Single
clean singledirty single
A single, in single shot cinematography, is a coverage shot of one principal character, not a one-take scene. A clean single keeps other bodies out; a dirty single lets a shoulder or blur from the partner chew the edge without becoming a true over-the-shoulder.
Narrative function
A single isolates. The other person can still be in the room, but they no longer author the frame.
This is how you make someone alone during a conversation, or how you give a listener a private beat. It is not a oner and not a long take; those are duration.
A single is occupancy: one principal. It is the wrong tool when the relationship must stay visible as a shoulder or as a shared two-shot.
Going to singles too early turns every scene into ping-pong. Going to a clean single at the right time can feel like the partner has been erased.
How it works
Frame one person. For a clean single, keep edges empty of the partner (Clean Frame).
For a dirty single, allow a sliver of the other body as edge chew (Dirty Frame) without a composed foreground shoulder. Size is often Close-Up or Medium Close-Up, but a single can be a medium of one.
Prompt: Clean single of [Subject], one person, no foreground shoulder, the frame belonging entirely to them.
When to use it
Use it to isolate: the other person is gone even if they are in the room. Do not leave a stray composed shoulder if you meant clean, and do not call a continuous long take a single just because one actor walks.
Compared with similar shots
Over-the-shoulder coverage uses the partner as a foreground anchor. A Two-Shot keeps both principals.
A Close-Up is a size a single often uses. A Oner is a long unbroken take, a different word.
Single means one occupant of the shot.
In film
The Silence of the Lambs uses clean, frontal singles in the interviews so the glass and the partner can vanish and the face owns the rectangle. That isolation is the coverage choice.
Grammar: one person, the rest of the relationship offscreen.
Prompt it
Say one person and whether the edges are clean. Example: Clean single of [Subject], one person, no foreground shoulder, the frame belonging entirely to them.
If you want dirty, say a blur of the partner at the frame edge, not an OTS shoulder. For video, do not let a second face walk in unless that is the beat.
What usually goes wrong
The usual wrong cousin is Over-the-Shoulder Coverage (composed near shoulder) or a Two-Shot. The tell is a sharp second face, or a textbook OTS.
Another tell is calling a oner a single. Fix: one principal, decide clean or dirty, do not confuse occupancy with duration.
Questions
What is Single in film?
A single is a shot containing one principal character. Clean singles keep other bodies out; dirty singles let a bit of the partner chew the edge. It is coverage occupancy, not a synonym for a one-take scene.
Single vs Over-the-Shoulder Coverage
OTS keeps a near shoulder or head as a compositional foreground while we watch the far face. A single removes that anchor so the frame belongs to one person. A dirty single is still a single; it is not a full OTS unless the near body is the viewpoint fragment.
When should I use Single?
Use it to isolate someone during or after a conversation. Do not jump there so early that the relationship never exists in frame, and do not confuse it with a oner.
How do I prompt Single for AI image or video?
Write Clean single of [Subject], one person, no foreground shoulder. If you want dirty, specify a sliver of another body at the edge. Keep a second face out of the shot.
Melies can generate this Single
Melies is the AI filmmaking workspace. This Single opens with the still prompt loaded, so you generate the coverage at the right camera distance.