The longest 'take'

[LMFAOschwarz]

I've always been a fan of long takes. Actors doing their thing, creating a miniature pie-slice of an imaginary situation for a minute or two, possibly more. Unbroken by the need to edit shots together to create the illusion of a situation, these mini-stage performances do the job as close to a 'real situation' as film can. So much can go wrong; an actor can flub a line, a camera operator can accidentally bump an object, creating an unusable shake during the shot, unwanted background noise can ruin the audio element, a prop can fail...you name it.

For whatever other faults it may have had, the first season of Space:1999 had a neat habit during their conference scenes of shooting them as single takes for the most part.

Question is, what was the longest take from Star Trek? The one that comes to mind for me is the mind-meld scene from The Changeling. I've never timed it, but it has to be two minutes or more.

Any other candidates?

 

[EnsignHarper]

I've always been a fan of long takes. Actors doing their thing, creating a miniature pie-slice of an imaginary situation for a minute or two, possibly more. Unbroken by the need to edit shots together to create the illusion of a situation, these mini-stage performances do the job as close to a 'real situation' as film can. So much can go wrong; an actor can flub a line, a camera operator can accidentally bump an object, creating an unusable shake during the shot, unwanted background noise can ruin the audio element, a prop can fail...you name it.

For whatever other faults it may have had, the first season of Space:1999 had a neat habit during their conference scenes of shooting them as single takes for the most part.

Question is, what was the longest take from Star Trek? The one that comes to mind for me is the mind-meld scene from The Changeling. I've never timed it, but it has to be two minutes or more.

Any other candidates?

Possibly the scene in Naked Time with Spock breaking down in the Briefing Room. - from where Spock walks in, falls against the thankfully non opening doors, until Kirk charges in, was not only one long shot, but done in ONE take, at the end of a shooting day that was already in OT, with apparently everyone from Roddenberry on down watching nervously. And its maybe THE defining moment of Spock's character.

That has to be 4 minutes...if not a little more

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I've always been a fan of long takes. Actors doing their thing, creating a miniature pie-slice of an imaginary situation for a minute or two, possibly more. Unbroken by the need to edit shots together to create the illusion of a situation, these mini-stage performances do the job as close to a 'real situation' as film can. So much can go wrong; an actor can flub a line, a camera operator can accidentally bump an object, creating an unusable shake during the shot, unwanted background noise can ruin the audio element, a prop can fail...you name it.

For whatever other faults it may have had, the first season of Space:1999 had a neat habit during their conference scenes of shooting them as single takes for the most part.

Question is, what was the longest take from Star Trek? The one that comes to mind for me is the mind-meld scene from The Changeling. I've never timed it, but it has to be two minutes or more.

Any other candidates?

I remember that the scene of Kirk and McCoy walking down the corridor in "The Ultimate Computer" seemed like a long take, the one when Kirk says, "I'm getting a red alert right here." I nominate that scene for our geekified analysis!

 

[Harvey]

Cinemetrics will tell you which episode has the longest average shot length -- but I don't know if you can use it to find the longest single take.

EDIT: You can see that information for each episode listing, but I don't know if you can sort search results at Cinemetrics. So, someone would have to do a search for Star Trek and then check all 79 (or 80, counting the original pilot) episodes to see which one has the longest "max" take.

 

[Harvey]

This Side of Paradise (the episode of the original with the highest average shot length) apparently has a shot that's 75 seconds. Don't know which one it is, though.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Possibly the scene in Naked Time with Spock breaking down in the Briefing Room. - from where Spock walks in, falls against the thankfully non opening doors, until Kirk charges in, was not only one long shot, but done in ONE take, at the end of a shooting day that was already in OT, with apparently everyone from Roddenberry on down watching nervously. And its maybe THE defining moment of Spock's character.

That has to be 4 minutes...if not a little more

I forgot all about that one!

I remember that the scene of Kirk and McCoy walking down the corridor in "The Ultimate Computer" seemed like a long take, the one when Kirk says, "I'm getting a red alert right here." I nominate that scene for our geekified analysis!

That did seem long, didn't it? All the way from "Did you see the love light in Spock's eyes?" to "Why don't you ask Jim Kirk? He's a pretty honest guy." That conversation did cover a lot of ground.

This Side of Paradise (the episode of the original with the highest average shot length) apparently has a shot that's 75 seconds. Don't know which one it is, though.

I thought about the Spock/Leila conversation near the end, but I think they used alternate cuts during it. Could be wrong, though.

 

[Green Shirt]

Not TOS, but I was watching TNG's Heart of Glory, and one of scenes with Worf and the two Klingons was the longest scene I ever remember in any TV show.

 

[Harvey]

Chris Carter's experiment in long takes (with a little help from some disguised cutting) on The X-Files (Season 6, "Triangle") is a lot of fun.

Each act break, essentially, is one continuous take.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

I thought about the Spock/Leila conversation near the end, but I think they used alternate cuts during it. Could be wrong, though.

Think you're right; I recall close-ups in that one.

 

[alpha_leonis]

For the purposes of this thread, does a "take" include scenes like the extended conversation between Kira and the Intendant in (I forget which) DS9's Mirror Universe episode?

That was a very long conversation relative to the episode; by one definition it was two different "takes" that were spliced together (and I remember being very impressed by the production values -- the timing between the two halves of the scene was perfect!)

 

[treknician1701]

I like the really long take of Yeoman Rand in the shower.....


Wait.....That was a dream......



Never mind!

 

[gottacook]

This Side of Paradise (the episode of the original with the highest average shot length) apparently has a shot that's 75 seconds. Don't know which one it is, though.

Without having seen the episode in a long time, my guess is that it's the scene of Kirk alone on the bridge; his thoughts are in voiceover: "I'm alone on the Enterprise," etc.

 

[Forbin]

For the purposes of this thread, does a "take" include scenes like the extended conversation between Kira and the Intendant in (I forget which) DS9's Mirror Universe episode?

That was a very long conversation relative to the episode; by one definition it was two different "takes" that were spliced together (and I remember being very impressed by the production values -- the timing between the two halves of the scene was perfect!)

A take is a single piece of film with no cuts or edits or splices at all.

 

[Push The Button]

For the purposes of this thread, does a "take" include scenes like the extended conversation between Kira and the Intendant in (I forget which) DS9's Mirror Universe episode?

That was a very long conversation relative to the episode; by one definition it was two different "takes" that were spliced together (and I remember being very impressed by the production values -- the timing between the two halves of the scene was perfect!)

A take is a single piece of film with no cuts or edits or splices at all.

Examples: the opening scene in The Player, the tracking shot through the Copacabana in Goodfellas.

 

[Christopher]

For the purposes of this thread, does a "take" include scenes like the extended conversation between Kira and the Intendant in (I forget which) DS9's Mirror Universe episode?

That was a very long conversation relative to the episode; by one definition it was two different "takes" that were spliced together (and I remember being very impressed by the production values -- the timing between the two halves of the scene was perfect!)

A take is a single piece of film with no cuts or edits or splices at all.

Yes, but the point is that this was a split-screen shot, so the two takes were playing simultaneously on opposite halves of the screen (basically). I would say, instead, that a take is a single continuous performance without any breaks, and that's what this shot represented -- two continuous, uninterrupted performances by Nana Visitor as she played two different versions of herself interacting with each other.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

This Side of Paradise (the episode of the original with the highest average shot length) apparently has a shot that's 75 seconds. Don't know which one it is, though.

Without having seen the episode in a long time, my guess is that it's the scene of Kirk alone on the bridge; his thoughts are in voiceover: "I'm alone on the Enterprise," etc.

I remember that as being a long take, including the part where the spores get him.

 

[Forbin]

For the purposes of this thread, does a "take" include scenes like the extended conversation between Kira and the Intendant in (I forget which) DS9's Mirror Universe episode?

That was a very long conversation relative to the episode; by one definition it was two different "takes" that were spliced together (and I remember being very impressed by the production values -- the timing between the two halves of the scene was perfect!)

A take is a single piece of film with no cuts or edits or splices at all.

Yes, but the point is that this was a split-screen shot, so the two takes were playing simultaneously on opposite halves of the screen (basically). I would say, instead, that a take is a single continuous performance without any breaks, and that's what this shot represented -- two continuous, uninterrupted performances by Nana Visitor as she played two different versions of herself interacting with each other.

Ah! I see.

 

[Lubitsch]

Since I am the person who measured the episodes on Cinemetrics, it's fitting that I answer the question. There are six takes in TOS which break the 100 second barrier. They are ... drum roll ...
6) The already mentioned collapse of Mr. Spock in The Naked Time (100.2 seconds at PAL speed)
4) The first scene inside the Galileo after the crash landing is an elaborate take with the camera gliding sideways and observing the crew (113.8)
4) More or less exactly the same length has the shot in The Ultimate Computer where McCoy brings some medicine with a good shot of alcohol to Kirk and where the latter muses about sailing ships (113.8)
3) A pretty intricate shot takes place in The Return of the Archons after the landing party is captured. The following wakeup scene in the cellar features a combination of camera and actor movements. (128.6)
2) In Elaan of Troyius there's a long two shot with Elaan and Kirk talking and him finally falling for her and kissing her before Spock and McCoy surprise them. (134.8)
1) And the winner is ... The Changeling and Spock's mind meld with the deadly machine. The take lasts 162.7 seconds and is the clear winner.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

1) And the winner is ... The Changeling and Spock's mind meld with the deadly machine. The take lasts 162.7 seconds and is the clear winner.

You mean...you mean...do you know what this means?
It means that for the first time since I joined up here, I was right about something!!!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

1) And the winner is ... The Changeling and Spock's mind meld with the deadly machine. The take lasts 162.7 seconds and is the clear winner.

You mean...you mean...do you know what this means?
It means that for the first time since I joined up here, I was right about something!!!

I look forward to that day!