I believe in life’s bloopers.
It’s been almost six years since I started making movies with my sisters. We had a giant analog camera, parents that applauded everything we did, and absolutely no schedule at all. We filmed whatever popped into our heads and called it a movie. Most people that have seen our current work agree that we have come a long way since then. One sister writes out the script, one finds music, and the other edits. We are a well-oiled movie-making machine that has yet to reach the top. Yet despite our growth, we still mess up. In the cinematic world whatever mishaps occur on film are called bloopers and are immediately sent to the special features option of the DVD. My sisters and I enjoy watching our bloopers almost as much as the finished product. They remind us that despite all the arguments, wasted money, and technological problems, we still had fun.
If actors and crewmembers were perfect, then we wouldn’t have to worry about these things. In one take the scene would be done and sent for editing. But they’re not and thus mistakes are bound to happen. If I were the director, I would rather they laugh it off and start over than get distraught and run back to the trailer. Laughter lightens the mood and makes it easier to get back to work.
This same concept can be applied to everyday life. When you’re trying to finish an oral presentation in front of a class and mess up, why bother making an even bigger fool of yourself by turning it into a huge deal? If you laugh, then everyone watching will laugh and know that you’re trying. Just a few days ago I watched a normally shy girl sing in front of her entire Spanish class. She missed a few words and became so flustered that she began to cry. No one wants to be put in that position and the audience knows that. But what can they do if you’re standing up there like a deer in the headlights? Make light of the situation. Tell them that it’s okay and accept that nobody is perfect.
You could be jogging and fall flat on your face. You could be in an intense argument and forget what your side was. You could call your husband by your ex-boyfriend’s name. Life’s bloopers are bound to happen everyday to everyone, and we have to learn how to deal with it.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
This I Believe
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8 comments:
I'm not sure if this is good or bad. I tried it with my own pictures and those from the internet but it just didn't sit right with me. Bloopers are only funny if you're in the moment and pictures can't do that. You need movement and sound so I opted to insert my own bloopers that would make sense with the story.
wow this is the funniest, most entertaining, and most professionally done in your class! I especially loved Mrs. Lovett. wow! this is incredible! you must make tuns of videos. your voiceover was extreme! I hope you got an A+++++!!! this is a true skill of funniness and I envy you!
I second the Ox, although I had absolutely no idea who Mrs. Lovett is, or any clue what you might have been filming, other than it might have something to do with that Sweeney Todd thing or something like that. Nevertheless, it looks like you and your troupe know what you're doing, and I expect major motion pictures within a few years. If you can think of anything you might be able to do with an unemployed history major--mattress tester, taste tester, etc.--on your future set, please give me a call.
I think I was tired and ended up a little abrasive in my last comment. I still think your post was really good, though. The bloopers reel really added to the presentation and the message you were trying to convey.
My father, my brother, and my uncles are all a bunch of buffoons at heart. I can't kept up with them--even trying is an arduous task. Yet I find that humor, sarcasm, or even just a light tone is a more, shall we say, bearable approach to the world. People will open their hearts to funny sarcasm much more than they will to blunt attacks. People might go insane if they could not laugh at how much everything is screwed up. And it might be better that we carried ourselves about lightly when we talk about things, because if we are dead serious about everything we believe, then it might make so much more trouble for us when we find out we're usually wrong. So I'd rather laugh at myself and everything around me than to sit around and, I don't know, be serious and philosophize all day.
On a lighter note, what do you and your sisters like to film? Do you do original stories or do you adapt or take inspiration from other works?
Ox, thank you very much for the comment! I'm glad to see that you, too, are a fellow Sweeney Todd fan.
Monk, I love the part where you say, "So I'd rather laugh at myself and everything around me than to sit around and, I don't know, be serious and philosophize all day." That is the philosophy in which I live by! In response to your question, we mostly make parodies of TV shows and movies. But this summer we are planning on making an original.
my blog will answer all questions in life you psychotic little freak!
It is positively delightful!!! As I listened, I recalled various personal bloopers and laughed. Clever video and commentary
Thank you so much! I'm very grateful that you took the time to look at our blogs and critique them all year long. My writing skills have deffinately improved!
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