Another is Shields’ choice to do everything on the fly. While still learning how to use a camera and direct a set, Shields wanted to see what a worst-case scenario would look and feel like. To experiment with this, he wrote a skeleton of a script, consisting only of action lines and a few dialogue clues, to leave the rest of the film up to actors’ improvisation. He also prepared no shotlist, schedule, or gameplan for shooting. Instead, with the help of his crew and cast, the team showed up at an agreed upon time and location, and experimented with feeling out a scene. 

The resulting film was a stressful, but educational lesson in how to make a film from nothing.