How My LOST Fan Promo Went Wrong

I hate it when things don't turn out like I want them to. You could say I'm a perfectionist, although that doesn't translate into all areas of my life. (One look in my bathroom will prove that... which is why no one else is allowed in there!) But when it comes to creative things, I want to get everything perfect. It's frustrating enough when I get in my own way, but when my "masterpiece" is messed up by something I have no control over... well, that goes beyond frustration into a realm that has no name.

Here's a silly example... I love the TV series LOST. Imagine my delight to find out that ABC was holding "The Ultimate LOST Fan Promo Contest." So I went to the site and began using their editing tools to create my own 35 second LOST promo. I was having all kinds of problems on my laptop, so I switched over to my son's PC. All was going well. I found the music I wanted. I put my clips in order and edited several of them for maximum impact. Finally, after a dozen or more play throughs, it was exactly how I wanted it.

I submitted my video.

My video was accepted.

I watched my video on ABC.com... and then I nearly cried, because somehow, the editing tool did NOT work right. Now remember, I watched the final cut several times before submitting it, and it was PERFECT. What you can watch now is close, but the final bit of the montage is what makes me want to weep. Somehow, an extra second was added to the front of it and cut a second off at the end, so Kate (who wasn't there before) says "ack" (because the "J" didn't make it in) and the last words that Jack says - "What happened?" - actually sound like "What happe-".

Yep, I know it's a silly thing to be upset over. In the grand scheme of things, it's at the bottom of the "Stuff I Should be Concerned About" list. It's not even like I had a chance of winning the contest. My entry is one of about 6000, after all. Still, my heart dropped when I watched it. Because I did everything right on my end, checked and double checked it before submitting, and now there's no way to fix it.

Oh well... I'm actually feeling better now that I shared my tale of woe. If you want to take a gander at my promo, you should be able to see it here. It's titled "What Happened?" under the user name jallee725. At least if you watch it, you'll know what it was SUPPOSED to look like!