Where to Draw the Line?
I just finished my reporting for the week. There are certain statistics I track and forward to upper management. They are very nicely displayed in a spreadsheet, complete with colored symbols and lines for easy deciphering. However, I cannot print them. Why? Because the particular software I’m using has a “Known issue” with printing charts.What? A “known issue?” And you released it anyway? Didn’t someone test for this particular application? Seems like if you want to create a graph, at some point you’re going to want to print it? Maybe they thought that in our digital, no one would want print capacity any more. Just email it, post it to a website, or cyber-something-else with it.Then I thought, “hmm…maybe they caught it too far down the road. Maybe some engineer in a cubicle thought to test it two days before the big launch and it was too late to pull everything back, so they just had to let it go.” [If I find out he exists, I'm going to have a conversation with him]From that point, it was an easy jump to film, since that’s what I think about most of the day anyway. At what point in the filmmaking process (which may not be as long as the development process for a software upgrade, but is usually a 2-3 year process) is it too late to make corrections? Anddoes it depend where the correction should be made?Script – oops – we need a key character to bring in this plot point. You can fix that in the draft stage, but in the second week of filming, it’s probably too late.Filming – we missed a shot at this key location and it’s crucial to the character development. That depends on the logistics of your locations and the availability of your actors.Editing – hey – how come no one noticed the microphone hanging in that shot? It’s the ONLY shot we have for that scene, and if that character doesn’t utter that particular line, the main conflict cannot be resolved.Score – why didn’t the conductor notice that the clarinets were out of tune? (that, perhaps, could be digitally enhanced)Credits – oh no! We left out the 2nd 2nd ADs middle name, and contractually, it has to be there. This as all the prints of a film are making their way to theaters for opening weekend in two days.We’re all human. Mistakes will be made. You might as well assume that from the beginning. There is no perfect film, there will be flaws somewhere. Chances are, the producers, director, and editor know exactly where they are. (at 8:06 you’re going to see the wheel of the sound cart in the bottom left corner) In fact, they probably know every inch of the film, and are not surprised at the feedback they get from every corner.So, if you see a mistake in a film, make note of it, but be thankful that there aren’t more, and enjoy the fact that you’re being entertained and not trying to print your weekly reports.
