How THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE Pulled Off That Insane Single-Take Shot
Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House is my favorite piece of filmmaking, on any platform, in 2018. Using Shirley Jackson's original story as nothing more than a storytelling springboard, he transforms what could've easily been a simplistic entry in the "haunted house" sub-genre into one of the more compelling familial portraits of the past twenty-or-so years. The Crains become extensions of our own kin, and we feel as they do, all while trying to keep ghosts, both metaphorical and literal, in check.
But beyond being a rather stunning storytelling achievement, Flanagan also pulled off quite the technical feat, crafting an entire hour (Episode Six: "Two Storms") of the ten-part series via a set of elaborate single takes. Ever since Hill House debuted last month, folks have been wanting to know how the budding genre maverick pulled off such a bravura piece of craft.
Well, Flanagan took to Twitter today to elaborate on a BTS featurette (included below) that breaks down how they seemingly pulled off the impossible with "Two Storms". First, let's check out that featurette...
...and now, here's Flanagan's deep-dive into the technical stuff:
I've gotten a lot of questions about ep 106 of @haunting . Netflix released an awesome little BTS video, but for those that want more information, here's a little thread: Episode 6 was part of the very first pitch for the show, promising an episode that would look like one shot.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
Most of the camera choreography was actually included in the script itself, which meant that the draft for ep 6 was a really tough read with "camera pivots left/tracks right down left aisle, keeping Steven in MS profile" breaking up the dialog.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The sets for both Hill House and Shirley's Funeral Home were designed with episode 6 in mind. They were built on adjacent stages, and had to accommodate a hallway that would physically connect them so that Hugh could walk directly from the funeral home to Hill House in shot 1.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The sets needed to include hiding places for crew & equipment, specific lighting rigs, and even a handmade elevator that would lower into place from the ceiling to bring a cameraman to the first floor for shot 4. We began doing weekly walk-throughs of the ep 6 immediately in prep
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We initially intended to shoot it last, to give us as much time as possible. Budget issues resulted in the studio moving the episode up to the beginning of our third production block, and rapidly accelerating our prep time.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
Production was shut down, rehearsals for ep 6 began March 6th, 2018. We rehearsed daily with our second team stand-ins, who performed the entire episode as actors as we learned the camera, lighting, and acting choreography. They were HEROES and made the whole thing possible.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The episode was comprised of 5 long takes. 3 took place in the funeral home, 2 in Hill House. We would rehearse one segment while another was prepped/programmed for lighting, and then switch. Sets were still being painted and constructed to accommodate the ep.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
Massive rain FX were put in both stages, and specialty lights were brought in to create the lightning. The water would sometimes flood the sets, and the studio initially didn't want to pay for the extra "lightning" lights and proposed cutting the storms from the episode entirely.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The actors arrived on March 26 to begin rehearsals. On their first day, we sat them down and showed them the entire episode, shot on a DSLR, with second team performing. They could see each shot executed successfully, and see the goal they were trying to achieve.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
Rehearsals began in earnest. The actors would be on one stage, practicing the scene and the performance, while our camera operators worked on the other stage with second team to continue refining camera blocking and lighting cues.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
There were hundreds of individual lighting cues, not only for effect but also for beauty lightning. If a cue was a late, an actor wouldn't be lit properly. If an actor missed their mark, or if a cue was early or late, it meant actors went dark, or you'd see a camera shadow.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We finally began shooting on April 6, 2018. We shot in episode order, so the first shot was 14 pages in Shirley's funeral home. We did tech rehearsals in the morning, and finally just started shooting, in case we got lucky. We only had to get it right once.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
This first segment involved hiding the younger actors playing the Crain children around the corner in the viewing room, so they could run in and replace their adult counterparts during a 360-degree move around Tim Hutton. The adults sprinted back into place a moment later.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We also had to swap a dummy of Victoria Pedretti from the casket, and help young Violet McGraw climb inside and be still. We did this change while the siblings talked about Hugh flying in coach on the airplane.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
At the end of the shot, we follow Tim through a hallway that leads directly through the doors of our other stage, onto the Hill House set. The shot ended a moment after the chandelier fell in the background. Length: 14:19
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We began shooting the second shot the following day, which was seven pages long and took place in Hill House. Our initial worry about putting this much pressure on the youngest of the actors proved to be a non-issue, as they were knew their lines cold (and even the adults' lines)
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
Lots of ALMOST complete takes on this segment, but the technical issues of this segment were pretty daunting, particularly timing our Bent Neck Lady with the lightning and making Nell disappear. We finally got a complete take late in the afternoon. Length: 7:25
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The third segment was the most brutal. 18 pages, shot in the funeral home, and requiring thunderous emotion from the cast. They started seated, which meant we had to keep the camera on a peewee dolly to handle the height differences. We pushed a dolly through this entire shot.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
It was a BEAST. We could never make it to the end. And the dolly was slowly getting harder to push, because (we found out later) the wheels weren't meant for carpet, and carpet fibers were getting inside through all of our rehearsals, putting enormous strain on the transmission.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We went to lunch without getting a take, and the grips told me that the dolly had a big issue. The transmission chain was strained and close to breaking from the rigors of rehearsal. They figure we MIGHT have one more take before it could break. There wasn't a replacement dolly.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We didn't tell the cast, I didn't want it to get in their heads. We came back from lunch, I said "I've got a good feeling about this one" and we held our breath. Believe it or not we got it. We got the take. They took the dolly, turned the wheel and the chain broke. Length: 17:19
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The next day we did segment 4, which was our most difficult from a technical point of view. Lots of swaps, windows breaking, the elevator gag, etc. We ran this all day, the pressure was on Carla and Henry. Time and again we'd make it all the way to the elevator and mess up.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
The smashing windows in this segment are a digital creation, but we had to "teleport" Carla around the set. This was done using a photo double for some moments, and having Carla run through secret crew access portals in others.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
We got the shot late afternoon after dozens of aborted attempts. Length: 6:13. The next day, we did the (relatively easy by comparison) 5th segment, which timed in at 5:31. Production was murder and almost killed us all, but it was the easiest edit of my life. Took 10 seconds.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
So the ep is 53:38. About 51:00 is comprised of 5 shots.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) November 4, 2018
Shot 1: 14:19
Shot 2: 7:25
Shot 3: 17:19
Shot 4: 6:13
Shot 5: 5:31
It was the hardest thing most of us have ever done, and the result of the combined efforts of hundreds of people. Mad respect for the cast & crew.
Whoa. The part about the kids jumping in and out of frame is pretty incredible! I've been trying to work through an entire piece on Hill House, but the words have been elusive; hopefully, I'll have a more thorough personal take at some point for you in the near future. Until then, take a watch (or re-watch) of The Haunting of Hill House right now on Netflix. I'm already on my second go 'round and it just gets better with repeat viewings.
