Our post-production studio is capable of realising incredible ambitions and making great films even better. However, it is important to integrate post-production elements into the pre-production and filming stages.

Audiences are remarkably discerning, and whilst the proliferation of special effects, kinetic editing techniques, digital doubling and computer-based visual effects has increased what is possible, audiences also know what to expect from these tools.

Because of this, maintaining what Samuel Coleridge defined as a “willing suspension of disbelief” requires considerable amounts of effort and skill at all stages of production.

Some feature films, most notably Marcia Griffin’s editing work on the original Star Wars and Verna Field’s work on Jaws, were arguably rescued through post-production and editing work, but the concept of “fixing it in post” is not always successful.

With that in mind, here are some notable examples of where the misuse of post-production has harmed a film’s reputation, rather than enhanced it.

Does A Complex Film Need An Additional Voiceover?

Whilst often a mischaracterisation, the process of filmmaking is often portrayed as a conflict between commercial and artistic ambitions, the former of which is often the root cause of more questionable post-production decisions.

An early, rather infamous example was Orson Welles’ 1942 film The Magnificent Ambersons, which was made an hour shorter and had a much more upbeat ending attached to it in order to appeal to wartime audiences. This decision led to Mr Welles’ attempts to escape the studio system.

An even more egregious example was the original theatrical cut of Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner, which added a now-infamous narration by Harrison Ford to explain the complex plot, as well as a happy ending where Deckard and Rachel escape Los Angeles.

Can You Fix Everything In Post Production?

The often infuriating term “fix it in post” refers to the idea that errors, technical problems, bad weather or objects in the shot can be removed thanks to the power of editing, visual effects, additional dialogue replacement and all of the other tools available to a post-production team.

Whilst this is (mostly) true, it can lead to a much longer post-production process than many anticipate, as it can take multiple hours to convincingly alter seconds of footage, as well as potentially compromise the final image in cases where it is not completely salvageable.

A particularly amusing example of this was part of the troubled production for 2017’s Justice League. After the original director Zack Snyder left production, the new director Joss Whedon wanted extensive reshoots.

The problem was that Henry Cavill, who played Superman, had a moustache that he was contractually bound to keep, so to get around this, the visual effects team painstakingly removed it. This took weeks of work compared to five minutes with an electric shaver.

Can Overused Special Effects Stop An Audience Buying In?

Audiences tend to place a lot of weight on tangibility, or the feeling that something is at least plausible if it is not actually practical.

One of the reasons why 1994’s Jurassic Park works so well is the clever mix of practical and computer-generated effects, and one of the major criticisms of 2015’s Jurassic World is the exact opposite.

One of the most infamous examples of an audience no longer buying not only into a film but a franchise due to an overuse of special effects was the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.

Specifically, following a film and a series of authentic-looking practical effects, Die Another Day has an infamous scene where Pierce Brosnan’s Agent 007 windsurfs across a glacial tsunami with CGI so unconvincing it nearly ended the franchise.

How Can Filmmakers Avoid Post-Production Issues?

• Ensure every cut matters, even if you use a lot of them.
• Be clear about the tone of your story and convey it at all stages of production.
• Using CGI excessively can test an audience’s ability to buy into a narrative.
• Understand that post-production enhances rather than fixes.