Why Don’t Movie Editors Fix Their Mistakes?

Sometimes movie editors make adjustments, but not all errors are spotted before release, leading to unfixable mistakes. Let's delve deeper into why these slip-ups happen and what editors can (or cannot) do about them.

Motivations and Logistical Challenges

The short answer is no—they can’t, and here’s why:

Cost: Fixing mistakes can be extremely expensive, especially for older movies. For instance, the 2022 live-action adaptation of Pinocchio faced criticism due to its lackluster VFX, which highlighted the prohibitive cost of such fixes. Tight Budgets: Directors often operate under strict time and financial constraints. Rear-shooting scenes can be a logistical nightmare and require significant resources. Distribution Constraints: Once a movie is released to streaming services, it's more likely that editors can make adjustments. For example, Game of Thrones had coffee cups edited out within hours of online release.

Industry Spotlight: An Editor's Perspective

My wife, a post-production professional, often encounters these mistakes and must work around them as best she can. This is often due to the 'garbage in, garbage out' principle: if the footage isn’t good, the edits will be limited. Sometimes, the director's oversight leaves the editor with insufficient usable footage to achieve the desired result. Despite their expertise, there's only so much they can do.

Even when they're clever, they can only salvage scenes that have the potential to be fixed. Otherwise, the best they can hope for is a "do your best" approach.

The industry joke is that editors will often leave these mistakes in the final cut, knowing that "they’ll fix it in post."

Famous Movie Mistakes

Directors sometimes step into the frame, unintentionally becoming characters themselves. An example of this is Steven Spielberg in his made-for-television production Duel, where he stepped into the shot.

Other mistakes, like the clear shadow of a camera in Stagecoach, result from the practical challenges of filming. An infamous example is the Storm Troopers in the original Star Wars, who struggled with the door and even had self-recovering hubcaps in the classic film Bullitt.

These mistakes often arise in the high-pressure environment of commercial film making. Factual and anachronistic errors can also plague productions. Set designers often make sure props and backgrounds are historically accurate, but sometimes these efforts don’t catch every detail.

Shooting out of sequence adds another layer of complexity, leading to continuity errors. Props may suddenly change from dirty to clean, or a character may appear dressed differently. These errors can also arise during the lighting process, where scenes are often filmed out of order.

Minor Mistakes and Inside Jokes

Many supposed mistakes are actually deliberate and intended as inside jokes. Directors like Steven Spielberg purposefully leave some mistakes intact to remember the challenges of filmmaking. Some may be too arcane for the average viewer to notice.

Collaboration is key in film making, yet it's remarkable how rare major mistakes are. Databases such as IMDb collect and document goofs and continuity issues, largely contributed by movie buffs. Some mistakes are not actual errors but creative choices made by directors for artistic or comedic effect.

Conclusion

While editors can't always fix movie mistakes due to budget constraints and time pressures, there are undeniable challenges in the post-production process. From continuity errors to factual inaccuracies, the intricacies of filmmaking make it a complex endeavor.