If you didn’t know better, you’d swear this almost-two-minute sequence from new TV show, Kidding, was multiple takes with motion controlled cameras and some nifty cutting. But thanks to Episode 3 director Jake Schreier, who posted the final clip side-by-side to his Instagram with an overhead view of the stage, we do know better.
Jake only posted the first minute to Instagram – darn that 1 minute limit! but Showtime posted the entire sequence to the Kidding YouTube channel.
It’s an incredible sequence to watch unfold, purely from a technical aspect. It’s mind-boggling just how much planning and coordination this must have taken. I’ve no idea what’s actually going on the episode because I haven’t watched the show. But this scene is almost like watching a ballet – except with somebody calling out directions every few seconds.
The room completely changes several times throughout the course of the sequence, with a whole flurry of crew running around to quickly swap out set pieces while one lone cameraman walks around with a Steadicam.
It’s amazing to see so many different looks for the room in such a short space of time, and how they use set pieces to hide other set pieces for use later in the scene. And some parts you have to watch 10 or 12 times over just to try and figure out what everybody’s doing at any given moment.
I don’t know how many takes it took to get this right, or how much each of the different elements needed to be practised to perfection beforehand, but when the final result looks like this, it’s worth it no matter how many it was.
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