How much does a single-take shot cost? Budget, logistics, and the realities of filming
What you will discover here: the real costs of a sequence shot (rehearsals, equipment, logistics) compared to a classic shoot in short shots.
Summary
Why a long take costs more than you think
Rehearsal time: the forgotten budget item
Specific equipment: Steadicam, rig, drone
The multiplication of catches: a logistical gamble
The additional cost in sets and coordination
Case studies: 1917, Birdman, Victoria
FAQ
Conclusion
Introduction
Twenty takes on average. Fifty for the most difficult scenes. That's the figure Sam Mendes himself gave to The Hollywood Reporter when talking about the most complex sequences in 1917.Twenty to fifty complete reshoots, sets, extras, pyrotechnic effects for what lasts only a few minutes on screen.
A long take is a single shot, without cuts. It seems simple. In reality, it's often one of the most expensive sequences to shoot in the entire production of a film.
Why? Because the lack of editing simply shifts the problem. Instead of shooting quickly and making corrections in the editing room, everything has to be perfect in a single take, or in one take out of dozens. This constraint impacts the budget at every stage: rehearsals, equipment, and on-set coordination.
This article is for curious film buffs, film students, and anyone wondering what really goes into the iconic long takes of 1917 or Birdman. We'll break down the actual budget items, with concrete examples, and clearly indicate what we can't say for sure.
1. Why a long take costs more than you think
In a traditional film shoot, the logic is simple: a scene is broken down into short shots, each angle is filmed separately, and editing does the rest. If an actor makes a mistake, it's recut. If the lighting changes, it's recut. If a prop falls, it's recut.
With a single-take shot, none of that is possible. The slightest mistake, an actor stumbling over a word in the fourth minute, an unexpected shadow, an extra looking at the camera, and the entire take has to be rejected.
What we lose in editing flexibility, we must compensate for upstream: in rehearsals, in preparation, in equipment, and in shooting time.
Pro tip : Some directors estimate that for every minute of a single-take shot on screen, you should allow two to four times more days of rehearsal than for a standard scene of the same length. The rule varies depending on the complexity of the camera movements and the number of extras.
2. Rehearsal time: the forgotten budget item
This is probably the most underestimated role. In a normal shoot, rehearsals take place for a few hours before filming. For an ambitious long take, rehearsals can last for months.
For 1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019), actors George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman began rehearsals and choreography in January 2019, three months before the first day of filming in April. Director of photography Roger Deakins explained in British Cinematographer that every scene was rehearsed well in advance of production. The crew first marked out the trenches on a field with stakes, then rehearsed with the camera equipment once the locations were finalized. Production designer Dennis Gassner built models of the set at Shepperton Studios to allow Mendes and Deakins to choreograph every movement beforehand.
This rehearsal time has a direct cost: the actors are paid, as are the technicians. The set is rented. The sets must be maintained in the exact condition required for filming. The more rehearsals there are, the higher the bill climbs, even if nothing is actually shot.
On Birdman (Iñárritu, 2014), the logic was the same but on a different scale. The team built a proxy set in Los Angeles at Sony Pictures, with stand-in actors hired to reshoot the entire film while the camera angles were set up. The main actors then rehearsed for two weeks with Iñárritu before filming began in New York.
Pro tip : For long takes, some productions use separate "technical rehearsals" from the rehearsals with the actors. The technicians first mark out the camera paths, floor markings, and lighting timings, and then the actors are added. This avoids paying for the entire set for purely mechanical adjustments.
3. Specific equipment: Steadicam, rig, drone
A traditional shoot with short takes can rely on a tripod, a simple dolly, and a few lenses. A long take, on the other hand, often requires more sophisticated and therefore more expensive equipment.
The Steadicam
The Steadicam is the ultimate tool for mobile long takes. It allows the camera to follow an actor through corridors, staircases, and cluttered spaces without the camera operator's movements being transmitted to the image. The operator wears the rig (a motorized harness that stabilizes the camera) on an articulated vest.
On Birdman, Steadicam operator Chris Haarhoff used the ARRI Alexa XT for almost the entire duration of the shoot. On 1917, Deakins tested four main systems before building a hybrid setup: Steadicam, ARRI Trinity, Stabileye (a miniature remote-controlled stabilizer), and Mini Libra remote head (a remotely controlled camera head).
Renting a Steadicam with a qualified operator represents a significant additional cost compared to a camera on a tripod. But above all, the Steadicam requires an experienced operatorcapable of maintaining millimeter-perfect precision from one shot to the next. These specialists are rare and in high demand.
The gimbal and electronic rigs
Since the 2010s, electronic gimbals have partially replaced the Steadicam on smaller productions. More compact and less tiring, they offer comparable stabilization. But for long and complex shots, the Steadicam often remains the primary choice; its responsiveness and ability to handle rapid changes of direction are still superior.
The drone
For aerial sequence shots, integrating a drone creates additional constraints: a dedicated operator, specific filming permits, and careful coordination with the rest of the ground crew.
The rails and the camera cars
Some long takes combine several types of camera movement. On 1917, Deakins told The Hollywood Reporter that for the final chase across the battlefield, the camera moved from a 50-foot Technocrane to a shoulder-mounted rig, and then to another Technocrane mounted on a truck. The technicians carrying the camera in period costume were also paid as extras.
Pro tip : On low-budget productions, one technique is to discreetly cut the long take into two or three segments and use a hidden cut, a blurry movement, a split-second black shot, or an object passing in front of the camera. This allows you to achieve the immersive effect without the cost of a single, perfect take for the entire duration.
4. Multiplying catches: a logistical challenge
In a classic film, missing a take isn't a disaster. You re-roll, you start again. The time lost is minimal.
With a five, ten or twenty minute long take, each missed take represents a massive waste of time.
Putting the sets back in place. If any elements were moved, destroyed, or altered during filming (broken glass, a wall opening, smoke that needs to clear), everything must be returned to its original state before the next attempt. This takes time. Sometimes a lot of time.
Managing continuous lighting. If the long take takes place outdoors or incorporates natural light, the sun won't pass over the same spot in twenty minutes. On 1917, shooting outdoors with consistent natural light was one of the major challenges. Deakins recounts that there were three or four entire days when the sun was too bright to film; the crew spent those days rehearsing, waiting for clouds.
Managing actor fatigue. An actor who runs, shouts, and cries for seven minutes and repeats it ten times eventually becomes exhausted. On Birdman, the crew filmed the most intense sequences a maximum of two times a day.
Dealing with the unpredictable. On 1917, Dean-Charles Chapman accidentally hit a co-star during rehearsals. George MacKay was knocked over by extras during the final chase scene, and Mendes kept the take. This is the paradox of the long take: the slightest mistake is visible, but some "accidents" sometimes produce the most powerful moments in the film.
5. The additional cost of sets and coordination
The longer a long take, the larger the filmed area and the more extensive the sets to manage. In a traditional film, the portion of the set visible in the current shot is prepared, and the rest can remain unfinished. In a long take, the entire space traversed must be ready simultaneously.
On Birdman, filmed largely on a custom-built, labyrinthine set with a few scenes at the St. James Theatre in New York, all the spaces—dressing rooms, wings, stage, lobby—had to be dressed and operational simultaneously. A fascinating detail that Lubezki revealed to Cultjer : the set's corridors narrowed as the film progressed, to materialize the mental confinement of Riggan Thomson's character. Invisible to the naked eye, but requiring meticulous design.
The number of technicians involved also increases. On a complex long take, you might simultaneously have: a Steadicam operator, an assistant focus puller, lighting technicians moving light sources as needed, prop masters cleaning up the camera path in real time, and extras briefed down to the second. On Victoria, Schipper mobilized six assistant directors and three sound units to cover a shoot that took place in 22 different locations in Berlin. For 1917, the production included more than 500 extras.
Pro tip : On low-budget productions, some production managers prefer to negotiate extra shooting days rather than equipment budgets. A single shot that's botched two more times doesn't cost as much as an upgraded Steadicam, but two extra days of rehearsals can make all the difference.
6. Case Studies
1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019)
The film's total budget was between $90 and $100 million, according to various sources (IMDb estimates $95 million). 1917 was intended to give the illusion of a single, two-hour take. In reality, the film is composed of approximately 30 invisible cuts, notably a scene where the character loses consciousness—the only cut clearly visible to the viewer.
Deakins told British Cinematographer that on his first reading of the script, he thought the phrase "intended as a single shot" was a typo by the screenwriter. He was initially worried: in his view, "cinema has always been about cuts, about jumps in time." It was only by exploring the idea further with Mendes that he finally understood why the constraint served the story.
The preparation lasted for months. Rehearsals began in January 2019, and filming took place from April to mid-June. Three rotating camera systems (including a prototype ARRI Alexa Mini LF), over 500 extras, and pyrotechnics choreographed down to the second were used. According to Mendes, takes averaged twenty attempts per scene, with up to fifty for the most difficult ones.
Key takeaway: For 1917, the cost of rehearsals and on-location logistics represented an unusually high portion of the total budget. The technical gamble paid off: the film grossed $446 million and won three Oscars (cinematography, sound, visual effects).
Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014)
Budget: approximately $18 to $19 million according to The Hollywood Reporter and Media & Entertainment. A modest budget for a film of this ambition. The film simulates a single continuous shot throughout its entire 119-minute runtime. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki oversaw considerable preparation to ensure seamless transitions. According to Lubezki, most takes lasted around ten minutes, with the longest reaching fifteen, which demanded exceptional memorization and precision from the entire crew.
A little-known anecdote: two weeks before filming began, Iñárritu sought advice from Mike Nichols. The director of The Graduate gave him a blunt warning, explaining that a comedy is built in the editing room, and that his actors weren't comedic actors. Iñárritu left that lunch with "shaky legs," but he stuck to his decision.
The team first rehearsed in Los Angeles on a proxy set replicating the backstage area of the St. James Theatre, with stand-in actors hired to reshoot the entire film. The actual filming took place in New York.
Key takeaway: Birdman demonstrates that a relatively modest budget can produce an extremely ambitious result, provided that the majority of the investment is made in human training rather than special effects. The film won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography.
Victoria (Sebastian Schipper, 2015)
Victoria is one of the few feature films to have been shot in a single, uninterrupted take, running approximately 134 minutes. Filmed in Berlin's Kreuzberg and Mitte districts between 4:30 and 7:00 a.m. on April 27, 2014, the film was shot in three complete takes, the third of which was the one used. The budget remained extremely low for a feature-length fiction film.
The production anecdote is remarkable: to reassure the financiers, Schipper agreed to deliver an alternate version with cuts as a safety net. This version was shot first, over ten days, in ten-minute takes. In other words, the crew first filmed an entire movie "just in case," before attempting the actual single-take shot. The budget then only allowed for three attempts at the true one-shot. Schipper told IndieWire that the first attempt was "boring" because the actors were too cautious, and the second "crazy" because they went too far. The third, the successful one, is the one we see on screen.
The script consisted of 12 pages of notes. The dialogue was entirely improvised for each take. Cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the 2015 Berlinale for his work behind the camera.
Key takeaway: Victoria proves that a true feature-length single-take shot is technically possible, but the human cost in rehearsals and concentration remains considerable, even with a small budget. Two months of preparation, twelve days of rehearsals, and a safety net filmed entirely beforehand.
FAQ
Is a single-take shot always more expensive than a traditional shoot? Not necessarily. A simple single-take shot, an actor talking in a hallway, can be less expensive than a scene shot using a conventional multi-camera setup. It's the complexity of the shot (movements, number of actors, sets, duration) that determines the additional cost.
How many takes are typically needed for a complex long take? There's no universal average. Mendes mentions around twenty takes per scene for 1917 , and up to fifty for the most difficult ones. For Victoria , three complete takes were sufficient (but preceded by two months of rehearsals). Kubrick is known for sometimes requesting dozens of takes of the same scene, with or without a long take.
Has digital technology reduced the cost of long takes? Yes, to some extent. The end of film eliminated the cost of reshoots for each failed take. Lightweight digital cameras like the ARRI Alexa Mini LF used on 1917 or the Alexa M on Birdman have also reduced the physical strain on Steadicam operators. But the human costs—rehearsals, coordination, set management—remain the same.
Does a long take cost more in post-production? Paradoxically, less. There's less editing and fewer cut-out effects to manage. But if the long take incorporates subtle visual effects (digital joins, frame-by-frame lighting corrections), post-production can still be complex. 1917 even won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, which gives you an idea of the invisible work that goes into it.
Why do some directors choose the long take despite the cost? Because the effect on the viewer is radically different. A long take creates a tension and immersion that editing cannot replicate. It's a bold artistic gamble and sometimes a justified economic one, when the entire film is sold on this premise.
Conclusion
A single-take shot doesn't necessarily cost a fortune. But as soon as it exceeds a few minutes and involves sets, travel, and large crews, it generates real additional costs at each stage: extended rehearsals, specialized equipment, multiple reshoots, and expanded coordination.
What 1917, Birdman , and Victoria have in common is a conviction: the result justifies the investment. The viewer doesn't see the months of rehearsal, they don't see the outtakes. They see a scene that breathes differently, that doesn't let them catch their breath, that sweeps them away without a safety net.
This is the paradox of the long take: its cost is measured in weeks of invisible work. And its value is measured in seconds of silence in the theater.
👉 On plan-sequences.com, find detailed analyses of iconic long takes: 1917, Birdman, Children of Men, Goodfellas , and many more. Learn about their techniques, their filming, and their impact on the viewer. Subscribe so you don't miss any new entries.
