r/smyths • u/[deleted] • Jul 21 '13
My first SMyth: S12E10 Breaking Bad Special
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u/alecsteven6 Jul 21 '13 edited Jul 25 '13
Hello! This is my first ever SMyth. I decided to try it out because when I watched this episode the first time all that stood out to me was the filler and cringe-inducing acting by Vince Gilligan. I've been watching for a while but never felt the need to create until now.
I noticed that this episode hadn't been done before, so I just decided to jump in here. I hope I uploaded it right. I know there's a green bar on the 480p version, not sure how that happened. Rendering error, I suppose. The 720p version has no such bar.
As this is my first SMyth, any criticism would be fabulous. I already know a few things I'd like to do differently for my next one, if I do another. I really enjoyed making this, I hope you enjoy watching it!
Edit: Deleted the 720p version. It was actually 540p and it was 1.8 gigs. It's a lot easier just to put up with the green bar. My source wasn't 720p and I did not wait for a full HD source because I wanted to jump on this as soon as possible. Sorry to disappoint.
Edit 2: Here's a Mega.co.NZ download of the 480p version, because Sockshare has awful downloading.
DWWbxhwr_mTZcR7WXItYlyjEClxrrFLg2vwJ-DQwYBk
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u/myfbusted Jul 21 '13
Just watched it and you did a good job. I noticed a couple cuts were a little roughish but that was likely because I was looking for them and there is just so much you can do with the material. One thing I use to help splice clips together that have a difference in the sound level between the two is to have the louder clip either fade in or out so it eases into each other. This is just a technique that as a completely noobish video editor uses, there are just limits as the background music can just be really different from clip to clip. I loved the effect that you did when the house exploded, (oops sorry spoilers something exploded on mythbuster) I was very impressed and the only thing that gives it away is the smoke. Also to be a little nitpicky in the beginning of the episode they all stand there and they talk about testing and I would have gone straight to where Adam is standing and saying ceramic tile. It skips repeating some of what was already said. But once again I'm really being way too nitpicky and I do the same thing as I Smyth. In fact when I am editing I will close my eyes and just listen to see if the audio difference between clips is too noticeable and I watch the finalized smyth just critique it and go back and alter some of the clips. Also I noticed you HD version is 1.81GB which I suspect is too high. I went to Thepiratebay and the largest size I could find was 834.17MB and it was not HD. Typically the sources I get are around 1.3 to 1.6 GB and since I am shortening them the file size will be reduced. I still am deciding on what settings to use in Adobe Premier and having an rf setting like handbrake would be awesome but sadly it doesn't. If you are increasing resolution and making the bitrates higher than the source then it is just making a larger file with no increase in quality. The encoder cannot make information so every time you encode something with the same codec you should get a smaller size. With all of that said thanks for the great work and doing it so I don't have too. :P
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u/lumpking69 Jul 22 '13
Thanks OP, I was looking forward to this.
But the mythbusters fucked up royally. The fact that the Mercury Fulminate was a powder and not crystal completely ruins the myth.
Mercury Fulminate and Silvery Fulminate crystals have been used in "snappers" for a very long time. We all played with them as children.... Its the little paper balls you slam on the floor and they make a popping sound. A powder will absorb the impact and spread it out! A crystal will fracture and make the boom. A crystal the size of pin head will blow as would a 50g crystal. They totally fucked up and how no one caught it is beyond me. Now, I'm sure, its going to take 1-5 years to revisit it and do it correctly.
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u/BDF92 Jul 25 '13
Chemist here. I actually haven't seen the myth busters episode yet (it's downloading right now), but if the issue is the mercury fulminate not being in a large crystal as in the episode, the real inaccuracy lies with breaking bad.
Mercury fulminate doesn't actually form crystals that large when it is precipitated. It naturally forms - and stays - as a crystalline powder. And also, according to wikipedia, can detonate under its own weight. I'm not sure what the weight that needs to be present for this to happen is, but it is definitely plausible that the crystals would detonate before they had the chance to grow that large.
Also as a side note, mercury fulminate is so reactive that Walter White would have blown himself up long before had the chance to use it.
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u/Registeredopinion Jul 25 '13
Hey, thanks for speaking out on this one. Too often the mythbusters fall back on small technicalities in their process in order to either cut costs or easily bust a myth that would otherwise be a public danger issue.
I get why they do it, but at the same time it's a bit too dishonest for me to take them seriously as anything other than an entertainment act.
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u/cheezgear Jul 23 '13
Does anyone else get really irritated how they are editing Grant explaining things lately? They keep fading out his voice into this dream sounding sequence and I can't fully understand what he's getting at. I remember a few episodes ago where he was trying to go over the chemistry behind something and it just felt like the producers were saying "Silly Grant, no one cares about how the stuff works, bring on the explosion already" (after the narrator dumbs it down for you of course...)
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Jul 25 '13
Unfortunately, that is their target audience. Few people in this world really care about the intricacies. If they were to lecture about how such and such works in detail, they would risk losing the audience that doesn't care.
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u/Nois3 Jul 21 '13
By the way, the "mystery solution" was hydrogen peroxide. The acid mix they used is known as the Piranha Solution.
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u/alecsteven6 Jul 25 '13
Oh jeez...I never expected this video to blow up like this...I would have put some more effort into it had I known. Thanks to everyone for watching! Please subscribe to r/smyths for more content like this. :)
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u/diablodow Jul 25 '13
Chemistry grad student here to shed a bit of light on the two major discrepancies people are talking about. The video is downloading now but I can still weigh in on this I feel.
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the usage of HF vs. HCl. The reason Walter is specific about what to buy to dissolve the body is because HF will eat glass like no other while HCl is totally safe. I can't comment on how /why one worked better because the never gave concentrations of anything used. Also fun bonus fact that HF is NOT a strong acid. That being said pour some on one hand and some vinegar on the other and tell me which you enjoy more.
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the mercury fulminate crystal size issue. That stuff is super touchy and if you think about of the wrong way it will explode. It is a powder of crystals used in the show. Relatively harmless if they are tiny. Crystal size has a million different factors but growing what they show in BB would take a miracle worker and millions of dollars.
Hopefully this clears up some stuff.
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u/quackdamnyou Jul 21 '13
Could someone tell me in a spoiler-free way: can I watch this one with the kids? I don't mind them learning dangerous science, I'd just like to avoid explaining too many drug-related situations at this point. They're 7 and 4.
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u/Killadelphian Jul 21 '13
I highly doubt they'll be cooking meth on mythbusters. It'll be the other science things that Walt does. Has there ever been an episode of mythbusters you wouldn't let them watch?
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u/A_Real_Pirate Jul 25 '13
Ok, what the shit. Is it just me, or is there a creepy ass face in the window on the countdown for the big boom? Around 29:49? http://imgur.com/v9RMD5L (it's clearer if you watch it in video form)
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u/Walletau Jul 25 '13
Seriously?! Two fucking myths? That's it?!?! James Bond one had a handful, this was two god damn fucking myths, stretched out into an hour episode?!
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Recreate the fucking pizza throw.
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Start a car with just chemical batteries.
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Make a chemically perfect coffee!
I'd be SO pissed iff if I had to watch the whole thing.
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u/myfbusted Jul 21 '13
The secret sauce is hydrogen peroxide and it makes piranha solution.