Embrace the Mistakes
As I sit here editing our second episode of the Movie Misfits Podcast I am realizing that recording the audio in Zoom may have been a mistake. I wonder if there is a way to record separate audio tracks on Zoom, I think to myself as my frustration grows. A quick Google search later and I learn that, yep, right there in Zoom settings I can clickity-click a button to record separate tracks.
Ugh. Maybe we should call Michael Casey and re-record the episode.
Then that little voice in my head says the words, Embrace the mistakes.
What?
Look, you guys started this thing having no real clue what you were doing, right?
Yeah.
And you wanted to bring people along for the ride, right?
Also, yeah.
Well, part of the journey is mistakes.
Wow, I’m really wise.
Yes, you, er, I am.
That’s the thing that nobody tells you when you’re trying to create something: you’re going to screw up. I know how to write. That’s the easiest part of this thing so far. Everything else we are making up as we go along. So when things blow up, like they did recording the first episode, or when we have have our knock down, drag out fights, or I record all three podcasters on one track, the thing to do is not panic.
I guess it’s not unlike a rewrite. By the time you get to the sixth or seventh one you won’t recognize how it looked at the beginning, but it will be oh so much better than where you started. We have six more of these to record for this inaugural season. We’ll have Billy and Michael back next season or a season after and do it better. We promise. And in the meantime, we still love what we’ve done so far, and hope you do too.
So, if you find yourself screwing up, remember: embrace the mistakes. Then dust yourself off, remember that you’re a badass, and do better next time.
It’s also really helpful to remember that when it comes to living with mistakes, you’re not alone:
Star Wars (1977)
When the stormtroopers break into the control room, the stormtrooper on the right of the screen hits his head on the door frame. They even added an audible “thump” to the DVD version.
Home Alone (1990)
When Kevin goes to the grocery, he buys Tide detergent. While walking home, the two bags break, but there’s no Tide detergent to be seen anywhere.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Right before they rob the police car, a Boeing 747 (four engines) is seen in shots of the plane coming into land. When the plane is shown from behind, it is a Boeing 767 (two engines and fewer main landing gears).
Gladiator (2000)
In the “Battle of Carthage” in the Colosseum, one of the chariots is turned over. Once the dust settles you can see a gas cylinder in the back of the chariot.
Django Unchained (2012)
When we see the “regulators” riding over the hill on the way to kill Django and Schultz, if you look carefully at the right-center portion of screen, you can see one of the stuntmen fall off his horse and the horse continues to run down the hill without him.
What’s your favorite movie gaff?
