How Netflix Filmed Adolescence Episodes in One-Shot Takes

Viewers are curious about how the makers of Netflix’s Adolescence managed to pull off the whole series in one take. The crime drama series centers around 13-year-old Jamie, accused of murdering his classmate. Surprisingly, all four of its episodes were filmed in their entirety without any cuts in between. Recently, the series’ cinematographer, Matthew Lewis, revealed how they made this impossible process happen in an interview.

So, here are all the details.

Were the Adolescence episodes filmed in one take?

Yes, Adolescence episodes were filmed in one take.

Recently, Matthew Lewis spoke to Variety, discussing how he and director Philip Barantini shot the whole series in a single shot. He said, “There’s no stitching of takes together. It was one entire shot, whether I wanted it to be or not.”

They initially prioritized the script, ensuring it worked seamlessly for the whole process without having to make any adjustments. Writer Jack Thorne played a key role in making this single shot happen, given his openness to make changes in the script and include additional moments when needed.

Expressing his appreciation for Thorne, he said, “During rehearsals, he would be rewriting stuff and coming up with ideas. I think it was a unique challenge for him once he knew that we weren’t mental and that we were going to do a good job with his script.”

Furthermore, he mentioned that the production required intense planning as a shot list wasn’t feasible for this process. Therefore, they mapped out a certain filming area, aligning camera movements accurately. They also rehearsed the series like a “dance” between cast and crew, ensuring every shot came together like “puzzle pieces.”

Despite planning the entire thing diligently, they faced a significant challenge but eventually solved it. “The biggest challenge was how to go from a real house to a fake police station. So, we had to find a studio near suburban homes, and we eventually found an area in South Kirkby, Yorkshire,” he added.

After discussing the procedures for different episodes in detail, Lewis also addressed the rumors about adding VFX and having invisible edits. He clarified that they used VFX only in one episode as they couldn’t achieve that given scene practically. However, they refrained from merging takes and shot everything in one go.