Awesome Failures
- Started
- Last post
- 11 Responses
- stewdio
Ever throw yourself into a project only to have it crash and burn horribly? I don't mean a normal failure, where something might not look so good or perhaps the materials are not up to par or the client is disappointed . . . no, no. I mean a project that is so ridiculous that peers begin handing you business cards for psychiatrists.
For me that project was "Nevin at Nite." (See http://stewdio.org/?project=nevi… for more pictures.) I submitted it as a project in graduate school, a kind of pilot / proposal for a new sort of late-night show. It stared a real guy, Eric Nevin, as himself and Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the inaugural guest.
The animation was never finished, the green screening was horrendous, and the climax of the interview was very poorly hobbled together from found footage. I mean, some classmates were collapsing in laughter which was great. But my dream of starting a real show that could rip off Conan, Space Ghost, and Kids in the Hall (all at once) was crushed. (Or is it? Any producers out there?)
So what's one of your big flops?
- stewdio0
* starred, not stared. apologies.
- I'm guessing the flop aspect only adds to its luster?magnificent_ruin
- and is part of the subtextmagnificent_ruin
- Anders0
Smoked too much pot?
- 7point340
doogan
boz
fouty
rybo
- stewdio0
@magnificent_ruin: Yes, the flop aspect adds to it. It's that point where a "problem" becomes a "fiasco." (I think I'm paraphrasing from a TAL episode.) There's a point at which things have gotten so out of hand that the audience is no longer politely cringing quietly. No. They're getting into it now. They're excited. They're yelling. They want to see blood! The bigger the disaster the better.
- harlequino0
Look at the bright side, stewdio. Had your pilot captured interest, you still would not have the rights to the Krang character, and Kevin Eastman can be a bit tight in the pucker, as I am told. So you would have had to completely reimagine and rewrite your co-host, or toil in negotiations for several years. Coulda been worse.
- neferiu0
This was a product I was soooooo gung-ho about. I ordered spray bottles from a bottling wholesaler, stickers from stickerrobot, and sat there assembling the things for days. They were meant to be more of a joke item, but no one really seemed interested in the joke other than a few friends. My wife won't let me off the hook and still mentions how much of a tool I was for actually making a few boxes of these things thinking they'd be my ticket to financial freedom.
I present: "Shut The F--k Up: Say it with a spray!"
- stewdio0
@neferiu: Just make an iPhone app out of it and you're all set! Nice touch with the cursor changing to a middle finger on rollover btw.
- harlequino0
About six years ago, some filmmaker friends were running an acting workshop. Their workshop consisted of about 9 people. They wanted to do a short film. The characters and overall story and script would come out of workshop improv and stuff. The cost of the film would come from the students' payment for the workshop, plus a little extra. They then brought be in to do the music and 3D animation, as they wanted to get a little more experimental.
The concept of the animation was that it would be tin toys brought to life. All characters had a corresponding toy which served as a "Greek Chorus" for their character. I was on set or all shots involving animation and compositing. I had only been doing it a short time, and had never done live action compositing before. Made that shit up as I went.Overall, sounds like fun. Unfortunately the film is pretty much unwatchable. Bad script, worse acting, amateur post production (at best.) Spent 3 years on and off doing the goddamn thing due to work and life circumstances. In the end, everyone was pissed because how much time and effort it all took, and it still sucked balls. The director, producer, other crew, and I remain close friends to this day, but the cast hates us. Just as well. None of them work in the industry anyway, and they were awful.
Three years of work and there is only one shot of mine I ever share. It's this one of a toy ladybug flying after it's owner through a door.
http://www.pleasewhisper.com/Fil…
- 7point340
ladybug... sure.
if that's what we're calling it
- mg330
Foot Detox Pads.
http://www.freedetoxfootpads.com…
They do NOTHING and are a total scam:
The footpads do not work. The discoloration on the pad is just an iron reaction with your sweat (basically creating rust on the pad). The change in time of the color of the pad until it is white is due to a layer (Im not sure of what yet) being deposited on your foot by the pad. When you dont wear the pad for a few days (ie, building up toxins) your socks, shoes, etc rub this layer off and when you wear the pad again after not having worn it for a few days, it will turn dark again, gradually build up another layer on your foot and the cycle repeats.. Any feeling of health obtained by the use of this product is the same as with a clinical placebo trial. It prays off the power of the mind. When you buy into the claims that it works, your expect it to work. You use it (expecting to feel better in the morning) and because you see a reaction (the pad turns dark) you think you are getting healthier and feel better. I would be willing to bet if you went to the doctor, had a blood tox screen done before using the pads, and without changing anything in your daily life, used the pads and had another round of blood tox screens done after the pad turned white, they would be virtually identical, even with the dark pad color.
http://beauty.about.com/b/2008/0…
Actually, these are not that awesome - I just like that people believe in junk like this.