Birdman not only has an impressive cast but also an impressive production, as it appears to have been filmed in one continuous shot. In 2014, the dark comedy-drama Birdman took the audience by surprise with its story, cast, and visual style. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman counts on the talents of Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, and many others. Birdman was a critical and commercial success, as well as a hit during the awards season, taking the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.
Birdman tells the story of Riggan Thomson (Keaton), an actor best known for playing a superhero named Birdman in the late 1980s/early 1990s. However, Thomson’s career has faded through the years, and he is looking to revive his career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway play. Throughout Birdman, Thomson is tormented by the critical internal voice of his past as Birdman, which affects not only his career but also his personal relationships. A large part of Birdman’s charm is that it looks to have been shot in one long, continuous take, but it’s all movie magic.
Birdman Was Not Filmed In Just One Take
That Doesn’t Make Birdman Any Less Impressive, Though
From beginning to end, Birdman looks like the entire movie is one take, without cuts, and with every actor’s appearance, setting, and lighting perfectly choreographed – and all this is partially true. Birdman wasn’t filmed in one continuous shot, but it required a lot of preparation to achieve this. Birdman counted on the talent and skills of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with whom Iñárritu made blueprints of the shots and blocking the scenes and designed the camerawork they would need. Once this was sorted, rehearsals with the cast began.
The trickier part of filming Birdman, even more than designing every take, camerawork, and movement of the actors, was the lighting.
Rehearsals continued even once Birdman entered production, and most shooting days would begin with rehearsals before moving on to the actual filming. The trickier part of filming Birdman, even more than designing every take, camerawork, and movement of the actors, was the lighting. Lubezki shared with THR in 2014 that they had to time all the lighting changes, as moving the camera around the room would create shadows that messed with the one-take effect they wanted. For that, Lubezki had a team that moved lights along with the cameras to avoid creating shadows.
Lubezki also revealed that they had the drum-driven score by Antonio Sánchez playing to help get the actors in the mood and the camera “get the rhythm”, as the score was like “the heartbeat of the character.” Although the transitions were created by Lubezki, Iñárritu, and their team, Lubezki admitted that for the most difficult ones they did have visual effects to achieve what they wanted. All this hard work and preparation from everyone involved in Birdman resulted in one of the most impressive visual achievements of the 2010s.
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Why Birdman Was Made To Look Like It Was Shot In One Take
Birdman’s One Take Style Was A Wise Creative Choice
Birdman being filmed as if it was one long take with no cuts isn’t just to make it a visual delight – it has a narrative purpose, as well. Speaking to Variety in 2014, Iñárritu revealed that the inspiration behind the decision to make Birdman appear as a one-long take came from the realization that everyone lives their lives without editing. Because of this, Iñárritu wanted Thomson to be fully submerged in his inescapable reality, and as a result, the audience lives these “desperate three days” with him.
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Of course, as much as this decision made sense for the character and his story, Iñárritu faced resistance and doubt from himself and others. Birdman co-writers Nicolás Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris Jr. shared with Creative Screenwriting that many people objected to Iñárritu’s ambitious idea, even saying that “huge people” encourage them not to do it. Lubezki himself admitted to being worried when offered the project but changed his mind after talking about the whole plan with Iñárritu (via Arri News). Ultimately, Birdman proved its doubters wrong, and the one-take style was key to better understanding Thomson’s journey.
Birdman Did Have Several One-Take Scenes
Birdman Has Some Long One-Take Scenes
Birdman isn’t a long, continuous take, but it does have a couple of one-take scenes. In that same interview with THR, Lubezki shared that there are some very long one-take scenes in Birdman, the longest one being 15 minutes long, though he didn’t share which scene. Lubezki confirmed that most one-take scenes in Birdman are in the 10-minute range, which ultimately helped keep the appearance of the movie being one long take and made everything look a lot smoother. Birdman had its challenges before and during production, but it got (and still gets) the recognition and praise it deserves.
Sources: THR, Variety, Creative Screenwriting, Arri News.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman is a dark comedy drama that stars Michael Keaton as washed-up actor Riggan Thomson, who’s famous for playing a bird-themed superhero and who attempts to stage a comeback by directing and starring in a Broadway play. Shot as one single long take and with Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Stone in its cast, the 2014 film won four Oscars, including Best Picture.
- Release Date
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October 17, 2014
- Director
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Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Runtime
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120 Minutes
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