Choose the film stock that is going to be used in the picture you are shooting. It is usually either Kodak or Fuji, depending on the visual language of the film. Raw stock is bought in preproduction and usually costs about 0.58 cent per frame (c/f) (Kodak) or 0.36 c/f (Fuji).
Choose a lab to process your film. The biggest and the best are Delux and Fotokem. They have impeccable reputations among the cinematographers. The lab processes your negatives and prints your dailies. The typical processing rate is 0.12 c/f. The rate for print dailies is 0.23 c/f. Film dailies are your work prints.
Add sound to see your dailies. Audio post-production houses transfer audiotape to magnetic film. Editors sync mag film with the film dailies for your screening. When your film is developed and your dailies are made, it is time for your editor to make a work print. Work prints are reworked and constantly changed until the director and editor reach the final cut.
Mark the work print for optical effects and send it to a negative cutter. This person catalogs the original negative, mag track and optical effects and cuts the negative to conform to the work print. He also edits optical effects into a final negative.
Create answer prints to give color and density to your movie. The color timer works with filmmakers on several answer prints to achieve the desired effect. When the answer print is perfect, it is time for a release print.
Make the release print from two sources: the picture source IN (intermediate negative) and the sound source optical sound track. Together they make the release print. A release print costs around 0.50 c/f. Your movie is ready!