How One-Shot Wonder ‘Adolescence’ Was Filmed: “It’s Kind of Like a Play”

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In March, when the psychological drama series “Adolescence,” created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, debuted on Netflix, it rapidly gained global attention. Few people could avoid discussing the four-episode series that chronicled the story of a 13-year-old boy named Jamie, portrayed by Owen Cooper, who was arrested for the murder of a schoolmate. The intriguing cinematography, skillfully executed by Matthew Lewis and filmed in one continuous take per episode, was a hot topic in these discussions.

For every episode, rehearsals lasted for two weeks (with an additional 11 weeks of preparation time for Lewis before the start of filming), and the cast (consisting of Graham, Cooper, Ashley Walters, and Erin Doherty) along with the crew shot two takes per day, except in cases where issues like false starts or technical difficulties interrupted the shot. “Every moment was a struggle,” Lewis shared with THR.

Lewis, famed for directing the 2021 movie “Boiling Point,” which was filmed in a single, continuous 9-minute span over 90 minutes, recently shared insights about collaborating with Cooper during his initial acting venture, as well as the hurdles they encountered during production, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Was there ever a discussion about not filming each episode in a single, uninterrupted take?

The original concept was to have a safety net for the dialogue in episode three, considering its complexity and the fact that one of the actors is a child making his debut. I suggested dividing the lines into sections or saving moments to combine shots if we struggled with takes during the week’s work. Fortunately, Cooper, the young actor, memorized all his lines from day one, so this plan became unnecessary.

As a newcomer to acting, was there any pre-production chat we had before we began filming, just me and Owen?

For him, being unfamiliar with the situation was advantageous as we didn’t have to extensively explain the unusual aspect. Since I was present throughout, we could execute the entire performance without interruption. Early in rehearsals, I introduced the camera to demonstrate what the final product would look like. I wore the rig and moved around him while he practiced ignoring me. At first, he tried to avoid me, but I instructed him to maintain eye contact and not move. Once he understood, he delivered his performance effortlessly without altering it for the camera. If you watch the behind-the-scenes footage, you’ll see me dressed in black, sweating profusely, and him remaining focused despite my close presence.

How much rehearsal time did you have?

I spent approximately 11 weeks preparing for this project, as the focus was primarily on the camera work. If a location wasn’t suitable from a technical standpoint, I had to identify it early so that we could rule it out. To avoid falling in love with unsuitable locations later, I needed to be able to flag them immediately. We meticulously planned all the locations and plotted every possible route and camera angle, even marking cast positions on a top-down animated view of each location. We divided these plans into sections for clarity, such as entering or exiting buildings. This master plan guided our rehearsals. For two weeks per episode, we didn’t focus on the camera during the first week; instead, I worked with Phil and the cast using my iPad to explore the space and block performances. Once we had a satisfactory performance, the camera team would step in to ensure that the shots we envisioned were feasible. Each day presented numerous challenges that needed solving. The second week was for camera rehearsals with the cast, where we repeated sections until they were perfected. By the end of that week, we could perform large sections of an episode. The third week for each episode was shoot week.

How many takes did you do a day?

We made two tries per day to conserve energy since it’s demanding work. It’s similar to a stage play: You wouldn’t perform more than a matinee and an evening show. We carried out one in the morning, one in the afternoon so that everyone had time to rest because the tasks are physically challenging for the operators and extremely tiring emotionally for the cast. Additionally, our department requires significant resets: For instance, after painting a van, they need to clean it off and prepare it again within a few hours. The location where they park is now covered in paint, so we wash everything down. I initially thought about attempting three takes per day for episode three, but I’m relieved I didn’t because it was quite taxing. I handled that one single-handedly, and it was exhausting. There’s no room for error, so they must be fully focused, putting all their effort into it as this could be the final take used. … We performed two takes per day for five days, so we had a total of 10 attempts. Sometimes there were false starts, so on some episodes, we had up to 16 takes.

What were some reasons you had to stop a take?

Expose and correct! Let me begin with my crew’s experience. In the first episode, the computer that manages our lighting system unexpectedly crashed and restarted, causing all the lights to go out in the police station. Since it was a series of cues, resetting the system back to the 30th cue required us to repeatedly press this button 30 times to return to where we were. In one take, I accidentally walked into a wall, but we didn’t stop filming. We were almost at the end when the gimbal inadvertently hit the door frame as we turned from the medical room, causing the camera to make strange noises like “bloop, bloop.

What was the biggest challenge?

At the school, the confrontation was quite chaotic as we needed to maneuver through the masses, and each instance involved a different student stepping aside. My guidance was what steered me, nudging people gently to make way as I moved sideways through the throng. This part was tough because every time they emerged [into the playground], they would all be arranged slightly differently, especially when they surged towards the fight. Everyone had to stay vigilant about the camera. The second episode, where the drone incident occurred, presented a significant hurdle as it was almost always too windy, save for the final day. … Every instance was a test of patience and skill.

The most challenging aspect, however, was figuring out how to implement the one-shot technique for episode three, featuring Jamie and a psychologist. Normally, one-shots are effective because they provide an opportunity to alter camera angles, which creates a sense of movement and dynamism. But in this case, there’s less room for that due to the static nature of the conversation between the two characters. I was concerned it might feel like a drawn-out action sequence from a Michael Bay film, which, while exciting in certain situations, would not be engaging for an entire hour. Instead, I wanted to ensure it was subtle, emotionally resonant, and aligned with the emotional states of the characters. Despite my initial concerns, I’m really proud of how that episode turned out.

Originally published in a special edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine in May, you can get a subscription here to read more similar stories.

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2025-05-28 20:54