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“Easy.”
Netflix has explained how its new one-shot miniseries Adolescence managed to film the “impossible” scene at the end of episode two.
Co-created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, the four-part drama follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller (played by newcomer Owen Cooper) as he’s accused of the murder of a girl at his school.
The series has already become a huge hit following its release on Thursday (March 13), garnering widespread praise from both critics and audiences for its unflinching look at gender-based violence.
However, given that each episode is filmed in one continuous shot, some viewers have been left confused over the transition at the end of episode two, which sees the camera seamlessly glide from the school to the crime scene.
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Responding to a comment on X about the scene looking “impossible”, Netflix shared a behind-the-scenes video of it being filmed, showing that the camera was attached to a drone.
“The DOP (Director of Photography) carries the camera and follows a school pupil to the traffic lights with a wide shot as she goes at the end of the school day,” the streamer explained in another post.
“Before she crosses the road, a team attach the camera to a drone, which then flies a distance of 0.3 miles across the site to the murder scene, where it comes down to a camera operator and team of grips who smoothly catch the camera and transition into a close shot of Stephen Graham. Easy.”
Related: You might have missed these small, vital details in Netflix’s Adolescence, but they add to its brilliance
Viewers also had some questions about another scene in the episode, which sees the camera seemingly pass straight through a window as DI Luke Bascombe (Top Boy’s Ashley Walters) chases one of Jamie’s friends through the school.
“There wasn’t actually a window there. It was taken out and put back in using VFX,” Netflix explained.
“One of the camera operators was in the classroom, then when Ryan jumped out of the window, the other operator – who was crouching on the other side – took the camera and continued the chase.”
Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix now.
Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022. In that role, Iona wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona now contributes to DS as a freelance reporter.
Iona has reported from the Black Adam red carpet, and interviewed celebrities ranging from Love Island stars to the cast of Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid.
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