Continuity mistake: The satchel of money Nedry receives as a down payment for getting the embryos off the island vanishes from his arms as he looks at the false container of shaving cream. It vanishes mid-sentence; he had no time to put it down. (00:14:00)
Continuity mistake: When Nedry is trying out the shaving foam can, he puts some on his right hand. When the camera pans back after he's wiped most of it off on the pie, his hand is suddenly completely clean. He then pretends to wipe it off with a napkin anyway. (00:14:15)
Continuity mistake: When they first land on the island, the actors' positions change. In the interior shots, Satler is sitting to Hammond's left during the descent. When the copter door opens, Hammond is on the other side, his left side facing the door. They would not have switched places during the descent. (00:16:55 - 00:17:45)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning, when the helicopter lands on the island, the Jeeps are already waiting in position. In the next shot they reverse up to the helicopters again. (00:17:20)
Continuity mistake: When the helicopter first lands on the island it is clearly not on the cross on the landing pad. Later in the scene it is. (00:17:25)
Continuity mistake: When the gas jeeps stop for the first time they are in sunlight away from trees. At the end of the scene they are in the shade by some trees, despite them not moving in the scene. If you watch closely when Hammond tells them to stop they are in a massive patch of sunlight as shown with Dr Grant standing up. (00:21:05)
Continuity mistake: When we first meet the dinosaurs Alan is sitting in front of a lake. Ellie is standing right in front of him. After the cut Ellie comes to Alan from behind and puts her hands on his shoulders. (00:21:25)
Continuity mistake: When the baby dinosaur is born, one minute the robotic hand is there behind the egg as it's hatching, then in the reverse angle the hand's suddenly disappeared. (00:27:30)
Continuity mistake: When the baby Dinosaur is hatching, her arm comes out but in the very next shot it's her head that is coming out. (00:27:30)
Continuity mistake: When the baby dinosaur is breaking the egg, the eggshell is almost open on one shot, and starting to break with a different shape, in the next shot. (00:27:35)
Continuity mistake: When the egg is opening, the leaves underneath change from dry and crushed to big and green between shots. (00:27:35)
Continuity mistake: In the scene from behind Dr. Grant we can see the cow being lifted straight up. You can see that the cow is rather close to Dr. Grant. Then the scene cuts and the cow is already in the middle of the top of the Velociraptor paddock. Judging from the distance between Dr. Grant and the paddock from the previous wide-shot, and the fact that Dr. Grant made no big moves, the crane couldn't pass that distance between the two shots. (00:27:35)
Visible crew/equipment: In the scene where the cow is being lowered into the raptor cage, the camera shows the ferns and plants shaking. If you look closely, there is the back of a man in a white shirt shaking the plants. (00:31:10)
Continuity mistake: When the group are at the velociraptor paddock Hammond says "And that's why we're taking extreme precautions". Dr. Malcolm's head changes from looking sideways to being tilted down a lot more. Also Hammond starts to turn and then turns again in the following shot. (00:31:50)
Continuity mistake: Just after Gennaro suggests a coupon day at Lunch the camera goes to Hammond then back to Gennaro.In the change from Hammond back to Gennaro,Malcolm's head changes directions from facing left to right. (00:33:20)
Audio problem: During lunch, when Malcolm says, 'And now you're selling, you wanna sell it,' the short quickly cuts to Gennaro. In it, Malcolm's lips are still moving after he's finished speaking. (00:34:25)
Visible crew/equipment: When Tim is following Grant before they start the vehicle tour,Tim sits in the first car.Look to the right of the door frame and you will see a dark shadow get larger.This is obviously the camera.When Grant finally shuts the door the large shadow is even more visible. (00:38:00)
Continuity mistake: Before the vehicles leave the compound Lex says to Grant, "She said I should ride with you cuz it'll be good for you." In this shot, Ellie's door on the second car is open with Malcolm talking to her. In the next close-up shot of her, the door is closed with Malcolm gone. (00:38:40)
Visible crew/equipment: When Hammond and Muldoon enter the control room with the weather report look to the right of the door. The dark camera is visible in the reflection and it moves away as they walk by. (00:38:50)
Continuity mistake: When Hammond watches the vehicles leaving the visitor center the first car is passed the main steps. In the next shot of the car, they are just moving past the steps. (00:39:30)
Answer: They are not paleontologists, just people interested in dinosaurs. It is common for museums and other scientific organizations to offer the general public an opportunity to participate in a real paleontology dig. For a fee, they become an exhibition team member for a period of time, learn about dinosaurs, help excavate fossils, and so on. This is likely how Dr. Grant (or his institution) supplements his research funding.
raywest ★