For decades, producers and directors winced at the words “fix it in post”.
Now, they’re embracing post as much more of a creative partner. With assistive AI editing reshaping workflows, productions have more flexibility than ever.
AI-assisted editing techniques used by top editors and productions in the US, UK and beyond are helping producers and directors stay confident – even when a shoot day doesn’t capture everything on the call sheet.
Our recent interview with Annie Mahoney, Film Innovation Producer at Flawless, as part of Flawless Voices.
“Fix it in post” is film industry shorthand for postponing an on-set issue – whether it’s lighting, continuity, dialogue, or performance – to be repaired in a film’s post production stage, often by the editor or VFX team.
The term has long acted as a false safety net. When everyone knows a shot isn’t right, but time, light or budget have run out. It’s the moment when the problem quietly passes from set to edit suite.
When the editor has to fix it in post, some common methods for fixing in post have typically included:
“It’s funny that you say ‘we’ll fix it in post,’ because that’s like every producer’s greatest nightmare to hear that.”
—Annie Mahoney
Filmmaking at every level pits ambition and budget against one another. More days on set mean more crew, more catering, more insurance – more everything. And while fixing it in post can save a shot, it often demands extra work from the editing team and post house that falls outside the scope of an already-signed agreement.
As Annie Mahoney, Film Innovation Producer at Flawless put it, “Especially in the independent film space, more days is not something that you have, more money is not something that you have.” And this relentless squeeze has led to the phrase’s uneasy legacy.
For many, “fix it in post” has become a dirty phrase because:
With assistive AI editing tools, newly developed to give editors much more control, “fix it in post” is gradually becoming less of a defeat and more of a workflow.
Techniques like performance transfer allow editors to switch or align an actor’s take across different shots – for example, replacing a performance in a wide with one from a close-up – smoothing continuity without reshoots.
With visual ADR, new lines can be recorded and seamlessly synced to the actor’s mouth movements, without cutting away or hiding the edit – preserving both flow and performance.
AI-assisted performance editing gives editors the power to adjust timing, tone, and expression, while performance transfer and visual ADR work together to enhance consistency across takes. The result: performances that feel unified and authentic, even when the original footage fell short.
In many cases, this makes assistive AI a practical solution to common problems experienced on set, making it a much better solution than extending a day’s shoot.
“We’ll fix it in post” is starting to sound less like a sigh and more like a plan.
When small adjustments can be made after the fact, everyone on set gets much-needed breathing room.
Annie tells a story about two actors in a scene. One nails the performance. The other misses the beat.
“If there’s two actors in a scene and one nails the performance and the other one doesn’t… knowing that we could do a performance transfer where they’re both nailing it… would have really allowed for great comedic landing.”
Instead of reshooting, assistive AI lets both performances live, keeps the energy authentic and saves the rhythm of the scene. For producers, it’s not just a technical advantage – it’s a creative partnership with post production.
As Annie puts it, assistive AI is “a safety net” for producers.
“Think of us as a safety net to protect you from needing to go and reopen or go back on set and pick up more days.”
And for independent cinema, that can be the difference between finishing a film and shelving it.
In this new era, “fix it in post” isn’t an admission of defeat. It’s the mark of a smarter, more flexible production – where technology helps everyone tell the story they meant to tell.