The Netflix show Adolescence has been a big hit with viewers, who were especially taken with episode two of the mini series, which ended with a pivotal reveal (spoilers ahead). Co-creator Stephen Graham, who also stars as Eddie, is seen in an aerial shot at the murder site laying down flowers for Katie before the moment ends on an empty shot.
But the scene was initially supposed to be a street-level tracking shot according to an interview on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast. Hosts Richard Osman and Marina Hyde invited director Philip Barantini and Director of Photography Matt Lewis on the show to discuss the moment.
“If it pays off, it’s amazing,” Lewis said. “If it doesn’t… we might not have had an episode.”
They then shared that a Netflix executive suggested Eddie should be there in the final frame.
Barantini said, “Instead of saying, ‘No, we’re not doing that, it’s ridiculous,’ I was like, ‘Oh my God, Matt, Matt, we need to land the drone, we need to try it at least.’”
Lewis jumped in to say, “There’s not a lot of room for changes. Part of me wanted to absolutely freak out. We replaced Wednesday morning’s take with the rehearsal of the landing. The coming down was really tricky because a drone when it’s moving really fast can kind of cut through the wind—and Pontefract is a really windy place.”
He continued, “When it slows down and it has to descend, you start to feel that sort of— almost like a leaf falling from a tree—that sort of zig-zag it can create. And we had the issue of the drone had to be controlled on a moving vehicle because the range wasn’t long enough from the school.”
Filming was challenging, but Lewis insisted on one more shot and hit the mark.
“That’s when I cried,” he explained. “I knew we had the episode at least.”
Lewis and Barantini shared that other possible endings included keeping the camera street level, and another where the drone does not land. Instead the shot would fade out over the city. In a third possibility, Eddie would be seen at the school instead of the murder scene.
