Christopher Nolan's 'Following' - lighting a movie w no budget

[David Walden]

Since a lot of people are interested in shooting indie movies with little or no budget, I would definitely recommend checking out the DVD of Chris Nolan's first movie "Following". First off, the film itself is absolutely amazing. Second, there's a fantastic commentary track on the DVD where Nolan explains exactly how he shot the thing, with absolutely zero budget. He wrote and directed it, did all the camera work himself, and used ONLY natural lighting with no bounce or assistance (it helps that he shot it in London which is mainly overcast). The actors were his friends, and he shot it only on weekends over the course of a year. It's a remarkable movie, and the commentary track is definite MUST!

 

cheers-

david

www.davidwalden.com

 

[David Walden]

There are some interior sequences where he does say they used a couple hard lights to give a "noir" look. But much of the interior stuff was shot by placing actors close to windows, or by using practical light fixtures in the rooms. For the most part, the film has a very natural/documentary look to it from the available light, similar to a French New Wave look. Shooting in black in white obviously removes any need for correcting any shifts in lighting temperature, and shooting in an overcast city helps overall to get a natural look without harsh highlights or shadows. It's a remarkable achievement imo.

 

-d