Post-production hell is a slang term referring to an extended problem period of post-production during the making of a motion picture or television program, or musical album. As the post-production process is normally a time-consuming process that can take longer than the shooting of the movie, post-production hell can involve delays of many months to the finished product.
The term is used for creative and structural issues, rather than technical problems. Therefore it is usually concerned with matters such as plot, exposition, character development, dramatic impact and editing. Post-production hell may include severe editing, removal of entire subplots, and even some reshooting, attempts to add topicality, confusion and power struggles over the genre of the film etc. It occurs most often during the making of a film intended for cinema release because there is pressure to create a product which is likely to be a box-office success.[1]
Post-production hell can result in delayed theatrical release of a film,[2] in a limited release, direct-to-video release or even non-release of the product. During this process, creative differences of opinion and conflict are likely between the writers, producers and directors of the movie.
Once post-production problems begin, they can form a vicious cycle. Repeated screening of the film to test audiences is often a major factor. Costs mount up during the over-long post-production process, and this increases the pressure to produce a successful film to recoup costs. This pressure can result in more changes to the film and more disagreement amongst the movie's directors and producers as to the best decisions and alterations to make to the film's structure. As time passes between the start of shooting of a film and its cinematic release, the likelihood also increases that the film loses topicality, audience tastes change, and other films may appear that cover similar subjects.
Examples of films regarded as having suffered from post-production hell include I Love Lucy, A Scanner Darkly, Killshot and Fanboys. The Day the Clown Cried and The Other Side of the Wind are two infamous films shot in the 1970's that remain in post-production hell to this day.
In music, post-production hell can refer to any period of time during the mixing or mastering stages of the album where delays can be experienced due to issues with record labels, insufficient funds, or technical difficulties. A notable example of this can be seen in Guns 'N Roses' latest release, Chinese Democracy, which was delayed 17 years.[3]