The show, which is currently the number one series both worldwide and in the UK, centres around a young boy, Jamie, who is arrested on suspicion of murder.
All four episodes of Adolescence are shot in one single take, a technical marvel which led many viewers full of questions of how they did it.
While many questions have been answered – and one that won’t be answered – Netflix have answered several of the burning questions viewers still had.
Warning: Minor spoilers lie ahead for all four episodes of Adolescence
How they got a camera to go through glass in episode two
The scene happens in episode 2 of Adolescence (Netflix)
In episode two of the show, Ashley Walters’ character goes to investigate Jamie’s school.
At one point, one of the students runs away the second he enters their classroom, jumping out a nearby window.
When the camera follows the pair in their chase, the camera goes through the window, seemingly travelling through glass.
This led many online to wonder how they achieved this without cutting once, which Netflix answered in their new Q&A.
They said: “There wasn’t actually a window there. It was taken
out and put back in using VFX. One of the camera operators was in the
classroom, then when Ryan jumped out of the window, the other operator – who
was crouching on the other side – took the camera and continued the chase.”
Van questions from episode four
His day is ruined after kids paint, and slightly misspell, the word nonce on his van (Netflix)
The show’s finale for much of the episode follows Stephen Graham’s character and his family on his birthday. The birthday, however, is ruined when someone paints the word ‘nonce’ on the side of his work van, leading him to drive to an off-brand made up version of B&Q.
Much of the episode is filmed inside the van, whilst he is driving and acting simultaneously. When asked how they filmed this, and why you can’t see a camera rig, Netflix said: “There were two vans! The first one is the one you see at the start of the episode when Eddie is trying to get the graffiti off.
“When they go back inside the house, the crew swapped out the vans for one that has a camera rig on the front. As they come back out of the house and get in the van, the shot stays on them as the camera is attached to the rig on the front.”
This isn’t the only van question, however, as some fans were curious whether Stephen Graham threw paint over his van (in an enraged attempt to cover up the ‘nonce’) every take. Netflix confirmed that he actually did as they used a special paint that could be stuck to the van and taken off after every take.
How they found Jamie, whether they rammed in the door in episode one every time, and how much ad-libbing there was
The Q&A also answered a number of miscellaneous other questions, some of which are fascinating.
Though it has been discussed in great detail by Graham and the show’s director, Philip Barantini, they gave even more insight into how they found Owen Cooper. The show’s star was a first time actor, having only done weekly acting classes prior to the series, with the one hour long takes of episode three being his first time ever on a film set.
Netflix said: “Owen was one of hundreds of potential Jamies seen by casting director Shaheen Baig – he was first spotted after sending in a self-taped improv scene. After a few more callbacks and workshops, Owen had a chemistry read with Stephen Graham. Guess that must have gone pretty well!”
They also added that the actor’s interchange with Erin Doherty in episode three where he yawns and she asks if he’s boring her was entirely ad-libbed.
Finally, the show opens with police raiding Jamie’s house – and Netflix confirmed that they rammed the door in every single time. Even though they ended up using just the second take of episode one, Netflix confirmed that the door was rammed in 12 different times.
