To immerse the actors, the production used full blanks for the gunfire, as opposed to half or quarter blanks, resulting in a discharge as loud as real gunfire.
In an interview with The New York Times, director Alex Garland revealed that the "Christmas Wonderland" decorations in the sniper scene were not designed for the movie. Someone had built it as an attraction and decided to leave it up after the attraction was a financial failure. Alex decided to incorporate it into the movie to symbolize the chaos in the country. "If you haven't put away the Christmas decorations, clearly something isn't right."
Jesse Plemons joined the cast just days before his scene was supposed to be shot due to the original actor dropping out. Kirsten Dunst, Jesse's wife, recommended Plemons to director Alex Garland.
Alex Garland told a reporter at the premiere that the pairing of California and Texas was, in part, to obfuscate the politics but more importantly that these two states put aside political differences to challenge an unconstitutional, fascistic, and corrupt president who is killing American civilians. He said, "Are you saying extremist politics would always remain more important than a president of this sort? That sounds crazy to me."
Garland, whose family has ties to modern journalism, seems to point out the rivalries between "print" media (either paper or digital) and "television" media. The print journalists seem less supported and have a better eye for reporting escalating events, while the television media has better financial backing but is more enthralled by visual spectacle rather than instinct. Hence the TV crew is embedded with the Western Forces and has top notch equipment, while the print media is largely portrayed as rag tag.