The process proved to be time-consuming. Each minute of footage generated by the optical printer took between eight to ten hours to complete. Once a test shot was sent to the lab for development, minuscule mistakes in calibration would sometimes ruin the shot and require the process to start all over again. Merhige began asking labs if they would be willing to adjust their usual development procedures to his custom specifications, but was repeatedly turned away. Eventually, he found a small studio willing to accommodate his requests: Kin-O-Lux Labs, located on Manhattan's 48th Street and owned by a German-American "émigré" named Fred Schreck. Merhige quickly developed a friendship with Schreck, who allowed the director to use the lab to develop the footage while teaching him how to develop footage by hand. Schreck's name appears under "special thanks" in the film's end credits. At one point during the editing process, Merhige enlisted his father's input on certain scenes, stating that his father was "very open-minded" to the project. Merhige used similar "rephotography" techniques for segments of his next film, "Shadow of the Vampire".