Films are produced on a very tight budget so filmmakers had to use their imagination for low-budgets alternatives to regular production methods. They had to film at a Friend’s apartment or backyard and use the director’s friends as the cast and crew. Directors sometimes had to improvise on the spot, for example by using a shopping cart for tracking shots. 

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A major cost problem was the cost of film. Unusual solutions to save films turned into stylistic innovations. For example, after being told that Breathless was too long, Godard was found obliged to cut the film down to one hour and a half. He didn’t remove many scenes using jump cuts since they were taken in one long take. Jump cuts were invented and often used by the French New Wave filmmakers rather than continuity editing. A jump cut is when a scene is cut forward in time by a split second or more, it was used to disturb the passage of time and also to drag the attention of the viewer further away from the story and closer to the filmmaking itself. An example of jump-cut used in Godard’s Breathless is when the character shoots someone. The viewer only sees the gun pointed, then jump cut to the other character falling over. 

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A new generation of cameras helped filmmakers shoot in public locations. The handheld cameras were easily moved around, they were able to shoot in tight corners which created an intimacy that heavy and more heavy cameras couldn’t rival with. The majority of new wave films used long extended tracking shots which this type of camera facilitated. 

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At the time, Hollywood was making epic blockbusters, the New Wave argued for smaller intimate films about everyday life and its problems. Instead of studio lighting, natural lighting was used which the new cameras made possible. Filmmakers often refused to remix their sound. They preferred using a naturalistic soundtrack recorded during the shoot and shown unaltered even if it shows mistakes or intrusions. It gave us a sense of freshness and energy that earlier films lacked. 

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Classic cinema encouraged tight control of the filming process. However, La Nouvelle Vague intentionally avoided it. The filmmakers often filmed in public locations, the cast improvised the dialogue and the plot was constructed on the spot. Although it seemed sloppy it also captured the vibrancy and the spontaneity of life itself (like cinema vérité).

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There are many other characteristics and things to talk about when it comes to French New Wave, but it is important to note how Godard’s contempt and disregard for the classical conventions of cinema paved the way for the French New Wave.