Director Alejandro González Iñarritu opened up about his latest film "Birdman," particularly how the continuous, uninterrupted shots played a significant role in the movie's storytelling. The Oscar-nominated film not only tackles the struggles a formerly celebrated actor has to go through as he attempts to revive his career, but also how he deals with his ego and downward spiral.

According to Iñarritu, the unedited takes in the movie are intended to imitate how people see and experience the world. The director said that capturing that sense of movement will "bring viewers inside the characters' perspectives to express such a personal, internal notion as ego," Fox News Latino reports.

"We open our eyes and go with a Steadicam all day, and we can't escape," the filmmaker said, as quoted by Fox News Latino. "When we get up, there are no edits. The only time our perspective is edited or cut is when we tell stories - fiction - or experience a memory from our lives. But in reality, our lives are - absolutely, all the time - only linear. They move in only one direction."

The film, which bagged nine Academy Award nominations, stars Michael Keaton as Riggan Thompson, Fox News Latino notes. Emma Stone and Ed Norton also star as supporting actors, and each received nods from the Oscars for their performances in the movie. Emmanuel Lubezki is also nominated for his work in the film's cinematography.

Iñarritu further explained that the long, single camera shots required pacing and tone which was then manipulated in post-production. Instead of multiple takes common in film production, the actors had to go through multiple rehearsals to own their roles, the news outlet reports. When filming began, it was like "an endless spaghetti that cannot be cut."

"I needed a meticulous exploration of every word, every step, every movement, every look of actors to define where that camera will be and where it will come," the 51-year-old director said, as quoted by Fox News Latino. "So we got (the cast) together with much more time to explore dramatic objectives and to understand what the characters wanted, needed and how they will get it."

Despite rare chances of rehearsing movies, Iñarritu and the team managed to pull through by meticulous set preparation. But there were also instances that it didn't work, and according to the director, it was "terrifying."

"With the pace and the timing and the rhythm, it's magical sometimes whether it happens or not," the filmmaker said in a Q&A session provided by 20^th Century Fox, as quoted by a report from Rappler. It was like playing live. There's no way to edit this. You're playing live, so if it doesn't happen there, you can't help anybody. One scene that doesn't work will sink the whole thing."