ˈæftɚ ɡɹˈoʊdən ɹᵻtˈɜːnd fɹʌm hɪz ˈɑːɹmi tˈʊɹ ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti sˈɛvən, hiː bɪkˌeɪm ɐ fˈoʊɾoʊ tɛknˈɪʃən wˈɜːkɪŋ ɪn ɐ nˈuː jˈɔːɹk sˈɪɾi mˈoʊʃən pˈɪktʃɚ pɹˈɑːsɛsɪŋ lˈæb; hiː hæd spˈɛʃəl ˌɛkspɚtˈiːz blˈoʊɪŋ ˌʌp ˈeɪt ˌɛmˈɛm fˈɪlm fɔːɹ θiːˈætɹɪkəl dˌɪstɹɪbjˈuːʃən.
After Groden returned from his Army tour in 1967, he became a photo technician working in a New York City motion picture processing lab; he had special expertise blowing up 8mm film for theatrical distribution.