In 1998, Nolan released his first feature, "Following", which he wrote, directed, photographed and edited. It depicts an unemployed young writer (Jeremy Theobald) who trails strangers through London, hoping they will provide material for his first novel, but is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. From Nolan's experience of living in London and having his apartment burgled, he observed that the common attribute between larceny and pursuing someone through a crowd was that they "both take you beyond the boundaries of ordinary social relations". Co-produced by Nolan with Thomas and Theobald, it was made on a budget of £3,000. Most of the cast and crew were friends of the director, and shooting took place on weekends over the course of a year. To conserve film stock, each scene was rehearsed extensively to ensure that the first or second take could be used in the final edit. "Following" won several awards during its festival run and was well received by critics; "The New Yorker" wrote that it "echoed Hitchcock classics", but was "leaner and meaner". Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" was impressed with its "spare look" and agile hand-held camerawork, saying, "As a result, the actors convincingly carry off the before, during and after modes that the film eventually, and artfully, weaves together." On 11December 2012, it was released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection.