The director of photography in front of the sequence shot: the case of 'Una noche con Adela'

On this stand, Diego Trenas, director of photography nominated for the Goya For his work in 'Una noche con Adela' (Hugo Ruiz, 2023), he explains how he faces the challenge of shooting a feature film using the sequence shot technique.

when it came Hugo Ruiz with the script One night with Adela and he told me, right from the start, that he wanted to shoot it in sequence, the first thing I did was try to understand if he wanted to do it that way for aesthetic reasons or if the script and the film really called for it, which is what matters most to me. For me, There is no point in making a sequence shot because you like the challenge, but because the script and its emotions ask that you experience the events in real time with the protagonist. Once I read the script, I discovered that it was clearly written for this technique. There was no doubt. One night with Adela asks us to accompany the character of Adela for this hour and forty-five minutes, living in real time what is happening to her.

The truth is that I had made sequence plans of scenes, but come on, I don't think they had ever exceeded five minutes. Even so, from a technical perspective it is a joy for a cinematographer, because it forces you to prepare in a very strict and precise way. We had to design the exact 8km route along which the character was going to walk for almost two hours, lighting so that our lights were not visible, playing with the street lights themselves, avoiding others that would cause shadows... At the camera level we had to rehearse the choreography over and over again, be in shape for it, memorize movements and frames, making sure that the batteries and cards would last, among dozens of other problems that arose. It is a super nice challenge for a director of photography.

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Running One night with Adela in sequence plan

In One night with Adela, Laura Galán walks eight kilometers through the streets of Madrid on an early morning in December. We encounter many challenges along the route, such as traffic closures or the fact that the actress herself is the one who has to drive a truck, which leads to the first big challenge: how we get in and out of the truck.

At first we thought about removing one of the doors, but director Hugo Ruiz said it couldn't be done, because he wanted to see the entire truck when she got out. We also propose putting a kind of platform next to the co-pilot to get on and move with the truck, but there we entered into an issue of work safety and permits, in addition to the fact that the platform could be seen. We found ourselves in the situation where we didn't really know how to do it. This situation made us try innovate in some way, because we didn't have much VFX input either and we wanted everything to come directly from filming.

The solution we found was to shoot the first part of exteriors with a Gimbal and a smaller camera than we had planned: the Panasonic S1H, which fit through the passenger window. It also allowed us to shoot with a Native ISO 4,000 to adapt to the night gloom and, despite being a camera that is a little more guerrilla and average consumer, it has a very good sensor that matched quite well with the other camera. The second part of the film, once inside the house, we shot with a Arri Alexa Mini on steadycam, which was our initial bet. With the two cameras, and after doing quite a few tests, we chose a 25mm diameter as the only lens. DZOFilm, very light and versatile. They were different sensors, but with the color correction we were able to make it quite fine.

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Gimbal vs. Steadycam en One night with Adela

We were able to solve the challenges of the first half of the film using the gimbal Ronin RS2. Using this method we were able to pass the camera through the truck window with just enough room for a second camera operator, David Olivas, lying on the floor of the truck and imperceptible like a ninja (that's what we nicknamed him) could pick up that camera and operate at the moments when Adela is inside the vehicle. The poor guy couldn't see almost anything from such an uncomfortable position so I had to give him directions around the corner. walkie. Once Adela got out of the truck, I could pick up that camera through the window. The entire pack weighed about five kilos, which helped us a lot when it came to operating and being flexible throughout the film.

He gimbal worked well, but we noticed that, at the point where we made the film, it was still lacking a little... Sometimes it has certain very robotic reactions that are not entirely natural and that on some occasions they forced us to repeat the shot. In others, it may not have allowed us to complete the perfect movement or framing that I would have liked, but in the end it is a fairly good advance that allows us to make films as it is, with a very low budget.

The combination of Gimbal y Steadycam allowed us to achieve what we set out to do: that the camera it was not noticeable and that everything was superfluid.

Already with him Steadycam in the final part of the film, we were able to do something even more precise in terms of camera movement. The poor Steadycam, David G. Marquez, he had it much heavier compared to the 5 kilos that I had to operate, but he did an impeccable job.

The combination allowed us to achieve what we set out to do: that the camera was not noticeable and that everything was superfluid. As Hugo pointed out to me, Adela has a very elaborate plan and is in control of what is happening, which made us immediately discard the handheld camera option because we needed to float with Adela.

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A sequence shot that is not such…

Hugo and I's goal from the beginning was to make the film work and look like a sequence shot. We are considering shooting the entire film in a single take, such as the film Victoria (Sebastian Schipper, 2015), but we had to discard it due to limitations such as permits to close different streets on different days, the actors' schedule, or complex scenes like sex, and we still managed to finish it in only 4 sequence shots of about 30 minutes each.

We discard the complete sequence plan due to limitations but, even so, we managed finish the movie in four sequence shots of some 30 minutes each.

We made certain cuts in certain parts that allowed us divide the film into different shooting days, always trying to make them as less visible as possible. This is common in most films shot in sequence shots, but the viewer does not have to realize it. We introduce them in such a way that, although someone with more experience may notice these cuts, the less professional audience does not suffer interruptions to the narrative.

I am very happy with the result. I think it works very fluidly and above all it doesn't take you out of the movie. In the end, the idea of ​​you spending those two hours with Adela is fulfilled, and that is what matters.

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The experience of photographing a sequence shot

Let me be honest: I had the time of my life filming One night with Adela. It was incredible to have so many challenges ahead of us and eat the jar to solve them in a very precise way, carry out tests and solve all the obstacles that arose. It is something that greatly fulfills the work of the director of photography and you feel very useful. In that sense it was for me like a garden of delights. I had an amazing time!

allow me to be sincere: I had the time of my life filming One night with Adela. It was amazing to have so many challenges ahead y eat the jar to solve them.

When Hugo presented the script to me, he already showed me two other scripts: Dante at night y Sunday night, and the three together are one contemporary trilogy what happens in Madrid in the same space and time as One night with Adela. There are things that happen at the same time and moments that intersect in the films, and all three will be shot in sequence, so even if the idea of ​​changing the recording could cross my mind, it will not be possible. When I said to roll One night with Adela, I was saying yes to the other two.. Now it's time to explore new ways to continue taking advantage of everything that the sequence shot has to offer!

Diego Trenas

Director of photography