Line #52 Main/OneTakeWonder


1	%%Please have the examples in alphabetical order, thank you.
2	->''"You know the other great thing about that story? ''First'' draft. Fuck you, [[Creator/ErnestHemingway Hemingway]]!"''
3	-->-- '''Creator/RandyFeltface''', "Randy Writes a Novel"
4
5	When rehearsing and performing a scene or sequence it is often done multiple times in case there is a {{blooper}} in the first good take or trying to figure out the right tone by playing with multiple options, often referred to as the "safety" take. However, when a performance is so phenomenal or so genuine that another take would be deemed superfluous (or there is logistical issues where [[ShootTheMoney there isn't enough money to blow up another building in the background]]), it becomes famous for getting it right on the first try.
6
7	Compare AllOrNothing, ThrowItIn, and OneSceneWonder. May overlap with TheOner if the take is sufficiently long.
8
9	!!'''Many, if not all, spoilers will be unmarked ahead. ''Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''''
10	----
11	!!Examples:
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
14	* The Italian dub of ''Manga/DeathNote'' has Light's EvilLaugh from the last episode (widely regarded as one of the best versions!) done in one take by Flavio Aquilone.
15	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
16	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'': In Giorno's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown towards Cioccolata, the former lets out his {{Kiai}} for 30 straight seconds. Cioccolata's English actor, Creator/BillButts, revealed that Giorno's English actor Creator/PhillipReich performed that entire scene in one take.
17	** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': Creator/YongYea, Pucci's English voice actor, confirmed in a [=YouTube=] video that he was able to record his death scene in one take. He even showed a [[https://youtu.be/DSz-eQLQE8c behind-the-scenes video]] of him voicing the scene, including a bit where he pauses to drink some water due to feeling light-headed.
18	* ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'': The final scene of episode 48, where main characters Hikaru and Lala bid each other a tearful farewell, was performed by actresses Eimi Naruse and Creator/KonomiKohara in a single take. Their strained performances were genuine, not only because of the raw emotion of the scene itself, but also due to their realization that [[RealitySubtext the show was almost over]] and they wouldn't be meeting up regularly to record anymore.
19	* ''Literature/WhenSupernaturalBattlesBecameCommonplace'': In Episode 7 of the anime adaptation, not only was Hatoko's infamous rant towards Andou done entirely in one take, her voice actor Creator/SaoriHayami pulled it off on the very first take. Given the toll it took on her voice, she had to go home to rest afterward.
20	[[/folder]]
21
22	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
23	* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'':
24	** The eponymous song was originally conceived as a more up-tempo rock song; it was eventually retooled into a romantic ballad to better fit the scene. Creator/AngelaLansbury, who portrayed Mrs. Potts, was initially reluctant to provide the vocals, thinking herself a poor fit for the style of song. At the directors' request, the actress recorded one take as a backup, in case no other options were found. Lansbury reportedly brought the entire studio to tears with her performance.
25	** Creator/TonyJay recorded all of Monsieur D'Arque's dialogue as part of his audition. The directors decided that his delivery was perfect and that there was no point bringing him back to record the same lines again, so they sent his paycheck and used the audition recording exactly as it was.
26	* ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'': Creator/EllenDeGeneres did the "I look at you, and I'm home" speech in one take, and wasn't able to get through the second because she was so caught up in the emotion of the scene. They used the first.
27	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'': According to Madame Medusa's animator Milt Kahl, Geraldine Page nailed every single one of the character's lines in one take.
28	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'': Sarah Stiles spontaneously decided to sing all of [[VillainSong "Other Friends"]] in one take (previously it was done in pieces), and most of the final version comes from that take.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
32	* Creator/NatalieWood was known for getting all her lines right on the first take. She was nicknamed 'One-Take Natalie' as a result.
33	* As a filmmaker, Creator/ClintEastwood is known for working fast and for being one of the few to bring in his movies under budget and under schedule, rarely necessitating multiple takes. Eastwood has expressed that he finds the process of doing dozens of takes a useless exercise, and that if the actors felt they got it in a particular take, even the first one, it's good enough for him (plus it helps him get to the golf course).
34	* ''{{Film/Alien}}'': The iconic chestbuster scene needed one take, and the story behind it is interesting: The actors had seen the script, so they knew what was going to happen, but no one really expected Creator/JohnHurt to act like he was having a heart attack or to see blood exploding from his chest, [[EnforcedMethodActing so their reaction was genuine]]. As Creator/SigourneyWeaver said, they thought John Hurt really was dying right there.
35	* ''Film/{{Amistad}}'': Creator/AnthonyHopkins astounded the crew by delivering the entire seven-page courtroom speech in a single take. Creator/StevenSpielberg was in such awe that he couldn't bring himself to call him Tony, and insisted on addressing him as Sir Anthony throughout the shoot.
36	* ''Film/BatmanReturns'': Creator/MichellePfeiffer got so good at using a whip that she was able to do the scene where Catwoman knocks the heads off a row of mannequins in one take. The crew gave her a round of applause for it, and she [[ThrowItIn improvised]] using the whip as a jump rope to celebrate.
37	* ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'': The "Hey Malkovich, think fast!" scene almost didn't make it into the movie, as it was getting late and Creator/SpikeJonze feared the drive-by beer can to the head would be hard to pull off. Yet the guy who volunteered to do so, an assistant of John Cusack, nailed it on the first try!
38	* ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'', by nature as an entire film [[TheOner done in one take]], had to nail each sequence on the first try or set the production back significantly. Apparently, Creator/ZachGalifianakis was particularly talented at this--though he did mess up occasionally, he was able to save messed up takes through improvisation.
39	* ''Film/TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai'' had only one chance to destroy the eponymous bridge due to how long it took to build it and how expensive the set was (it featured an actual train being destroyed for real as it crossed a collapsing bridge). [[AllOrNothing If they messed it up, the film was ruined.]] But they got it right.
40	* ''Film/CitizenKane'': When Kane's wife leaves him, he completely destroys her bedroom. Given the destruction Creator/OrsonWelles caused to the set, the first take of this infamous scene was, understandably, the only take.
41	* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'':
42	** The hospital scene, where the Joker totters out of Gotham General with the hospital exploding around him. The explosion stops for several seconds, causing the Joker to fiddle with the detonator, before the explosions suddenly continue. Creator/HeathLedger does not break character (with rumors about how it was a mistake by the effects team abounding, though it turns out it was entirely intentional), nor does he even turn to watch the explosion even when he gets on the bus. Everything is executed perfectly, resulting in one of the most memorable scenes in the movie.
43	** In the DVD extras, it's mentioned that they only purchased two Lamborghinis for the scene where Bruce Wayne blocks the truck driver's attempt at running over Coleman Reese. It wasn't the end of the world if they got it wrong on both takes, but splashing a million dollars on two cars is not exactly the optimal scenario. However, everything went right on the first try.
44	* ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'': The scene outside in the snow after Neil's suicide was done in one take -- because it was actually snowing in real life.
45	* ''Film/DrWhoAndTheDaleks'': As an incentive, Roberta Tovey (who was 11 at the time of production) was paid a shilling (5p) by director Gordon Flemyng every time she did a scene in one take. She made so much money, Flemyng didn't offer her the same deal for the sequel.
46	* The climactic scene of ''Film/{{Duel}}'' was filmed in one take due to budget restrictions, since it shows the tanker truck driving off a cliff. A mechanical malfunction during filming caused an unintended addition to the scene: the truck door hanging open from where the stunt driver had to jump out at the last second, which some viewers mistook for a hint that the SerialKiller driver character escaped the crash.
47	* In ''Film/{{Elf}}'', the elaborate Christmasland display that Buddy makes for his first day at Gimbel's Department Store took hours to set up. As such, the hilarious room-trashing fight between Buddy and the MallSanta was done in only one take, as the producers didn't have time to recreate the set.
48	* The scene in ''Film/TheExorcist'' where Regan projectile vomits at Father Karras only required one take. The vomit was intended to hit Jason Miller in the chest, but the plastic tubing misfired, hitting him in the face. His reaction of shock and disgust while wiping away the vomit is genuine, and Miller admitted in an interview that he was very angered by this mistake.
49	* The scene in ''Film/ExtremePrejudice'' where Creator/PowersBoothe picks up a scorpion, then crushes it with his bare hand, was done in one take.
50	* ''Film/FiveEasyPieces'': Bobby's scene with his father only required one take.
51	* ''Film/TheFugitive'': The train wreck scene was shot in a single take with a real train whose engine was removed.
52	* ''Film/{{The General\|1926}}'': The climax of the movie features a train on a collapsing bridge, which the filmmakers naturally had only one chance to get right. They did.
53	* ''Film/{{Get Carter\|1971}}'': The racetrack scene was done in one take.
54	* ''Film/TheGodfather'': Sonny's death scene was the most expensive in the movie to set up and film, costing over one hundred thousand dollars in total. It was finished in just one take from four or five different camera angles.
55	* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'': Creator/EliWallach refused to do another take of the train scene after almost getting decapitated. Thankfully, it only required one.
56	* ''Film/HardBoiled'': Because of the shooting schedule, the crew only had one chance to perform TheOner hospital shootout.
57	* ''Film/HighAndTight'': Kaireht Yovera was given free reign to improvise during Becky's ConfessionCam segment. What she improvised was significantly better than what had been written for her. They did two more takes, however, because the loud rain outside was affecting the sound.
58	* ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'': Stephen Hunter (Bombur) caught the egg thrown into his mouth on the first take, but was unable to catch it on subsequent takes. Therefore, the take used was the first one.
59	* In ''Film/HomeAlone1'', Creator/DanielStern had a live tarantula put on his face for one take only because the prop one wasn't working.
60	* ''Film/JamesBond'': Many of the series' more complex stunts were done exactly once, such as the full corkscrew in a car in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' and the ski jump from ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''.
61	* Creator/JonathanFrakes is known on sets as "Two-Takes Frakes" due to the efficiency of his directorial style
62	* ''Film/JudgmentAtNuremberg'': Creator/SpencerTracy's eleven-minute closing speech was filmed in one take.
63	* ''Film/JurassicPark1993'': Creator/JeffGoldblum claimed that his reaction to seeing a Brachiosaurus for the first time was captured in one take ("you crazy son of a bitch, you did it!"), with Steven Spielberg dictating to him off-camera what expression he wanted.
64	* ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'': Creator/ClorisLeachman's last scene was printed on the first take without any previous rehearsals. She wanted to rehearse, but director Creator/PeterBogdanovich thought it would ruin the scene. After she completed the take, she said to him, "I can do better." He replied, "No, you can't - you just won the Oscar." Prophetic, as Leachman did indeed win the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for her performance.
65	* The scene in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' where Gandalf calls for his horse and Shadowfax comes galloping across the fields and straight up to his master was achieved on the first take.
66	* ''Film/TheMaster'': Creator/JoaquinPhoenix's unhinged performance as an alcohol-addled cult follower is on full display in a [[ThrowItIn largely improvised scene]]. Phoenix went absolutely berserk, and his first take at the scene was the one Creator/PaulThomasAnderson chose to use in the final cut.
67	* ''Film/TheMummy1999'': The falling bookcase gag was done in one take.
68	* ''Film/{{Network}}'': According to Creator/SidneyLumet, the "I'm as mad as hell" speech was filmed in one and a half takes. Midway through the second take, Creator/PeterFinch abruptly stopped in exhaustion. Lumet was unaware of Finch's failing heart at the time, but in any case, did not ask for a third take. What's in the completed film is the second take for the first half of the speech, and the second half from the first take.
69	* ''Film/PhoneBooth'': The shooter demands that Stu come clean to his wife about his marital infidelities, resulting in an emotional scene that Creator/ColinFarrell managed to nail down on the first take. The entire film itself was shot in just 12 days.
70	* ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum'':The climactic scene of Nicholas strangling Elizabeth was all done in one take.
71	* ''Film/PoliceStory'': The climactic mall pole slide sequence was filmed in one take, without any rehearsals or use of wires.
72	* In ''Film/PoolhallJunkies'', there's a scene where Creator/ChristopherWalken is called upon to make a trick shot. He was supposed to take a practice run of the scene before filming, but he asked for the practice run to be filmed in case he actually made the shot on the first try, which he did.
73	* "Your Crowning Glory" from ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries 2'' was the first time Creator/JulieAndrews had sung in public, or on-screen, since she had throat surgery in 1997. She reportedly nailed the song on the first take, and brought tears to the eyes of the crew present.
74	* ''Film/{{Psycho}}'': The psychiatrist's speech at the end was considered an extremely important part of the film, since it provided the detailed {{Exposition}} needed to understand everything that had happened up to that point. But since the speech was so long and full of nuance, by all expectations it should have been a struggle to film. Instead, actor Simon Oakland did it perfectly on the first take, leading Creator/AlfredHitchcock to stand up, shake his hand, and say "Thank you very much, Mr. Oakland. You've just saved my picture."
75	* ''Film/RabbitProofFence'': There was only one take of the abduction scene filmed because it was so traumatic to the child actors.
76	* During the production for ''Film/{{Rocky}}'', with the film running behind schedule, Creator/SylvesterStallone was allowed only one shot at Rocky's most vulnerable moment, confessing his insecurities to his girlfriend, Adrian. Thankfully, that was all he needed, and the character's pivotal moment was kept.
77	* ''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968'': Creator/OliviaHussey's first scene to be filmed was where Juliet hurries to see Friar Laurence and bumps into Paris. She imagined that Juliet would have ran all the way there and so would be all agitated and out of breath, so she did laps all around the set to get herself in the mood. She then told Franco Zeffirelli he didn't need to direct her and went straight into the scene. Once cut was called, there was a moment of silence before the director chimed in "One-Take Hussey, I think we'll call her now."
78	* ''Film/RunLolaRun'' has a scene where Lola plays roulette, bets everything she has on Red 20, and wins. They filmed the croupier spinning the roulette wheel and dropping the ball, intending to later film a prepared shot of the ball landing on the correct spot, and edit the two shots together. But the ball actually landed on Red 20 on the first take, so no editing was needed.
79	* ''Film/SomeLikeItHot'': Creator/MarilynMonroe was notorious about insisting on multiple takes (the "where's that bourbon?" line took ''81'' takes before she was happy). But for the upper berth bed scene, they did the whole thing in one take, and at the end Marilyn said "I loved it too" -- shocking everyone.
80	* ''Film/SophiesChoice'': Creator/MerylStreep did the final scene in one take and refused to do it again, saying that as a mother, she found it too painful and emotionally draining.
81	* ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'': The then-17-year-old Creator/JuliaStiles slowly broke down into tears while reading the poem on the very first take, an acting cue that was not in the film's script. First-time director Gil Junger was so moved, [[ThrowItIn he called a wrap to the shoot after that]].
82	* ''Film/Titanic1997'': The scene where the Grand Staircase floods had to be shot in one take, because the whole set would have suffered too much water damage for a second. The water destroyed the period-accurate materials to the point where wood blocks and even an actual part of the staircase became dislodged while filming.
83	* ''Film/ToKillAMockingbird'': Atticus Finch's closing statement, in which Finch demands the jury "do their duty", was originally planned to take several days. But Creator/GregoryPeck somehow managed to nail the speech in only one take--that alone was enough to guarantee Peck's only Best Actor Oscar.
84	* ''Film/TradingPlaces'': Creator/DonAmeche, who played [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Mortimer Duke]], abhorred swearing, so he agreed to film only one take of Mortimer yelling "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck him]]!" in his VillainousBreakdown at the end and apologized afterwards.
85	* Many scenes in ''Film/{{Trainspotting}}'' had to be done in one take due to the low budget.
86	* ''Film/Tusk2014'': According to Creator/KevinSmith, Creator/JohnnyDepp never learned his opening monologue because a misprint in his script gave him the impression he'd be delivering that monologue off-screen (meaning they could just ADR it in later). Undeterred, Depp grabbed the script and memorized the scene in five minutes flat. He ended up nailing the monologue in ''one take''.
87	* ''Film/VForVendetta'': For obvious reasons, they had only one take to shave Creator/NataliePortman's head.
88	* ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet': Creator/MartinScorsese claimed that the scene where Jordan attempts to get in his car while stoned out of his gourd on Lemmons was improvised on the day of filming, and that it was Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio's idea to open the car door with his foot. [=DiCaprio=] threw out his back during the scene and was only able to perform the stunt once.
89	* ''The Way West'': Creator/RobertMitchum's speech in the Lakota language was shot right after his teacher read it to him just two times out loud! Mitchum only needed one take to do it flawlessly, and his teacher said that it was the best Lakota accent he had ever heard. (Mitchum was famous for his phenomenal memory.)
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
93	* ''Series/AlasSmithAndJones'', Griff Rhys-Jones has said that the main thing that stopped them {{corpsing}} in the head-to-head sketches was the knowledge that a retake wouldn't work because the audience wouldn't react the same way. If they ''did'' mess one up, they'd abandon it and refilm it with a new audience the following week.
94	* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'': The final scene of the series finale, set in Mr. Feeny's old classroom at John Adams High, was completed on the first take because the cast was far too distraught to try for another one. Even in the take they got, both Danielle Fishel and Rider Strong are in tears and choking up as they deliver their lines. Even Creator/WilliamDaniels, a consummate professional, seems to have difficulty with his (and the show's) final line.
95	* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
96	** In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E2CaballoSinNombre Caballo Sin Nombre]]", the famous "pizza tossing" scene, where Walt angrily throws a pizza on the roof of his house, was shot in one take. The crew tried to reshoot it, but Creator/BryanCranston never managed to have the pizza land on the roof again after the first take.
97	** According to Creator/DeanNorris, [[spoiler:Hank's death scene]] was done in one take.
98	* ''Series/{{Broadchurch}}'' did this as part of the EnforcedMethodActing. actors were deliberately given little time to prepare and no rehearsal, and though they ''filmed'' retakes, they actually ''used'' the first take for the vast majority of scenes.
99	* ''Series/{{Connections}}'': In one episode, host James Burke pulls off a feat of timing a monologue on a rocket launch to coincide with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WoDQBhJCVQ an actual rocket launch in 1978]]. It was the launch of ''Voyager 2'', which would visit all the planets of the Outer Solar System. Burke had only one chance to time this shot, as it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the rocket's launch; if he messed up the timing even slightly, the shot would have been ruined, with no way to fix it (since such techniques didn't exist at the time). However, despite having only one try to get it right, the shot was captured perfectly.
100	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
101	** The circus tent explosion in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowInTheGalaxy The Greatest Show in the Galaxy]]" was supposed to be mostly special effects, but the crew brought the wrong equipment and had to do it with real pyrotechnics. The explosion ended up way bigger than it was supposed to be, but Creator/SylvesterMcCoy maintained his UnflinchingWalk despite some of his clothes being on fire, because he knew they weren't going to get another shot.
102	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]", the TARDIS console room exploding during the Doctor's regeneration was done in one take because of the coral pillars being really expensive to redo, so multiple takes weren't in the cards.
103	* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'': The infamous ending to "[[Recap/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAirS4E24PapasGotABrandNewExcuse Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse]]" includes only the first take, despite Will's baseball cap falling off after Uncle Phil hugs him and Karyn Parsons (Hilary) audibly crying backstage. The cast and crew were too emotional to do another take.
104	* ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'': At one point, Hannibal Lecter is seen performing an elaborate cooking trick where he throws an egg in the air, cracks it over the narrow edge of a spatula as it falls, and catches the yolk inside a small bowl. The crew were convinced the trick was too difficult for Creator/MadsMikkelsen to pull off and prepared several dozen eggs as well as three chefs to act as [[TalentDouble hand doubles]]. Mikkelsen performed the trick perfectly on the first take with no rehearsals. Turns out, he was a juggler in his youth, which he credited for being able to pull off the trick.
105	* In the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode "Bad News", Lily steps out of a cab and tells Marshall his father is dead. This prompts an emotional reaction from Marshall, with him embracing Lily and crying "I'm not ready for this." Marshall's actor, Jason Segel, [[EnforcedMethodActing didn't know about the twist before Lily said the the words]], and the scene was done in only one take.
106	* ''Series/ILoveLucy'': The second-season episode "Lucy is Enceinte" climaxes in a scene where Lucy, failing to find the opportunity to tell her husband Ricky she is pregnant, attends his nightclub show and submits an anonymous request for a song to celebrate her pregnancy. Ricky silently asks the women in the audience if they submitted it until he gets to Lucy, jokingly asks, and receives confirmation. He is overcome with emotion and performs another song-and-dance number with her. Ricky's actor Desi Arnaz happened to make a minor flub to the lyrics in that take, but the emotion and chemistry from his real-life marriage to Lucille Ball at the time made the scene so powerful that crew and audience members loudly protested when a second take to correct the lyrics was suggested. The flawed but powerful first take was used.
107	* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'': TheReveal scene at the end of the GrandFinale was shot in the only take, without rehearsal, because the live StudioAudience's initial reaction would not have been replicated on subsequent takes.
108	* The crew of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' gave Creator/BrianBaumgartner this actual nickname. as many of his scenes as Kevin were shot using only a single take of filming (including the famous scene of Kevin dumping his chili on the floor).
109	* ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'': The "chandelier scene" from the episode "[[Recap/OnlyFoolsAndHorsesS2E07ATouchOfGlass A Touch of Glass]]", in which the Trotter brothers prepare to remove a priceless chandelier for cleaning, only for their grandfather to unscrew the wrong one, which crashes to the ground behind them, had to be done in a single take as they could only afford one chandelier for the gag. Creator/DavidJason and Creator/NicholasLyndhurst were under strict instructions to stand completely still and silent for 30 seconds after the chandelier dropped, as the scene was originally supposed to be the final shot of the episode. Lyndhurst later claimed the director told him he would be fired if he made a mistake or [[{{Corpsing}} started laughing.]]
110	* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': George's climactic monologue in "The Marine Biologist" was shot on the first take, and without rehearsal, as the scene had only been rewritten the night before.
111	* ''Series/SesameStreet'': After Mr. Hooper's actor died, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim the character was killed off]], and an episode was produced explaining his death in-universe as well. The cast was so emotional, they barely made it through the first take, and were utterly unable to do a second one without breaking down completely.
112	* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Spock's emotional breakdown in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime The Naked Time]]" was shot in one take, as they didn't have time for a second one -- though contrary to urban legend, it was ''not'' improvised.
113	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E23Sarek Sarek]]", the scene where Picard struggles with Sarek's emotions after their mind meld was shot in a single take.
114	* ''Series/{{Zoom}}'': An interstitial for the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode "The Last of Mary Moo Cow" reveals the "Zoom Znack" segment for fruit pizza was shot in a single take.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Music]]
118	* Music/WeirdAlYankovic:
119	** The scene in "Amish Paradise" from ''Music/BadHairDay'' where [[ByWallThatIsHoley a barn frame falls perfectly around Al]] was shot in one take, because if it went wrong, Al legitimately [[FatalMethodActing could have died]].
120	** The ending to the [[Music/OffTheDeepEnd "You Don't Love Me Anymore"]] music video where [[RockersSmashGuitars Al smashes an Ovation guitar]] was also done in one take. Al went on record saying the guitar cost $1,000, and it was the only guitar at that price that was going to be destroyed (which also meant that it was far more difficult to break than he originally expected).
121	* Music/CelineDion's AwardBaitSong "My Heart Will Go On" for ''Film/Titanic1997'' was recorded in one take from her demo.
122	* Music/BadCompany's self-titled song's vocals were done this way, with the added bonus of recording in an open field at midnight for added atmosphere.
123	* Music/TheBeatles:
124	** Their cover of "Twist and Shout". Music/JohnLennon had a cold during the recording session, so the song was saved for the end of the session to preserve his voice. The band recorded it in one take, with John's voice sounding raspy and raw. They tried doing a second take, but John had "nothing left" according to the band mates. The first take was released on the ''Music/PleasePleaseMe'' album, and the rest is history.
125	** The Beatles were able to record "Long Tall Sally" in one take due to the sheer number of times they played it live beforehand.
126	* The Cherry Poppin' Daddies' sole hit, "Zoot Suit Riot," had its vocals done this way due to NoBudget. There's a cheeky lampshade on the end, where singer Steve Perry tells the engineer "I think I'm about ready to sing this!" right before the song ends.
127	* Eddie Hazel's solo on [[Music/GeorgeClinton Funkadelic's]] ''Music/MaggotBrain'' was done in one take and made up on the fly.
128	* Ronnie Dunn of Music/BrooksAndDunn recorded the vocals for their cover of Roger Miller's "Husbands and Wives" in only one take.
129	* "The Mariner's Revenge Song", by Music/TheDecemberists, was recorded on a single take using a single microphone at a church.
130	* Music/FreddieMercury was very ill when Music/{{Queen}} were to record "The Show Must Go On." When Music/BrianMay expressed concern that he might not be well enough to sing the part Mercury responded by throwing back a shot of vodka, declaring "I'll fucking do it, darling!" and nailing the vocals in one take.
131	* Josh Gracin didn't think that he would be able to record Marcel's "Nothin' to Lose" due to its [[MotorMouth incredibly fast-paced lyrics]]... only to nail the song on the first take.
132	* Music/WhitneyHouston recorded the incredibly demanding lead vocal line for her hit "I'm Your Baby Tonight" in one take... because she wanted to leave the recording session early enough to shop at the mall before it closed that day.
133	* Music/KathyMattea's "455 Rocket" had several takes recorded, but the first one was kept because, according to Mattea, none of the musicians were aware that they were being recorded at the time. As a result, the recording has a "looser" feel, and the drummer can be heard [[ThrowItIn dropping his drumsticks and laughing]] at the end.
134	* Music/LeAnnRimes's "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)" was recorded entirely in one take. What makes this all the more impressive is that she was only 14 when she cut the song.
135	* According to the booklet, the vocals to Music/{{Manowar}}'s song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtjRrKjWvOA "Hatred"]] was recorded in one take, with singer Eric Adams looking at the recording studio's manager who was screwing the band over.
136	* Michael Stipe's performance on Music/{{REM}}'s [[Music/OutOfTime "Losing My Religion"]] is all the more impressive for the fact that the vocal track was recorded in a single take. The band later described the whole process of creating the song as feeling like they had [[IJustWriteTheThing tapped into a base archetype]], as the rest of the composition and recording went nearly as cleanly.
137	* Music/GordonLightfoot and his backing team recorded "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on the first take...having ''never played it together before''.
138	* Music/SteveWariner does this frequently, most notably the entirety of his ''Burnin' the Roadhouse Down'' album.
139	* The debut album by CountryMusic band The Tractors was recorded in this fashion.
140	* Lita Roza recorded just one take of her hit single "How Much is That Doggy In the Window"... because she absolutely ''[[CreatorBacklash loathed]]'' the song and only agreed to one take to placate her producer. It became a massive BlackSheepHit, but she refused to ever sing it again. As far as anyone knows, the take on the record is the only time she performed it ''in her life''.
141	* The Kingsmen's cover of "Louie Louie" was recorded in one take; they thought it was a warm-up and didn't realize the tape was rolling. This, along with the primitive conditions of the recording studio, led to the [[IndecipherableLyrics infamous slurred quality of the vocals]] and also led to [[ThrowItIn a couple of mistakes ending up on the finished recording]]: the drummer can be faintly heard cursing after a fumble about a minute in, and the singer comes in too soon after the guitar solo and quickly stops to let the band catch up.
142	* Lera Yaskevich recorded her song "Sebye Pomoch" in one take because, in her own words, "how to perfect something that tears your soul and blows up your brain is not thought about in this situation."
143	* Music/JayZ has a reputation as "One Take Hov", recording many of his songs and guest verses in one go, including one four minute verse on "God Did" with DJ Khaled.
144	* Music/LilWayne records many of his mixtape freestyles by just freestyling stream of consciousness over a beat.
145	* A slight inversion: Music/TinaTurner recorded the vocals to her smash comeback hit "What's Love Got to Do With It" in a grand total of two takes.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Video Games]]
149	* ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'': Tommy Earl Jenkins' anguished performance as Die-Hardman in his final scene was done in one take.
150	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': Due to his busy schedule, Sir Creator/ChristopherLee told the voice directors that he would go to the studio, read out his lines for Ansem the Wise exactly once, and then walk out.
151	* ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'': According to Creator/AleksLe, the protagonist's scream when summoning his Persona for the first time was done in one take.
152	* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'': Due to technological restraints of the time, each of the game's cutscenes were recorded in one long take.
153	* The voice recording team of ''[[VideoGame/{{Skylanders}} Skylanders: SWAP Force]]'' were running short on time, and the NPC Snagglescale had a couple of long lines left. Instead of the team cutting them, his voice actor Mitch Urban [[https://twitter.com/DaveARodriguez/status/1627725151994527744?cxt=HHwWgIDSydrZ65YtAAAA did all of them together in one take]].
154	* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' reportedly had every single voice-line recorded during the same day. By the end, the voice actors were just as tired and weary as the characters they were portraying -- which was [[EnforcedMethodActing wholly intentional]].
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Web Original]]
158	* ''WebVideo/{{Aaron}}'': Thomas Fitzgerald did the close-up shot of Adam [[spoiler:revealing that his girlfriend miscarried]] in just one take.
159	* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}} stated [[https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1650242906815451137 on Twitter]] that the [[MotorMouth speedy]] capture equation reading from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQs_9ystWxc Episode 1]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' was recorded in a single take. He was expecting to mess it up and having to edit it in post, but he didn't need to.
160	* In ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', Epic Lloyd as Genghis Khan draws his sword and cuts an Easter egg in half in just one take while filming "Genghis Khan vs. The Easter Bunny".
161	* ''WebVideo/GoldStandard'': The scene of Fergal smashing [[spoiler:Tom's head in with the shovel]] was done by Bobby Calloway in one take -- including an ad-lib of Fergal pausing to check if he was still dead [[BlackComedy before smashing him once more]].
162	* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': A Season 1 episode has a shot of a Warthog being blasted by a tank from the ground to the top of Red Base, landing perfectly upright. They thought this would be really tough to film, but to their astonishment it happened in one take. In the commentary, Burns muses that, in retrospect, they were for once doing something in the series that ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'''s engine was actually ''meant'' to do.
163	* ''Webanimation/{{RWBY}}'': Creator/JenTaylor nailed the narration from the first episode in the first take, making the producers a bit uneasy ("Dude, we have her for an hour and she got it in the first two minutes, what do we do?").
164	* Creator/TomScott is very well known for doing this; making long speeches to camera. He very rarely cuts away for anything more than to show supplementary footage (or if his explanation necessitates him moving about).
165	[[/folder]]
166
167	[[folder:Western Animation]]
168	* The theme song of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is a [[PermanentPlaceholder scratch recording that was kept]] because they were never satisfied with any of the other attempts to record it, resulting in the opening having the faint sound of one of the show's artists typing away at a keyboard and squeaking in their chair.
169	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "The Schooling" ends with Gumball {{Motor Mouth}}ing a passive-aggressive [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech assessment of how pathetic Larry's life is]]. [[https://twitter.com/OverallRichard/status/1018238073988100097 His voice actor did it in one take.]]
170	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': Creator/RobPaulsen performed the song "Yakko's World" in a single take, and he still sings it live at conventions.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': During [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld0uIhst3TA the Joker's eulogy to Batman]] in [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE51TheManWhoKilledBatman "The Man Who Killed Batman"]], Harley playing AmazingFreakingGrace on the {{kazoo\|sMeanSilliness}} had to be done in one take because everyone was laughing too hard afterwards to do it again -- you can ''hear'' Creator/ArleenSorkin about to fall apart laughing through the whole song.
172	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Creator/DavidTennant (the voice of Scrooge) nailed the most emotional scene from "The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!", both the monologue and the ensuing fallout, in one take.
173	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': PlayedForLaughs in an InUniverse example. [[ThePrimaDonna Calculon]] makes it a point to ''never'' do two takes on the ShowWithinAShow "All My Circuits." In "Bender Should Not be Allowed on TV," this causes problems when Bender goes off-script and delivers a long, emotional monologue during a nighttime hospital scene; Calculon tells the producers to "splice in some reaction shots of me," which leads to blatant continuity errors when said reaction shots come from an outdoor beach episode.
174	* ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964'': Fifteen year-old Janis Orenstein, the voice of Clarice, managed to nail the song "There's Always Tomorrow" in one take.
175	* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'': Billy Simpson, who voices the young Spock in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeriesS1E2Yesteryear Yesteryear]]", recorded all of his lines in a single take for his audition and was later informed he would not be asked back to re-record them for the final episode. This is why several of his lines have odd affects (such as placing emphasis on the word "healer" instead of "here" in the phrase "I will bring a healer here").
176	[[/folder]]

Context Main / OneTakeWonder