Outtake

Anouttakeis a portion of a work (usually a film or musicrecording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVDreissuesof many albums and films asbonus tracksor features, in film often, but not always, for the sake of humor. In terms of photos, an outtake may also mean the ones which are not released in the original set of photos (i.e. photo shoots and digitals).

Film

An outtake is anytakeof a movie or atelevision programthat is removed or otherwise not used in the final cut. Some of these takes are humorous mistakes made in the process of filming (commonly known to American audiences asbloopers). Multiple takes of eachshotare always taken, for safety. Due to this, the number of outtakes a film has will always vastly outnumber the takes included in the edited, finished product.

An outtake may also be a complete version of arecordingthat is dropped in favor of another version.

Often outtakes can be found as special features onDVDsandBlu-rays.Purpose-made "outtakes" can also be found playing overcreditsat the end of a film or TV program. Well known examples of this areJackie ChanandDisney/Pixarfilms, although in the latter only three movies were made with such as (A Bug's Life,Toy Story 2andMonsters, Inc.).Pixarfilms, beingcomputer-generated,do not feature "real" outtakes, but rather staged ones in which theanimationfeatures "mistakes".

Outtakes may also enterstock footagelibraries and appear in future productions. For example,Don't Tell Everything(1921) started as an outtake fromThe Affairs of Anatol(1921) and was then expanded with additional footage.

It is generally considered that the inclusion of outtakes in a film's finished product started withHooper(1978), helmed by stunt-man-turned-directorHal Needhamand starringBurt Reynolds.Needham decided to include outtakes in the film's end credit scrawl to highlight alternate camera angles for the impressivestuntsperformed for the movie. Needham also interspersedcomedicouttakes of the actors as well.

The inclusion was so successful with fans that Needham continued to insert comedic outtakes in his future directorial efforts such asSmokey & The Bandit 2(1980),The Cannonball Run(1981),Stroker Ace(1983) andCannonball Run 2(1984).

Criticism

FilmcriticGene Siskelhas been critical of outtakes being played over a film's credits, saying of the filmLiar Liar:

This picture ends over the credits with outtakes. I hate that. I don't even care if they're funny, I still hate it because to me it's almost like an act of desperation from the filmmakers saying "Well we're not sure if we made a funny picture, but we're gonna throw this stuff in and we'll leave you laughing on the way out."

Television

The British programmeIt'll be Alright on the Night,has been running on ITV since 1977 featuring outtakes. The BBC's answer to this wasAuntie's Bloomers,eventually replaced byOuttake TV.Prior to these series, production errors were rarely seen for pre-recorded programmes, since these were edited out before transmission.Nowadays, it is common to see outtakes at the end of films, or compiled into programmes like these.

Music

Just like a movie outtake, music outtakes are recordings that are not used in a final version of analbum.Collections of this sort of material are often compiled and distributed illegally by fans, and known as abootlegged recording.Sometimes, artists release collections of outtakes, sometimes grouped with other rarities such asdemosand unreleased songs.

Occasionally collections of outtakes become recognized as part of an artist's major creative output, especially in cases where an artist is unusually prolific or dies young. One example would beThe Lillywhite SessionsbyDave Matthews Band,an album that was considered unfinished and not ready to be distributed, yet is widely considered part of thediscographyof the band by their fans. An example of the former is the fourteen-volumeBootleg SeriesfromBob Dylan,which contains many important Dylan songs omitted from his albums, some of which were made famous by other artists. An example of the latter is the CDTime of No ReplybyNick Drake,a British singer-songwriter who died almost unknown at the age of 26 in 1974, but whose music became highly influential on other artists in subsequent decades.

Video games

In a similar vein as a music outtake, video game outtakes are elements (characters, levels, items, cutscenes, etc.) that weren't used in a game's final version. These can be unlocked via hacking or officially throughdemos.

Examples includeCrash Bandicoot,whose notable abandoned level "Stormy Ascent" can be unlocked through hacking. Similarly,Donkey Kong,Silver the Hedgehog,Cream the Rabbit,Jet the Hawk,Espio the Chameleon,Big the Cat and a Goomba can be unlocked via hacking onMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

See also

• Blooper
• Deleted scene