Christopher Nolan’s first feature length film, Following, was made with little more than Nolan’s own personal skill. He took part in a film club while at University College London, where he honed the guerilla techniques he would later use in all of his films. Having never gone to an official film school, Nolan had no choice but to become personally involved with every aspect of filmmaking.
“Being self-taught gave me a very organic approach to understanding all the different bits of the craft,” Nolan said in an interview with DGA. “I’m interested in every different bit of filmmaking because I had to do every bit of it myself—from sound recording and ADR to editing and music.”
So let’s examine Following and Memento with this knowledge. Following was filmed only on weekends for a solid year. Nolan used his friends as actors (in their own clothes as costumes), natural lighting, black and white film, and as many other budget-slimming techniques he could muster. When it showed at international film festivals to relative acclaim, Nolan used that opportunity to ask for donations for his next film.
Following had a budget of about $6,000 and grossed about $43,000.
Memento had a budget of about $9 million and grossed $25 million.
After Memento–Nolan’s second ever film–he was invited to join the Director’s Guild of America, an honor not usually bestowed upon up-and-coming filmmakers.
They felt like he earned it.
Are You Watching Closely? 