Blocking a Oner: THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 Episode 01 is titled “Go Forward" . . . and boy, does it!
Coming up we’ll look at the airport confrontation scene which leads into this scene, then how it transitions out with colour and movement.
But right now, with a little reverse engineering, we’ll look at how this oner is blocked and lit to get the most bang for its buck.
Leading Through Hustle and Bustle
The shot begins in a crowded hallway, following a patron to greet her smoking friend (making a period piece means the actors always have something to do with their hands!)
Then whooshes into the main room where one waitress flows L-R with the camera before ‘passing us off’ to another waitress who holds her tray like the Statue of Liberty showing the way to the main stage to watch the main act for a moment before the camera’s continuing pan catches Archie moving through the club and follows him back to the door . . .
Note how the camera doesn’t even pause for the first forty seconds, and only then long enough to get the exchange between Archie (Joel Johnstone) and the hostess before moving on again.
Starting amidst a crowd waiting to get in shows the club is a busy, hopping place, then constantly moving puts us a bit on edge, all of which sets us up for Joel (Michael Zegen) and his frustrating antics.
When Joel enters, he walks back through the club with Archie talking business, before stopping to schmooze a patron and angering her date.
When Archie comes to smooth things over the camera pans with him, so both he and the camera (and thus we) lose track of Joel for a minute until suddenly . . .
Ending the Oner
After a minute forty seconds, off of Archie’s despairing look, the oner ends in a smash cut to the stage where a tipsy Joel has taken the mic.
Is it conceivable this was meant to still be a oner, and a technical slip or actor timing meant they decided to get out early? Conceivable, yes. But!
because Joel taking the mic is a massive mood shift
because earlier in the shot they took care to get close and move slowly, the better to establish the stage
because the camera full-STOPS on Archie’s face
because the lighting between the table and stage is contrasted, so the cut sharply changes colours from teal to red
this feels like an intentional comic (or comedy-horror, pending how you look at it) beat.
Colour and Mini-Tableaus
Different areas in the club are lit differently, mostly in reds and teals and yellows; this keeps the oner from looking too same-same, and helps orient us as we move.
When characters and camera stop, or even sometimes merely when they’re in transition, the shots are framed for a bit of WOW.
Takeaways
Movement is important, but a good oner is also about pauses within the movement, and mini-shot-compositions within those pauses. (Check out our recent breakdown of how a oner in The Studio’s opening episode does both these things!)
Finally, don’t neglect colour (preferably colours, plural). Consider how lighting and colour can assist not just your oner, but your transition out, whether it’s a cut directly into the next scene (like with the above-linked The Studio scene), or a smash cut punch line within the room that the oner has already established, like this scene.