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I remember seeing an X-Files episode, one of my first series play-throughs I did in around 2008, where I clearly saw the boom operator to the right of Mulder and Scully, but I can't find any evidence online of it ever happening, but I'm 100% certain it happened.

I downloaded the series near the height of the torrenting craze (it took me a few days to download @ like 200 Kb/s), So I can't give you a specific box set year. I THINK that's where I saw it, but it may even have been on TV, but most likely it was the download.

The scene:
My memory of it is getting worse every time I try to recall it exactly, the mind is fickle and memories malleable, but this is how I remember it now...
Mulder and Scully have just got out of their requisitioned government vehicle and are talking while approaching a house. There are steps up to the house to the left, I think. The steps are like side-on to the front of the house (So you would walk up and turn right to face the front door). At the point where they are talking while approaching the steps, the camera follows and pans right too far and catches a short glimpse of the guy holding the mic boom. It's as clear as day if you notice it, but only a small part of the guy is visible.

That is my memory, but details of the scene may be wrong. It's the type of thing that when you notice, you want to tell everyone, so it sticks in your mind. I'm pretty good at spotting stuff. I just re-watched the entire series and spotted a few similar but less severe faux pas (I even spotted a "big", grown-up "boy-from-that-AI-film" in a miniseries episode that I was happy about. So I'm quite proud of my spotting and really want some confirmation that this actually happened, but most of all, I really want to see it again.

I'm guessing it would be an early episode, like season 1-3, but that's a logical guess. They probably would have edited it out at some point. The only scene that felt similar was "Eve" where they approach (I think) Cindy's house. But I have since found out (for reasons I won't go into), I missed some episodes this play-through.

I really hope this isn't the Mengele Effect.

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    Any of these? moviemistakes.com/tv3253/visiblecrew
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 16, 2023 at 16:34
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    There's a blooper note about "Signs and Wonders" (s7e9) that says: "A mic boom operator is visible on the left hand side of the screen wearing a white t-shirt, beige shorts, and sneakers. He's carrying the boom mic and following Mulder and Scully. You can see him when Mulder and Scully arrive at the "Church of God with Signs and Wonders" for the first time."
    – DavidW
    Commented Aug 16, 2023 at 16:37
  • That one caught my eye too. I haven't watched enough X-files and don't have access to the episodes to see if it matches more closely.
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 16, 2023 at 16:42
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    oh, god that's it! I remember the shorts and trainers! I'm so glad it actually happened. I would have sworn he was on the right. But the shorts and trainers convince me that's it. I looked at that episode as a possibility when I was searching yesterday, too. Thanks guys.
    – n00dles
    Commented Aug 16, 2023 at 16:46
  • @DavidW want to write it as an answer for completeness?
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 16, 2023 at 16:49

1 Answer 1

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There's a goof in "Signs and Wonders" (season 7, episode 9) where a boom operator is visible in the shot:

A boom mic operator is visible on the left hand side of the screen wearing a white T-shirt, beige shorts, and sneakers. He is carrying the boom mic and following Mulder and Scully. You can see him when Mulder and Scully arrive at the "Church of God with Signs and Wonders" for the first time, when Mulder delivers the line "That's funny, I knew a couple Catholic schoolgirls who were experts at it."

enter image description here

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  • Boy, I really hope someone got fired for that blunder youtube.com/watch?v=Pa6fbOF3x8M
    – JK.
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 1:04
  • @JK I was wondering that yesterday; who's fault would it be? The boom op, the director, the camera man or the editor? I'd say it was a mix of all, but the editor should ultimately be responsible for catching anything before they send it off. It would have been quite simple to re-frame. They'd probably blame time restraints and fire the caterer.
    – n00dles
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 14:49
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    @n00dles - Making sure the boom operator isn't in the frame is the job of the cameraman and the editor to spot it in the dailies so they can refilm it
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 16:47

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