Lessons on debut film-making from a pre-blockbuster director.

Long before helming productions which both cost and made many millions of dollars, director Christopher Nolan made his debut feature film Following (1998) on a budget of just $6,000, shooting on weekends with friends and family, as he describes in his own words (via Cinedome):

One of the keys to getting an ultra-low-budget film actually finished is definitely to have in mind what kind of film you can make with the resources available to you.

Christopher Nolan on Following | Cinedome

I recommend to any young film-maker starting out: just try everything. Try recording sound, try shooting, try lighting, try a bit of everything.

Christopher Nolan on Following | Cinedome

In the first section of his look at How Nolan Shoots A Film At 3 Budget Levels, In Depth Cine breaks down some of the film-making techniques Nolan used, as “a good lesson in how to craft a contained, low-budget film that embraces, and is structured by, its limitations”:

[Your crew] is looking to you for leadership and guidance. They also want to feel like you care about their job, and I think one of the ways of showing someone you care about their job is to know about it, and to be able to engage in a conversation

Christopher Nolan on Following | Cinedome

After watching Following, Standard Story Company lists his personal takeaways from How Christopher Nolan mastered no-budget filmmaking:

Further Viewing

No-budget film-making usually also means having a tiny crew and “no” resources – but there are approaches to making the most of who and what you have to work with:

Film School: Tricks for Your Small Film Crew