus on the camera movement and blocking. We know what our field of view is to the point that halfway through the shoot, any actor knew exactly what I could see. If I’m six feet away from them, they’re in a cowboy. If I’m two feet, it’s a close-up. If I’m 20 feet, I have an extremely wide.”

The makers of The Studio, in a conversation with GQ, also revealed that Episode 2 is four long shots combined together. Initially, they face a lot of struggle while attempting the technique. It was difficult to catch appropriate light at the right time, and it created a visual difference between different cuts of the same shot. Therefore, they decided to go simple, rehearse in the day, and shoot during the golden hour.

“It's very counterintuitive on a set to be like, okay, everyone's here at 8:00 in the morning, and we're not even rolling cameras till 5:30 pm basically,” Rogen says. “It allowed us a lot of time to really work it out and dial it in on the day, and then we would film it very fast. It really felt like the episode, because we were actually fighting against the sun going down.”