Mantracks Work Draft
Added 2024-12-23 02:39:55 +0000 UTCHello everyone! Sorry I've been a bit absent, I just couldn't seem to find a smaller video inside my brain that I could actually finish. We've been crunch crunch crunching away at this and it's finally in a watchable state, obviously with lots and lots of production notes and missing things.
We commissioned the fantastic Meg Lloyd (Star Trek: Lower Decks) to do some animation for us that she's still putting the finishing touches on, but you can see a smidge of it in this draft (it's amazing, it's going to be so cool, I'm so excited.)
Otherwise this has been a huge project, I am still learning a lot about the big gulf between knowing what a producer is supposed to do and being a producer, so there's been a lot of hurdles and delays as a result. It turns out that running a team rather than doing everything myself is still plenty of work, but I'm hoping it's paying off in the end product.
I'm taking the next few days off as I'm hosting family for the holiday and need to cook a turkey for everyone, but should be able to hit the ground running on Thursday, with the final round of re-shoots and studio segments, at which point the remainder of the video should fall in place (barring one long shot possibility that I'm still waiting to hear back on, but it'll be really cool if it pays off so I'm crossing my fingers.)
Either which way we should have this done before New Year's.
Speaking of New Year's, I will be participating in the multi-streamer Streamvester marathon organized by SalfordSal in celebration of Silvester (which is just what Germans call New Year's Eve in honour of Pope Sylvester I). I'll be doing a Portal I and II marathon stream, though the specific time is still pending. I will update you all later in the week.
Cheers and happy holidays.
Comments
As Huxley writes in his non-fiction masterpiece The Devils of Loudun, "The history of spiritualism makes it very clear that fraud, especially pious fraud, is perfectly compatible with faith." "They believed [in demonic possession] even when, like Mignon, they had helped to fake the evidence..."
Tom
2025-01-19 05:09:04 +0000 UTCfeel free DM me if you want to know more - I luckily got out of the church and Texas but my family is still very much a part of the Young Earth Creationists.
Seymore Biggins
2025-01-12 15:35:11 +0000 UTCDan! I grew up around Dr Baugh. My family would, and still does make fossil ‘replicas’ for him. I have a video of me doing a segment on his Creation Evidence tv show when I was a child and didn’t know any better. Growing up we had these prints all over the backyard in various stages of curing. They would go on digs all around the world and then trash genuine artifacts they found trying to make silicone molds out of them. Anyway when I called my dad to tell him about this video he had just gotten off the phone with Carl and was in the process of making a ‘replica’. I’ll try to upload that video of me on his show later today.
Seymore Biggins
2025-01-12 15:32:38 +0000 UTCHi Dan, if I may offer a bit of constructive criticism, I feel that your audio needs an extra round of volume balancing. Between your talking head, field scenes, voiceover, and voice actors, the volume fluctuates quite a bit. I felt this way about This is Financial Advice which I rewatch pretty often. Also, your voiceovers have much more proximity effect with the mic than your other footage which can be distracting when you switch back and forth between inserts. Of course, great work and thanks for the docs!
voussoir
2025-01-12 11:12:33 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed the work print and watched it twice, and I'm so impressed by how much better the final version still is with the animation and b-roll. I love it! Also, that "Footprints in Stone" song slaps, unfortunately.
Charlotte KL
2025-01-11 13:58:04 +0000 UTCmore specifically it was tought to keep track of when one charecter interacts with another. you would know best what to do to remedy that but that was definitly the major thing i felt missing from the video. im sure it will become obvious to me when i rewatch it several times but for a first time watch through i was definitly wanting some reminders of who each name exactly was when they were brought up again
ethan brown
2025-01-10 22:01:10 +0000 UTCamazing video as always. something that became obvious to me watching the finished version was that it was difficult to keep the names of all the scammers and their relation to each other in my head. i think repeated use of pictures of faces or icons similar to bobby broccoli would really help me and im sure alot of other people follow the timeline of influences and people.
ethan brown
2025-01-10 21:57:18 +0000 UTCCan someone tell me the title and singer of the "Paluxy, Revealer of History" song that is in the video? It's stuck in my head and it's giving sufjan vibes, but i for real can't find it at all online. EDIT: It's the opening song for the title of "Foot Prints In Stone" the 1972 documentary. lol, hard to find just because no ones watching it. The upload I found of it has 70 views
Creamer
2025-01-10 21:25:12 +0000 UTCI'm very impressed you folks managed to find Footprints in Stone for the final cut. Snatched it from the jaws of oblivion just so you could debunk it more thoroughly. What a flex.
Tom
2025-01-10 20:41:38 +0000 UTCThe final version expands this joke deftly and it's great
Tom
2025-01-10 20:15:21 +0000 UTCOMG the final version is posted!
Tom
2025-01-10 19:15:51 +0000 UTCI love that those ancient man foot prints change size to match the size of whomever is stepping in them with a wet foot.
Alexandra
2025-01-10 17:57:36 +0000 UTCLoving the vibes on this one so far. I do think that images of the different types of erosion at 53:20 would be a welcome addition, personally
bigqueenlimousine
2025-01-09 21:37:21 +0000 UTCThe debunking of Baugh's "finger" artifact is great, particularly the observation that his spiral CAT scan resembles what an ignorant person might assume their finger bone would look like. You might make this point even stronger by juxtaposing Baugh's CAT scan of a rock with a CAT scan of a real human finger.
Tom
2025-01-07 16:55:40 +0000 UTCI think you've got two endings and ought to consolidate them if you want to end on a strong note. I think this situation arises because you've got two wrappers to close: (1) an innocent frame story about being interested in the wacky things humans get up to, and (2) a summary of the larger nonsense factory that Baugh and Hovind are part of. I want to believe it is possible to wordsmith both things into a single ending.
Tom
2025-01-06 23:33:49 +0000 UTC51:50 "the soft limestone" This bit comes off a bit janky. The connection is a little wobbly between Guelph's words and your skeptical/amused repetition of it over video demonstrating its absurdity. I just mean in how it's presented/delivered. The argument seems solid.
Tom
2025-01-06 16:51:40 +0000 UTCThis is awesome! So cool to see a workprint and get a hint into the process of making a film.
Kiki
2025-01-05 23:12:35 +0000 UTCWe read about Ernest's "discovery" in middle school, and it seemed obvious even to us kids that Ernest might have forged his giant man tracks out of jealousy over his younger brother's discovery. I love that Dan doesn't take wooden nickels. This really was an early Xmas present for me. Fascinating topics handled with nuance and honesty. Hard thinking boiled down to maximum pith. I am especially enamored with "a science textbook for anti-science must never change," and "forging your report card with all double-plusses..." was a legit LMAO on top of being completely accurate.
Tom
2025-01-03 19:47:19 +0000 UTCDan's winge-y voicing of that crackpot absolutely makes my day. It is precisely all the gravitas it deserves. I would not be disappointed it if stayed this way in the final cut.
Tom
2025-01-03 19:42:18 +0000 UTCPart of what I love about this video in particular is that it gives me a lot of context as to why my grandmother initially thought all dinosaurs were paper maché but eventually changed her mind to think humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time. Knowing some of the origins of that strange, stupid belief brings comfort to me.
Biscuity Goodness
2025-01-03 00:20:22 +0000 UTCWhy is the age of the earth always calculated to something around 6,000 years old? And, I don't mean just by modern Young Earth Creationists, I mean that in 6th century Gaul, Gregory of Tours ends his History of the Franks (or 'The Ten Books of History' as he called it) with a summary calculation of the age of the world that adds up to 6,063 years (tho, scribes miscalculated his figures as 5,792 probably because they're in Roman numerals, which were notoriously copied poorly). It's been over 14 centuries since his calculation (594 CE probably), so according to Gregory the world would be 7,494 years old as of today, the first day of 2025. According to someone like Ken Ham, it's only just over 6,000 years old but that was Gregory's conclusion 14 centuries ago! So, what gives? Why are people today asserting almost the exact same age of the earth as a man from the 6th century?
Echoes from Elsewhere
2025-01-01 17:27:34 +0000 UTCYes yes yes to the first paragraph! A happy delighted Dan was nice to see.
ames
2024-12-26 15:00:56 +0000 UTCI really loved this, and I enjoy passively learning more about the production process. The most frustrating thing was not knowing what the rest of your t-shirt says, haha. I’m assuming something like “maybe three people”? There was a part in I think the back 1/3 that felt like a conclusion, but wasn’t. I’ll try to come back with a timestamp, and maybe I’ll change my mind on that rewatch, but I definitely had an “oh, we’re not done” moment.
ames
2024-12-26 14:58:43 +0000 UTCAgreed. I loved the pause right before the “what was that about Genesis”, though, so I don’t know how to make it hit without losing that but it’s SUCH a turn that I do feel it could support a…bigger fist? (Idk idk idk not a writer or producer, I have no vocabulary for this, haha)
ames
2024-12-26 14:52:05 +0000 UTCThanks so much Dan. Happy holidays, and congrats on the progress on the video. It captures that deep love for the imperfections in life that I associate with your work. From first watch I think I would have appreciated if the beginning of the creationist story hit a little harder. The conclusion of the video is beautiful in looping back with the small town innocence of the early parts of the story, but it would be nice to have a beat at ~21:00 to enjoy that before the young-earth story picks up.
CaptJeanLucDiscard
2024-12-26 01:37:48 +0000 UTCOnly an hour and a half? Dan was challenging himself to keep the video short
RebeccaC
2024-12-25 00:48:42 +0000 UTCI am sorry to hear that you feel this pressure, having an audience and consecutive “bangers”, must truly weigh heavy on a creatives mind. I just want to add that a good chunk of your audience just wants to hear your take on things. Done in your style, I personally really love Mantracks and it is going to be my personal Banger just based on how giddy you seem to be talking about it. I also know that you probably know that you aren’t required to create bangers but it isn’t easy to turn of these feelings. Happy Holidays.
Mo Scheibling
2024-12-24 23:51:36 +0000 UTC1:07:00 alcheology = alchemy + archaeology!! :D
Pietro Gagliardi
2024-12-24 22:39:56 +0000 UTCI just want to note that the pressure to only create viral bangers is crushing and will eventually kill me.
FoldableHuman
2024-12-24 21:27:29 +0000 UTCI’m a new patron and this is my first time seeing a WIP video. It’s not a negative point on the video but for me the narrative through line wasn’t as nearly as strong as your other content. I still liked it, but it didn’t really grab me. This feels closer to your core audience than a viral banger, just some honest feedback.
Paul Spencer
2024-12-24 16:20:19 +0000 UTCThe whole story is fascinating and I love all the twists and turns. It is also nice to more of the production side of things
RebeccaC
2024-12-23 22:00:42 +0000 UTCIf anyone else in the comments is interested in reading more about ichnofossils, there's some quite recent research comparing hominin locomotor styles in the koobi fora trackways that I think is super cool: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado5275
Terra
2024-12-23 21:03:37 +0000 UTCI really like the conclusion about the Mantracks as human artefacts, really it hit nail.
JFHomehr
2024-12-23 16:59:57 +0000 UTCOn Saturday we took two geologists to look at what we think are stromatolite fossils in Morrison formation, in Utah, East of Capital Reef National Park. The biggest is almost 5 feet tall. Turns out, one of our geologists pals studied stromatolites in grad school, identified them, and was surprised to see them in Morrison. It is very enjoyable to see this, after that.
Linda P.
2024-12-23 15:32:31 +0000 UTCNot entirely certain if it's a bit or quick fill in VO job, I don't think it is, but just in case it is filler for later. Please don't change the Jordan Peterson-esque VO work. Masterful. 💜💚💙
samecontent
2024-12-23 14:33:14 +0000 UTCIt's been so fun watching the evolution (heh) of this video, I love the theme you've developed here and the final product is definitely going to enter frequent rotation in my household!
Julia Krystosek
2024-12-23 14:06:46 +0000 UTCI enjoyed this a lot. Looking forward to the finished version. Happy holidays.
Justin
2024-12-23 12:00:15 +0000 UTCLooks great and very comprehensible to me! Personally, I'd love a list of your Voice Actors either as annotations, in the credits or in the description, as it often helps me discover cool new people to check out
Kathy Clysm
2024-12-23 11:35:18 +0000 UTCHappy Holidays to you and yours! Looking forward to the final video, and keeping my fingers crossed for you that you're actually able to get a hold of a copy of Footprints. 🤞
orestes
2024-12-23 11:26:05 +0000 UTCThis reminds me of those obviously fake Bigfoot tracks you'd see casts of. I have vague memories of a guy showing off the giant wooden feet his late dad used to fake these back in the 50's, and I wonder if the amateurishness of it all was part of a joke.
Ted Koutz
2024-12-23 11:03:41 +0000 UTCHappy holidays to you as well!
epinardscaramel
2024-12-23 07:40:25 +0000 UTCI enjoyed that this video had a more upbeat ending than most stories about scams/grifts/hoaxes. I like the framing of fake dino prints as an anthropological quirk, rather than an inherently dark and deceitful thing. I can see how this video could easily have become a much deeper dive into the twisted world of contemporary creationist propaganda, and I appreciate that it isn't that. On the production side of things: [53:30]: I for one would very much like to see visuals here! [57:53]: Audio cuts out for second. It looks like you've developed a new system for how you annotate videos during editing. It seems more structured and organized, so I hope that's working out well. As always I appreciate the quality and thoughtfulness of your work, and I look forward to the finished product. Happy Holidays!
Burt Hagman
2024-12-23 06:52:05 +0000 UTCMisc pronunciation note -- 'anachronistic' in the introduction (around 1:30) felt wrong to my American ears. I expect something more like the stress pattern in the current Wiktionary pronunciations (US and Australian audio). But, of course, if the current version is a fine Canadian pronunciation, keep it.
KevinR
2024-12-23 06:36:01 +0000 UTCLots of interesting stuff in here. Graphics/images should help with some rough spots -- I didn't note any times on my first watch, but with the number of people involved [in the overall story] it sometimes took several sentences to sort out who was involved [in the immediate sequence]. What I took as a key conclusion (that the fake footprints are fascinating anthropologic artifacts of the 20th century) felt like it came out of nowhere, and it felt rushed as it was presented. Maybe there is room to foreshadow that conclusion; perhaps where the footprint market collapses in the 1980s, and the 'perfect' overlapping fake tracks? And I think that describing more extensively why you find this interesting would bring emphasis to this conclusion (that these fake mantracks tell us something about the nature of frauds and beliefs).
KevinR
2024-12-23 06:22:08 +0000 UTCI just watched it all. I liked it, but I've got to say the video is too long and more detailed than the subject matter deserves. It's also a little repetitive. If you could find a way to cut about 30 minutes I think it would help a lot. It reminds me of a story from my own life. I grow up going to a non-denominational christian private school in the 90s where we were taught creationism as part of our "science" education. However my parents are engineers so I had lots of exposure to real science material at home. This put me between both opposing views. When I was about 10 years old, we were learning about dinosaurs. At some point I decided (as an act of rebellion) that "I don't believe in dinosaurs". I don't know if I had any deeper motivations other than "for the lols", but it was very enlightening to observe my classmates' frustration while they tried to argue with me while I denied a mountain of clear evidence. I doubt they ever saw the hypocrisy of their position.
StylishHobo
2024-12-23 04:50:57 +0000 UTCDan, for my whole life I've been going to AMNH to see the dinosaurs, and you're telling me the track one of them is standing on is *also* insanely cool??
Luis
2024-12-23 03:37:12 +0000 UTCOoo, this is the best Christmas present! With how many locations the read-through script implied, I actually didn’t expect you to publish a draft so soon.
Lea Chinelo
2024-12-23 03:25:25 +0000 UTCI'm off work tomorrow and this is the best gift I could have received on this Sunday night 🙏🏻🎁💝
Chris Tierney
2024-12-23 02:46:27 +0000 UTCI learnt about Pope Sylvester I only a few days ago! The groupchat for my German class shared a reel in which a German speaker (Austrian maybe?) referred to "Silvester", so I looked it up on Wiktionary and found the connection. At first, I felt it was a bit arbitrary, but then I looked him up, and it turns out he was the Bishop of Rome during the FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA! Now I wonder why the rest of Christendom doesn't also call it "Sylvester" tbh.
Izzy Killeen
2024-12-23 02:46:17 +0000 UTCI don't know what the topic of this video is yet, but I'm excited to find out. Happy holiday to you and the team! 😄
Jon G
2024-12-23 02:43:10 +0000 UTC
