While reading through the end credits of any movie, you probably see hundreds or even thousands of names scrolling by. Somewhere in that list of actors, directors, writers, and producers are those who are responsible for making sure that unwanted mistakes don’t reach people’s screens.

Bored Panda reached out to filmmaker and writer Molly Smith, who kindly agreed to tell us why such things go unnoticed.

She told us, "Continuity mistakes and background mishaps can sometimes get overlooked in films because the director and editor watch the cut so many times that they may not notice those small details.

The more you watch something, the more familiar you get with it, and these inconsistencies may not stand out. A director is focused on making the story coherent and communicating the overall tone and message of the film. The editor is focused on continuity and an overall sense of flow and polishing. Small details, like an extra falling over in the background of a scene, might get overlooked because the director is focused on something else."

There is also continuity, and script supervisors who ensure that film and television scenes make sense both visually and verbally and can be edited into a coherent story when filming is finished. This department observes everything closely, taking detailed notes for directors and editors.

They also make sure that everything in the scenes is in the exact location and in the same manner, take after take, even if the scene is shot for days or weeks at a time. At the end of each day, they produce a report putting down any errors and giving information about the already-shot scenes to be used for the following days (as well as at the editing stages of the film).

However, keeping continuity is not an easy task. For instance, the crew may shoot an outdoor winter scene for a Christmas movie in the spring but discover that they need to go back for extra shots in the fall. The fake snow needs to look real and fall with the same consistency as it did months earlier. Additionally, all the props around the scene must look identical to previous ones.

It’s nearly impossible to duplicate everything how it was, so directors often use cutaway tricks to mask inconsistencies in moves. Even though the staff takes hundreds of photographs of the location and makes extensive notes on light placement, details, and actors, no one is immune to accidents.

Some of these accidents involve leaving modern-day objects that aren't appropriate for the era in which the movie is set. Fans and cinema enthusiasts have been spotting modern water bottles in Little Women and Game of Thrones, while roads in Bridgerton have yellow traffic lines that were invented much later.

This may already be considered a factual mistake - one that clashes with the real world by being historically, geographically, or physically incorrect. Even a modern word that didn’t exist yet but was accidentally included in the final cut of the movie can disturb the historical plot.

Errors in films are referred to as “goofs” and can take us momentarily outside of the world that the movie was trying to create. They shouldn’t be confused with bloopers, which are amusing mistakes made by an actor or the crew and are usually removed before the production is released. They may be shown at the end of the movie to poke fun at how actors react to unexpected situations.

Smith told us that "Most major mistakes are fixed during post-production, the stage of filmmaking where the film is edited together, sound mixed, color graded, scored, and any VFX are added. In addition to the main editor, there might be several other creators that specialize in these different areas of post-production.

For example, Foley artists are responsible for creating authentic sound effects for things like footsteps, rustling clothes, etc. With all these different specializations, each person is focused on perfecting their area of the film, so major mistakes don’t frequently show up. In addition, there are usually test screenings in front of an audience for feedback before the final film is released."

Some other common mistakes that remain in movies reveal the filmmaking process, such as visual effects or a very obvious stunt performer. This is also related to visible camera crew equipment that is accidentally left in the final cut of the movie. There can also be audio errors related to speech, sound effects, or character mistakes with significant slips in dialogue or written words.

Sometimes such blunders are left on purpose for movie watchers to find. They’re called Easter eggs and can be anything from an inside joke on set to a reference to another film.

Smith confirms this fact and says "In multi-part film franchises, callbacks to previous films in the series can be exciting for viewers to find. They also generate press about the movie on social media. If the mistake or Easter egg doesn’t interfere with the tone and story of the film and adds an element of excitement for true fans, that might be a reason why a director would choose to leave it in."

If you want to learn more about them, we recommend checking out this article full of Easter eggs and hidden details in popular films you might have never noticed before.