Casualty, BBC1 | In-depth | Broadcast

culminates with the first full run-through.
Week three - Eight performances - two a day,
Monday to Thursday. “There were a couple of false
starts,” Sen recalls. “They got better, but like in a
theatre play, the alchemy wasn’t always there.
“We announced the final one as the last shoot -
everyone had the confidence to pull out all the
stops with a real spring in their step. That’s the
one we’ve used - though I had three final takes to
choose from. It came down to the one that had
the best rhythm.”
He was also adamant about taking viewers into
new corners of the two-floor Casualty set.
“It was initially written for the ground floor, but
you can be overly familiar with the admin and reception areas,” he says. “It would have been a shame not to see the rest
of it.”
This set-up naturally provided some of the energy Sen was seeking. “One of our two camera operators was filming while
walking backwards and then had to do a leap on wires from upper floor to lower,” he says.
Given the physical challenge of shooting a narrative that starts in an ambulance outside the hospital then follows medics
and patient as they move inside, the first camera operator had to rest after 25 minutes, he adds.
From early rehearsals to the two performances a day of the final week, the production became more fluid over the three
weeks.
“It became apparent in week two that the team had come together so quickly that we would be able to get them to do it
not only correctly, but well,” he says.
“It was amazing to be behind the camera,
watching people running in with ramps and props
with a beautiful choreography. There was a huge
sense of theatre. It was very balletic.”
Blocking the cameras for a single take is one thing
getting the audio right is quite another. “Sound
becomes more complicated,”
Sen says. “You’re trying to define aural landscapes
from a production that’s using 27 radio mics and
three booms.
We could pick out whichever actor we wanted. But
in a traditional shoot, when you cut, you
automatically know who you should be listening to
it’s part of the grammar. That’s not the case on a
continual shoot.”
Close-ups were used sparingly for a similar reason
getting in or out of them in one take risked a clunky or blurred move. For the OB unit, mounting footage from half a mile
away, it was crucial to build into the workflow the ability to address any glitches in the edit.
Brilliant achievement
“We could iron out what we wanted,” Sen says. “We shot mainly on Mini Alexa in 4K just in case we needed more
stabilisation and to zoom in to eliminate booms. But on the take we used, there were no fluffs, no booms in shot. It was
incredible.”
Looking back, Sen basks in “the relief of being able to achieve it and making a brilliant episode in its own right, rather tha
just a technical achievement”.
Throughout, it was drilled into the cast and crew that the shooting style must drive the story rather than be treated as a
gimmick.
“I don’t want the audience to be aware that it is one shot,” he says. “I want them to be so immersed in the drama that
they don’t notice it at first. If they’re conscious of it by the opening credits, then I’ve failed.”