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 |
| Safety Take | Additional take recorded as insurance against technical issues |
| 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 accepting the first usable 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. On digital productions, the 1st AC checks focus and the DIT checks exposure on each take before the director decides whether to move on.
Coverage layering: Even when a take is technically and performatively complete, additional takes are often recorded as safety options. Losing a single take to a technical problem discovered 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. David Fincher is known for 50-plus takes on specific scenes, as documented in behind-the-scenes material from The Social Network (2010) and Gone Girl (2014). The number of takes per setup reflects both the director's working method and the production's schedule constraints. For an analysis of Fincher's take philosophy, see IndieWire's interview with Fincher on his directing process.
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 organizes 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 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 organized in the studio era.
The relationship between takes and creative quality has been differently understood by different directors. Some value spontaneity and prefer first takes. Charlie Chaplin was known to shoot hundreds of takes for single gags, spending days on brief sequences. Stanley Kubrick used extensive takes throughout his career, with The Shining (1980) reportedly requiring over 100 takes for specific scenes. David Fincher continues this tradition: some scenes from The Social Network (2010) involved 50-plus takes, and Gone Girl (2014) similarly used high take counts to strip away artifice and reach a raw, neutral performance state. Bong Joon-ho, by contrast, typically works with 3-5 takes per setup, preferring to capture spontaneity before the actors overthink the moment.
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 (focus puller missed the mark). 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. The 2nd AC logs all five takes on the camera report with notes for each.
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 (a boom mic rustle). 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. Scene 12, Shot A, Take 3 refers to the third attempt at the first camera setup for scene 12.
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.
Take vs. Setup: A setup is each distinct camera position and framing for a given scene. Each setup may have multiple takes. Changing the camera position, lens, or framing creates a new setup. A scene with three camera angles has three setups, each with its own series of takes.
Variations by Context
| Context | How Take Varies |
|---|---|
| High Take Count Directors | Kubrick, Fincher, and Chaplin use extensive takes (50-100+) to strip performance artifice and reach a raw emotional state. This approach requires schedule flexibility and actors who can sustain energy across many repetitions. |
| Low Take Count Directors | Bong Joon-ho, Clint Eastwood, and Mike Leigh typically work with 1-5 takes. Eastwood is known for moving on after the first or second take, preferring spontaneity. This approach maximizes schedule efficiency but provides fewer options for the editor. |
| Digital vs. Film | Digital production (ARRI ALEXA, Sony VENICE) has reduced the cost of additional takes - no film stock is consumed. Productions shooting on 35mm film (e.g., Oppenheimer on 65mm) are more selective about take counts due to stock and processing costs. |
| Improvised Work | When directors like Mike Leigh or Robert Altman encourage improvisation, each take may produce significantly different dialogue and action. The editor's role becomes more creative in assembling the best moments from divergent takes. |
| Action / Stunts | Stunt sequences often require many takes for safety and precision. Each take is carefully planned, and the stunt coordinator approves each attempt. Safety takes are mandatory for stunt work. |
Key People & Films
Stanley Kubrick set the benchmark for high take counts in cinema. The Shining (1980) reportedly required 127 takes of the axe-through-the-door scene, with Shelley Duvall's performance reaching a state of genuine exhaustion that Kubrick considered essential to the scene's power. David Fincher continued this tradition: The Social Network (2010) and Gone Girl (2014) routinely used 50-plus takes per setup, with Fincher explaining that repetition strips away the actor's conscious choices and reveals something more honest. By contrast, Clint Eastwood is famous for moving on after one or two takes, trusting the actor's first instinct. Bong Joon-ho typically works with 3-5 takes, capturing spontaneity before it calcifies. Christopher Nolan, shooting Oppenheimer (2023) on 65mm film, balanced take counts against stock costs, typically running 5-10 takes per setup. For an in-depth analysis of how different directors use takes, see StudioBinder's analysis of David Fincher's directing style.
Equipment / Tools Reference
The ARRI ALEXA 35 records each take as a separate clip with embedded metadata including timecode, lens data (via LDS), and T-stop information. The Sony VENICE 2 similarly embeds take metadata in each clip header. Pomfort Silverstack is the industry-standard on-set DIT software for managing takes: it ingests clips, organizes them by scene/shot/take, applies look LUTs, and generates dailies. Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro both organize takes into bins grouped by scene and shot, with the assistant editor syncing audio to each take using the slate clap as the reference point. The Denecke TS-3 timecode slate provides the timecode reference that links each take's audio and picture in post-production. Movie Magic Scheduling and StudioBinder production management software track take counts against the daily schedule, helping the 1st AD monitor whether the production is falling behind on take counts.
Standards & Specifications
No formal industry standard governs the number of takes per setup. Take counts are determined by the director's creative process, the production's schedule, and the budget. However, SMPTE timecode standards (SMPTE 12M) govern how each take is identified and synchronized in post-production. Every take receives a unique timecode reference from the timecode slate or camera's internal generator. The ARRI LDS (Lens Data System) and Cooke/i Technology protocols embed take-specific metadata - lens focal length, T-stop, focus distance - in each clip's metadata, which the editor and colorist can reference in post. IATSE union agreements govern turnaround time between wrap and the next call, which indirectly affects how many takes can be recorded in a day. The DGA (Directors Guild of America) Basic Agreement gives the director the right to determine the number of takes, subject to the producer's schedule and budget constraints.
Common Questions / FAQ
Q: How many takes do most directors average per setup?
A: Most commercial and television productions average 3-7 takes per setup. Feature films vary widely: some directors move on after 1-2 takes, while others routinely run 20-50. The average across the industry is approximately 5 takes per setup, but this varies enormously by director, scene complexity, and whether the take involves stunts, visual effects, or complex camera moves.
Q: What is a circle take and who decides it?
A: A circle take is the director's preferred take for a given setup, marked with a circle on the camera report and script supervisor's notes. The director makes the decision, often in consultation with the script supervisor. The circle take is the first take the assistant editor loads and organizes, and the editor typically cuts from circle takes. However, the editor is not bound by the circle - they may use any take that best serves the cut.
Q: Why do some directors shoot so many takes?
A: Directors who shoot many takes (Kubrick, Fincher) argue that repetition strips away the actor's conscious performance choices and reveals something more raw and honest. The first few takes capture the actor's prepared interpretation. Later takes, after the actor has exhausted their prepared choices, can produce unexpected and more truthful moments. The trade-off is schedule pressure and actor fatigue.
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
- Setup - Each distinct camera position and framing; one setup may have multiple takes
See Also / Tools
The Shot List Generator plans the shots for which takes will be recorded, providing the organizational framework that determines how many setups a scene requires and how many takes each setup may need. For a deeper exploration of how directors use takes to shape performance, see the blog post on the 180-degree rule and when to break it.
