Take
Another attempt at the scene — even Cate Blanchett needed multiple takes to become Galadriel.
A take is one recorded attempt at capturing a specific shot setup. When a camera is positioned and a scene or moment is to be recorded, the first attempt produces Take 1. If something goes wrong — the subject stumbles a word, there's an unwanted sound, the performance isn't right — the director calls for another attempt, which becomes Take 2. Each successive attempt is another take. The clapperboard (or slate) used at the beginning of each shot records the scene number, shot number, and take number, giving both the production team and the editor a precise reference for every piece of recorded footage: "Scene 3, Shot 2, Take 4" identifies a unique recording in the entire production.
The director's judgment about how many takes to record is a significant production skill. Too few takes risks missing the optimal performance or failing to capture adequate coverage if a technical problem is discovered in review. Too many takes wastes expensive production time, generates excessive footage for the editor to review, and can fatigue the subject — particularly in interview contexts where energy and spontaneity are performance qualities. The professional discipline is to record enough takes to be confident you have what you need, then move on. A common standard for dialogue-heavy shots is 2–3 takes minimum for safety, with additional takes if none of the first attempts have a clean, complete performance.
For B2B interview and testimonial production, the concept of takes is slightly different than in scripted production. An interview subject typically isn't delivering scripted lines that need to be word-perfect; they're speaking conversationally about their experience. "Takes" in this context are more often full-length interview recordings — the full conversation is recorded (Take 1), and if specific portions of the conversation need to be revisited with better quality or different emphasis, those sections are recorded again (Take 2 of the specific question). The editor then selects the best version of each answer from across all takes, assembling the final interview from whichever take captured the clearest, most authentic, most on-message response.
Related terms
- Shot— One uninterrupted recording — a single entry in the captain's log of the Starship Enterprise.
- A-roll— The footage Frodo actually carried to Mordor — everything else is just B-roll.
- B-roll— The Shire montage — charming, essential, and never gets enough credit.
- Rough Cut— The first draft of Middle-earth before Peter Jackson's editors arrived — long, true, and full of Tom Bombadil.
- Scene— The Mines of Moria — one location, one escalating disaster, one unit of story before the next chamber opens.