Rahul Sharma (Editor)

One shot (music video)

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A "one-shot" is any music video which consists of action, continuous in time and space, from the perspective of a single camera — a single long take. In order to be able to make one-shot videos several special techniques are used. Most commonly the stage props which are not currently caught on cameras are changed during the shot. For other videos some parts are filmed before the final shot and then replayed on screens in the video.

Contents

One of the most famous music video directors for this genre is Michel Gondry, who has done many of his videos in this style.

This differs from the meaning of two shot, etc.

Music videos by Michel Gondry

  • Massive Attack - Protection, 1994
  • Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off, 1994
  • Cibo Matto - Sugar Water, 1996
  • Radiohead - Knives Out, 2001
  • Kylie Minogue - Come into My World, 2002
  • The White Stripes - The Denial Twist, 2005
  • Gary Jules - Mad World, 2006
  • Metronomy - Love Letters, 2014

    • Other examples

  • Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues, 1965
  • The Europeans - The Animal Song, 1982 (Band-only version)
  • Split Enz - Message to My Girl, 1984
  • Shakatak - Down On The Street, 1984
  • Steve Perry - Foolish Heart, 1984
  • Tommy Shaw - Girls With Guns, 1984
  • Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush - Don't Give Up, 1986
  • Los Prisioneros - Sexo, 1986
  • The Replacements - Bastards Of Young, 1986
  • Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise, 1987
  • Paco de Lucía - Amor de mis Amores, 1988
  • The Grapes of Wrath - All the Things I Wasn't 1989
  • Pixies - Velouria, 1990
  • Vaya Con Dios - Nah Neh Nah, 1990
  • Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy, 1991 (directed by Baillie Walsh)
  • Guns N' Roses - Garden of Eden, 1992 (directed by Andy Morahan)
  • Toni Braxton - Another Sad Love Song, 1993 (directed by Antoine Fuqua)
  • Primus - Mr. Krinkle, 1993
  • Die Krupps - To The Hilt, 1994
  • Gin Blossoms - Allison Road, 1994 (directed by Sean Alquist)
  • Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs, 1994
  • Tom Petty - You Don't Know How It Feels 1994 (directed by Phil Joanou)
  • Lisa Loeb - Stay (I Missed You) 1994 (directed by Ethan Hawke)
  • Weezer - Undone - The Sweater Song, 1994 (directed by Spike Jonze)
  • Wax - California, 1995 (directed by Spike Jonze)
  • Madonna - Love Don't Live Here Anymore, 1996 (directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino)
  • Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet, 1996 (directed by Michele Laurita and Alanis Morissette)
  • Daft Punk - Fresh, 1996
  • Spice Girls - Wannabe, 1996
  • Garbage - Milk, 1996
  • Tracy Bonham - Mother Mother, 1996 (directed by Jake Scott)
  • Ben Folds Five - Kate, 1997
  • Green Day - Redundant, 1997
  • Erykah Badu - Otherside of the Game
  • Björk - Hunter, 1997
  • The Tea Party - Babylon, 1997
  • Tic Tac Toe - Bitte küss' mich nicht, 1997
  • Fiona Apple - Never Is a Promise, 1997
  • Mashina Vremeni - Он был старше её (He was older than she), 1997
  • Die Ärzte - Rebell, 1998
  • Radiohead - No Surprises, 1998
  • Xzibit - What U See Is What U Get, 1998
  • Los Tres - No Me Falles, 1999
  • Semisonic - Closing Time, 1999 (two continuous shots playing simultaneously)
  • Sky - Some Kinda Wonderful, 1999
  • Smashing Pumpkins - Ava Adore, 1999
  • D'Angelo – Untitled (How Does It Feel), 2000
  • Coldplay – Yellow, 2000
  • A - Good time, 2001
  • Green Day - Macy's Day Parade, 2001
  • Hawksley Workman - Jealous of Your Cigarette, 2001
  • R.E.M. - Imitation Of Life, 2001
  • Elton John - I Want Love, 2001
  • Destiny's Child - Emotion, 2001 (three continuous shots playing simultaneously)
  • Utada Hikaru - Hikari, 2002
  • Will Young with Gareth Gates - The Long and Winding Road, 2002
  • Ayumi Hamasaki - Daybreak, 2003
  • Ayumi Hamasaki - Heaven, 2003
  • Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within, 2003
  • Will Young - Leave Right Now, 2003
  • Shania Twain - When You Kiss Me, 2003 (One Take version)
  • Jack Johnson - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing, 2005
  • Architecture in Helsinki - It'5, 2005
  • Wir sind Helden - Nur ein Wort, 2005 (forwards and backwards)
  • OK Go - A Million Ways, 2005
  • Dilated Peoples - Back Again, 2006
  • Gimma - Superschwiizer, 2006
  • OK Go - Here It Goes Again, 2006
  • Sportfreunde Stiller - '54, '74, '90, 2006, 2006
  • The Rumble Strips - Motorcycle, 2006
  • Feist - My Moon My Man, 2007
  • Feist - 1234, 2007
  • Kaiser Chiefs - Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning), 2007
  • Jack Peñate - Second, Minute or Hour, 2007
  • Linkin Park - Bleed It Out, 2007
  • The Matches - Salty Eyes, 2007
  • Paul Kelly - God Told Me To, 2007 (Directed by Natasha Pinkus)
  • Melanie C - The Moment You Believe, 2007
  • Miley Cyrus - Start All Over, 2007
  • Panda - Los Malaventurados No Lloran, 2007
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers - Desecration Smile, 2007
  • Spoon - "The Underdog", 2007
  • The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight, 2007
  • Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes, 2007
  • Dana Nalbaru - Tu, 2008
  • Feist - I Feel It All, 2008
  • Sara Bareilles - Gravity, 2008
  • Janet Jackson - Rock with U, 2008
  • The Last Shadow Puppets - Standing Next to Me, 2008
  • Lil Wayne - A Milli, 2008
  • Vampire Weekend - A-Punk, 2008
  • Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma, 2008
  • The Vines - He's a Rocker, 2008
  • Young Righchus and Max Berry - Ridin', 2008
  • Super Junior - It's You, 2009
  • Metric - Gimme Sympathy, 2009
  • Myriam Fares - Ayam El Shety, 2009
  • Electric Indian - Kids These Days, 2009
  • OK Go - WTF, 2009
  • Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone, 2009
  • I Was a Teenage Anarchist - Against Me!, 2010
  • Die Roten Punkte - Burger Store Dinosaur, 2010
  • Die Roten Punkte - Bananenhaus (Banana House), 2010
  • Cosmo Jarvis - Gay Pirates, 2010
  • Air - So Light Is Her Footfall, 2010
  • Erykah Badu - Window Seat, 2010
  • Grace Potter - Something That I Want, 2010 (from the movie Tangled)
  • Liam Frost - Good Things Are Coming Our Way, 2010
  • J. Cole - Who Dat, 2010
  • Janelle Monae - Cold War, 2010
  • Utada Hikaru - Goodbye Happiness, 2010
  • Kelis - Brave, 2010
  • OK Go - White Knuckles, 2010
  • Säkert - Dansa fastän, 2010
  • Francis and the Lights - Darling, It's Alright, 2010
  • Big Bang - Love Song, 2011
  • Birdy - Skinny Love, 2011 (One Take version)
  • Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song, 2011 (Official version)
  • AKB48 - Dakishimecha Ikenai, 2011
  • Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks, 2011
  • Enrique Iglesias - Ayer, 2011
  • A Banda Mais Bonita da Cidade - Oração, 2011
  • Anneke van Giersbergen - Feel Alive, 2011
  • The Black Keys - Lonely Boy, 2011
  • Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend, 2011
  • Nogizaka46 - Gūzen ni Iiwake ni Shite, 2012
  • The Pierces - I Put Your Records On, 2012
  • Dappy - Good Intentions, 2012
  • McFly - Love Is Easy, 2012
  • Jessie Ware - Wildest Moments, 2012
  • Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, 2012
  • Air Dubai feat. Patricia Lynn - Warning, 2012
  • The Mowgli's - San Francisco, 2012
  • Brendan Maclean - Stupid, 2013
  • Chris Brown - Fine China, 2013 (One Take version)
  • Sarah Blasko - We Won't Run, 2009
  • Sam Tsui- Make It Up, 2013
  • EXO - Growl, 2013
  • Lorde - Tennis Court, 2013
  • Brendan Maclean - Winner, 2013
  • Panic! at the Disco - Girls/Girls/Boys, 2013
  • Violent Soho - Covered in Chrome, 2013
  • Pusha T - Nosetalgia, 2013
  • G-Eazy - Been On, 2013
  • Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball, 2013 (Director's Cut version)
  • LiLi Roquelin - The Only One, 2013
  • Pharrell Williams - Happy, 2013 (all versions except official edit)
  • IU - Friday, 2013
  • Kaiser Chiefs - Coming Home (Kaiser Chiefs song), 2014
  • Violent Soho - Saramona Said, 2014
  • Jane Zhang - 我是我的 (I Am Mine), 2014
  • Wankelmut feat. John Lamonica - Wasted So Much Time, 2014
  • Kiesza - Hideaway, 2014
  • Wiz Khalifa - We Dem Boyz, 2014
  • Cut Capers - Say What, 2014
  • OK Go - The Writing's on the Wall, 2014
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Tacky", 2014
  • Sia - Chandelier, 2014 (Alternative version)
  • FKA twigs - "Two Weeks", 2014
  • Lights - "Up We Go", 2014
  • clipping. - Work Work, 2014
  • Klangkarussell - All Eyes On You, 2014
  • TVXQ - Spellbound, 2014
  • BUSH - The Only Way Is Through, 2014
  • OK Go - I Won't Let You Down, 2014
  • Two Way Crossing - Car Trouble, 2015
  • The Dodos - Competition, 2015
  • Avicii - Waiting for Love, 2015 (360 version)
  • Ariana Grande - One Last Time, 2015
  • Gwen Stefani - Used to Love You, 2015
  • Between the Buried and Me - The Coma Machine, 2015
  • The Social Experiment - Sunday Candy, 2015
  • Skepta - Nasty, 2015
  • Adele - Send My Love (To Your New Lover), 2016 (Multiple long takes superimposed over one another)
  • BTS - Save Me, 2016
  • The Chemical Brothers - Wide Open ft. Beck, 2016
  • Mike Posner - I Took a Pill in Ibiza, 2016 (Original version)
  • OneRepublic - Kids, 2016 (Starting at 0:35 and onwards)
  • Samra - Miracle, 2016
  • Siska - Unconditional Rebel, 2016
  • Tove Lo - True Disaster, 2016
  • NAVI - Historyja majho žyccia, 2016
  • Snakehips feat. MØ - Don't Leave (Lyric Video), 2017
  • Ginta Biku - Cet Air La, 2017
  • Isabell Otrębus - Voiceless, 2017

    • Videos mistaken for one shot

  • John Fogerty - The Old Man Down The Road, 1985
    • Contains several edits disguised by dissolves, particularly when the camera is pointing down at the ground and the dissolves are less noticeable due to motion blur.
  • U2 - Numb, 1993
    • The video was spliced together from two separate takes. The cut between the two happens when the camera turns away from the face of guitarist, and singer on this track, The Edge and the cut was hidden by having smoke blowing in from the side of the frame.
  • Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity, 1996
    • The video contains several cuts when the camera tilts down, transitioning into another shot when it tilts up again.
  • The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony, 1997
    • Although often cited as an example of a one shot video, it actually contains several cuts to reverse angles and close ups and is not one long take. There are in fact about 50 cuts in the video.
  • U2 - Sweetest Thing, 1998
    • In a Channel 4, documentary discussing the Greatest Pop Videos of all time, the director Kevin Godley revealed that it was filmed in 3 shots, each shot transition hidden by a lens flare.
  • Kylie Minogue - Love at First Sight, 2002
    • The video editing process is the same as Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai.
  • Khalil Fong - 紅豆 (Red Beans), 2009
    • Hidden cuts during camera moves.
  • OK Go - This Too Shall Pass, 2010 - Rube Goldberg Machine video
    • In interviews, band member Damian Kulash and visual designer Hector Alvarez both admit to a cut at 2:27 when the curtain opens.
  • LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls, 2010
    • The video is a long take until near the end, when a few cuts are introduced.
  • Jessie J - Who You Are, 2011
    • There are several cuts at the end of this video, starting at 3 minutes.
  • Kanye West - Mercy, 2012
    • The video is made of multiple long takes superimposed over one another
  • One Direction - You & I, 2014
    • The video was actually stitched from multiple takes to create the illusion of a single, continuous shot.
  • Maroon 5 - This Summer's Gonna Hurt, 2015
    • Co-director Travis Schneider stated in an interview that although the video was planned to be one shot, there is one cut in the video.
  • Ok Go - "Upside Down & Inside Out", 2016
    • Though the video, involving the band using parabolic flight from reduced gravity aircraft to simulate micro-gravity, is from one long 40-45 minute shot, periods when the band is not in micro-gravity were trimmed from the final product.
  • OK Go - "The One Moment", 2016
    • The video drastically slows down playback of about 4.2 seconds of actions that take place in real-time. However, to capture the amount of action, the band had to use multiple high-speed cameras on the same mounted system, their respective footage stitched together to compose the final video.

    References

    One shot (music video) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA