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Christopher Nolan is a current Auteur Director here he presents a Masterclass in Directing. There are also many other interesting features on this website. Click and follow!

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Christopher Nolan is a current Auteur Director here he presents a Masterclass in Directing. There are also many other interesting features on this website. Click and follow!

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Learn more about the art and craft of filmmaking from Interstellar director, Christopher Nolan.

The soon to be released Interstellar is director Christopher Nolan's ninth feature film but there is still plenty to learn from his earliest work including his first feature film, Following.

Filmmaking Tips from Nolan's First Feature

"Following represents the peak of what I was able to do on my own, just with friends and borrowed resources. " -Christopher Nolan

In this fantastic 26 minute interview you can hear directly from director Christopher Nolan as he shares his filmmaking insights and process involved in making his first feature film. Off the back of the festival circuit success of Following, Nolan was able to make Memento, which became his 'breakout' film and his first steps into Hollywood stardom.

In this post-screening interview from the 1999 Slamdance film festival you can pick up plenty of great filmmaking tips. If you're really paying attention you can pick up 34 great filmmaking lessons, or, you can check out this excellent article from Natalie of Mentorless.com in which she lists the 34 filmmaking lessons she took away from the interview.

Creating on a no-budget

1. Nolan explained that Following was shot at a time where a 'healthy competition' was going on between filmmakers who were all trying to make the cheapest movie possible.

2. The $6,000 were spent buying film stock and processing it.

3. Actors and crew were bringing their own lunch

4. The reason Nolan shot over a year was because of the lack of money and everybody was working.

5. Nolan figured out he could shoot for 2 and 1/2 to 1 ratio, which is almost the same ratio that Shane Carruth for his first feature, Primer. What that means is that he would get one minute of usable footage for every two and half minutes of film shot. The Ratio on a standard film is 15 to 1.

6. The entire film is made out of 1 takes and sometimes 2 takes.

7. The film was rehearsed for about 6 months, just as if they were doing a play. Actors knew the whole film in advance. Each Saturday, depending on the location secured, Nolan would tell them: 'We are doing X scene', and they were prepared to make it happened in one take.

Following Director's Commentary

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can also listen to director Christopher Nolan discuss the making of the film for a full 70 minutes, as appears on the DVD commentary.

Inside Memento and other films

If you ever tried to sit down and work out just what was happening inside Memento, Nolan's second feature film and one nominated for best screenwriting and editing Academy Awards, then this 18 minute masterclass in story analysis and film structure from Nolan himself should help explain it. Sort of.

Lastly The Verge has a great little interview with Nolan that charts a few highlights from his early career with some interesting revelations about his filmmaking process.

Cutting Inception with Lee [Smith], my editor, I remember we got to reel three and watched it. It was completely incomprehensible. And it took several weeks of sleepless nights of really trying to figure it out. Weirdly though, when I look back at the script compared with the way that section of the film turned out, it's not that different. But it can be very hard to find those things. One of the reasons I don't watch the assembly as a lot of filmmakers do, is it's four hours long and it's a terrible film. So I just don't want to start from that place. I'd rather start from the place of its sense of possibility, which is what you have in the dailies.

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Christopher Nolan Filmmaking Masterclass - The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat

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The soon to be released Interstellar is director Christopher Nolan's ninth feature film but there is still plenty to learn from his earliest work including his first feature film, Following. "Following represents the peak of what I was able to do on my own, just with friends and borrowed resources.

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Do you want to make your film look like it has been made by an auteur? Watch this!

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Do you want to make your film look like it has been made by an auteur? Watch this!

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How to get the FILM look - MASTER CLASS!

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How to Direct for your edit.

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How important is it to choose the right camera moves to capture that dramatic moment. Watch and Learn!

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How important is it to choose the right camera moves to capture that dramatic moment. Watch and Learn!

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How important is it to choose the right camera moves to capture that dramatic moment. Watch and Learn!

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How important is it to choose the right camera moves to capture that dramatic moment. Watch and Learn!

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And then you have David Fincher, subtle, detailed every shot has purpose, conveys meaning about character, place...

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And then you have David Fincher, subtle, detailed every shot has purpose, conveys meaning about character, place...

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David Fincher - And the Other Way is Wrong

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For sheer directorial craft, there are few people working today who can match David Fincher. And yet he describes his own process as "not what I do, but what I don't do." Join me today in answering the question: What does David Fincher not do? For educational purposes only.

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Michael Bay is not a sensitive soul and his style of film making is literally explosive - Entertainment with a capital E, subtle NO -  dramatic YES. Watch.

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Michael Bay is not a sensitive soul and his style of film making is literally explosive - Entertainment with a capital E, subtle NO -  dramatic YES. Watch.

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Werner Herzog Talks About Wrestlemania & Anna Nicole Smith

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There are filmmakers we love and then there's Michael Bay. Even if you dislike him (as I do), Bay has something valuable to teach us about visual perception. This is an exploration of "Bayhem" - his style of camera movement, composition and editing that creates something overblown, dynamic and distinct.

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When writing a script some writers overwrite, tell the audience too much, don't allow the audience to work things out. Sometimes silence is as meaningful and dramatic as a thousand word monologue. Martin Scorsese is a master.

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When writing a script some writers overwrite, tell the audience too much, don't allow the audience to work things out. Sometimes silence is as meaningful and dramatic as a thousand word monologue. Martin Scorsese is a master.

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Even though Martin Scorsese is famous for his use of music, one of his best traits is his deliberate and powerful use of silence. Take a glimpse at fifty years of this simple technique from one of cinema's masters. SPOILERS for Shutter Island (2010), Superman (1978) and Man of Steel (2013) For educational purposes only.

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Why do directors chose to use certain shots ?

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Why do directors chose to use certain shots ?

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The Imposter (2012) - Looking into the Lens

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A brief analysis of Bart Layton's The Imposter (2012). WARNING: SPOILS EVERY GODDAMN THING. For educational purposes only. English & Portuguese subtitles by Akemi Mitsueda. You can donate to support the channel at Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/everyframeapainting And follow me here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonyszhou Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everyframeapainting Music: DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt.

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There are many different types of camera movements, this is an example of a horizontal tracking shot

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There are many different types of camera movements, this is an example of a horizontal tracking shot

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Wolf Children (2012) - The Lateral Tracking Shot

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Watch this clip and learn how to frame your shot. Use the right shot for the dramatic effect you want to have on your audience. Remember every shot has meaning. This is the Spielberg special - a continuous tracking shot.

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Watch this clip and learn how to frame your shot. Use the right shot for the dramatic effect you want to have on your audience. Remember every shot has meaning. This is the Spielberg special - a continuous tracking shot.

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One overlooked aspect of Spielberg is that he's actually a stealth master of the long take. From Duel to Tintin, for forty years, he has sneakily filmed many scenes in a single continuous shot. Eight long examples: https://vimeo.com/tonyzhou/spielberg-eight Twelve short examples: https://vimeo.com/tonyzhou/spielberg-twelve For educational purposes only. English & Portuguese subtitles by Akemi Mitsueda.