20 Things We Learned About The Making of Following From Christopher Nolan's Director's Commentary

1. Christopher Nolan is a self-taught filmmaker.
2. As a kid, he used to make movies with a Super 8 (and 16mm) camera.
3. He borrowed filmmaking equipment to make this movie.
4. He used things available around him to make Following.
5. The beginning of the Following were calm tracking shots.
6. The rest of Following was shot hand-held.
7. To save on lighting budget, he shot scenes near windows.
8. Following was shot at friends’ houses or friends’ parents’ houses.
9. He filmed Following in London, without permit.
10. He shot around the problem areas, constantly reworking the script to fit the locations available.
11. He held many rehearsals to familiarize the actors with the script.
12. Filming on rooftops is a great way to save money.
13. He used fade to black in between scenes.
14. Shot in B&W for film noir effect and to make lighting easier and quicker. He lit his scenes with harsh shadows which gave the movie a stylish look, eliminating the need to adjust white balance.
15. He used ADR.
16. He made the same shots but used different takes for different parts of the film.
17. He made a short film in a weekend.
18. He shot Following with natural lighting.
19. He shot Following in a documentary style, to create naturalism.
20. He blocked his actors through the lens and camera work.