Lance Acord: Clip Tests

From American Cinematographer, Playing a Risky Stock on Buffalo 66, by Jean Oppenheimer (July 1998)

"When you shoot 'chrome and use the E6 process, you do film clip tests. On each roll of film, you clip either the front or the end of the roll to gauge the exposure on the roll, and then you can push- or pull-process to adjust for the exposure you want. For each scene in Buffalo 66 we would do a clip test. We'd shoot about 40 feet of film- often with stand-ins-- and then log that with a scene number and a clip number. In the script notes we would identify which camera roll corresponded to each clip test for each scene, at which point we would know whether we wanted to push or pull the film to adjust for exposure. They could then process the rolls accordingly."

- Lance Acord, ASC

Paul Ryan: Working with a Director

From American Cinematographer, Flower Power by Chris Pizzello (July 1999)

"When you're working on a film that's so personal to the director, just hanging out with her and talking to her about life in general somehow informs your unconscious. Then when you are ready to make creative decisions, you know what the real emotional origins of the story are. When the sun is going down and it's the fourteenth hour of filming, you can only go on those instincts and intuitions that have been built up by talking to the director over beers some night at a pasta place in Marin. It's not a rational process at that point. It's about gut-level decisions based on the experience of someone involved with the story-- not just on your own gut feelings based on the last film you made."

- Paul Ryan, ASC