Principal photography lasted about five months, and, according to McElwee, "I'd guess the total amount of footage I actually shot was about 25 hours." The total "filming time" could be considered much more substantial, however: "I was almost always ready to shoot. I kept the camera within reaching distance, sometimes balanced on my shoulder...even between major portraits, when I was on the road, I was totally open to filming whatever might happen in a gas station or in a restaurant, or wherever. So in one sense you can count all that time as 'filming time'."