Director Christopher Nolan is best known for The Dark Knight trilogy of blockbusters, and a film with a sound so powerful it’s been replicated in many a trailer since: Inception. Prior to these films Nolan directed the mind-bending thriller Memento, but his career began even earlier with an ultra-low budget feature called Following.

An exercise in efficient, effective filmmaking, Following is a film noir gem — and one impressively made on a shoestring. Nolan recently sat down with VICE and the Criterion Collection to talk about the making of the film. Outlining DIY tips and tricks he used to get the film made with very limited resources, Nolan also explains how some of the methods he learned making Following still influence him to this day — even when shooting IMAX.