Take
A single recorded attempt at filming a shot, from the camera rolling to the director calling cut.
Take
noun | Production
A single, continuous recorded attempt at filming a shot -- from the moment the camera begins rolling and the 1st AD calls "action" to the moment the director calls "cut." Each take is identified by its scene number, shot designation, and take number on the slate. Multiple takes of the same shot are typically recorded so the director and editor have options -- the best performance, the cleanest technical execution, or the most useful combination of qualities can be selected in the edit.
Quick Reference
| Domain | Production |
| Begins | When action is called |
| Ends | When cut is called |
| Identified By | Scene + shot + take number on the slate |
| Circle Take | Director's preferred take, circled on the camera report for the editor |
| Related Terms | Coverage, Slate, Clapperboard, Principal Photography, Dailies |
| See Also (Tools) | Shot List Generator |
| Difficulty | Foundational |
The Explanation: How & Why
Every shot in the finished film was selected from one or more takes recorded during principal photography. The take is the atom of the production process -- the smallest complete unit of recorded footage. Understanding takes requires understanding why multiple takes are recorded rather than simply the first acceptable one.
Performance variation: No two performances are identical. Take 1 may have strong energy but an awkward physical moment; take 3 may have a perfect physical moment but less urgency; take 6 may finally integrate both. The director and editor select the take whose combination of performance qualities best serves the scene.
Technical requirements: A take may be unusable for technical reasons unrelated to performance -- a focus miss, an unwanted shadow, a microphone in frame, an unplanned camera shake. Technical problems require additional takes regardless of how good the performance was.
Coverage layering: Even when a take is technically and performatively complete, additional takes are often recorded as safety options (called "safety takes"). Losing a single take to a technical problem in post-production could necessitate an expensive reshoot; a safety take provides insurance.
Director's instinct: Some directors work with minimal takes -- two or three per setup. Others work extensively -- Stanley Kubrick famously required dozens of takes, using the psychological pressure of repetition as a creative tool. The number of takes per setup reflects both the director's working method and the production's schedule constraints.
Circle takes: After filming is complete, the director or script supervisor marks the preferred take(s) on the camera report with a circle. These "circle takes" are the ones the assistant editor loads and organises first. The editor typically cuts from circle takes, referring to non-circle takes only when the circle take is insufficient.
Historical Context & Origin
The concept of the take is as old as film production itself. In the silent era, directors like D.W. Griffith and later filmmakers discovered that multiple attempts at a scene provided both insurance against technical failure and creative options. The take numbering system -- take 1, take 2, take 3 -- became standard practice as production grew more organised. The relationship between takes and creative quality has been differently understood by different directors: some value spontaneity and prefer first takes; others, like Kubrick and David Fincher, use many takes to achieve specific effects. Fincher's reputation for high take counts -- some scenes from The Social Network involved 50-plus takes -- reflects a directorial philosophy in which the performance emerges from physical and psychological repetition.
How It's Used in Practice
Scenario 1 -- Standard Take Progression (Director): A dialogue scene's first setup runs five takes. Take 1 has a camera issue. Takes 2 and 3 are technically clean but the performance is still finding itself. Take 4 is strong but an actor stumbles on a line. Take 5 integrates everything. The director calls "moving on." The script supervisor circles take 5 and notes "performance good, clean tech" on the camera report.
Scenario 2 -- Safety Take (1st AD / Director): After a technically and performatively strong take 3, the director is satisfied. The 1st AD suggests a safety take given the complexity of the setup. The director agrees; take 4 is recorded as safety. In post-production, a technical fault is discovered in take 3's audio. The editor uses take 4. The safety take prevented a reshoot.
Scenario 3 -- False Take (2nd AC): The camera begins rolling; the slate is filmed; action is called. An actor immediately drops a prop they need for the scene. The director calls "cut" before any usable performance has been recorded. The 2nd AC notes this as a false take -- it is assigned the take number but annotated as "false start" on the camera report. The next attempt begins as take 2 (or is recorded as a re-slate of take 1 depending on the production's convention).
Usage Examples in Sentences
"That's a cut. Going again -- take 4."
"Circle take 7 -- that is the one. Everything else was safety."
"We cannot move on with only one take of that shot. Give me a safety before we strike the setup."
"Take 1 is always for the camera department. The first take is where the focus puller is finding the pull. The performance often comes later."
Common Confusions & Misuse
Take vs. Shot: A shot is a specific camera setup with a defined position, angle, and framing. A take is a single recorded attempt at that shot. One shot may have one take or twenty takes. The shot defines what the camera is doing; the take is each attempt at recording it.
Circle Take vs. Best Take: The circle take is the director's preferred take as designated on set, often selected quickly based on gut instinct in the middle of a busy shoot day. The "best take" is whatever the editor determines is best from all available material during the edit. These are often the same but not always -- the editor may find qualities in a non-circle take that better serve the cut.
Related Terms
- Coverage -- The full range of shots and takes filmed to cover a scene
- Slate -- The identification board filmed at the start of each take
- Clapperboard -- The device that identifies the take and provides the sync point
- Principal Photography -- The production phase during which all takes are captured
- Dailies -- The day's takes reviewed the following morning for quality and coverage assessment
See Also / Tools
The Shot List Generator plans the shots for which takes will be recorded, providing the organisational framework that determines how many setups a scene requires and how many takes each setup may need.
