Who are we when the cameras are off?

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It was created by Frédéric Bartholdi, and dedicated on October 28th, 1886.

Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with inventing and creating the world's first successful airplane, and making their first flight on December 17th, 1903.

The statue of liberty stands 151 feet in the air, and was completed 17 years before human flight was achieved. It makes you wonder, were people considering the possibility that we would someday be able to fly over such a structure? Probably...I mean, DaVinci was developing "flying machines" (gliders) ca. 1500. Was the Statue of Liberty created with this in mind?

I heard a talk or a sermon recently, that linked the two events. The the talk was about quality. Doing things the way they should be done, even when you could realistically skimp on the details and no one would ever know. The focus of the talk, was the Statue of Liberty's hair.

At the time it was dedicated, no one would ever be able to see the statue from above, so what was the point of spending time on the hair? Wouldn't it be easier just to make the top of the head smooth? Heck, It could even be flat...or some slanted design that was good for drainage. I could easily picture someone saying "No need to worry about making the hair look realistic, no one's going to see that part."

Bartholdi did it anyway. He made the top of the statue's head look (somewhat) like hair. He did it right, even when it didn't make a whole lot of sense to do so. Who knows how much more it cost to make the hair? Here's a link to a picture of the Statue's hair from above.

While the talk was motivational, and raised some great points, I always tend to dig deeper. Maybe it was, in fact, cheaper to make the hair rather than making the head smooth. Maybe the striations actually aid in water drainage, so perhaps it was a 2-for-1 situation. Telescopes and binoculars were invented centuries before all of this...how tall were the buildings behind the statue? Could you see the hair from that vantage point? Perhaps Bartholdi thought of some of these questions, and decided there were too many variables, let's just make the hair.

I also found out that Bartholdi completed both the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions. Maybe he made the hair knowing the head would be on display long before the entire structure.

In light of all this, it seems logical that Bartholdi made the hair because there was a good chance someone would be able to see the top of the Statue's head at some point...but the question remains: Would Bartholdi have designed it with hair if none of these potential situations seemed possible? If he truly believed there to be no chance anyone would ever see the top of the statue's head, would he have bothered doing it "right"?

Who are we behind closed doors? Who are we when it's not easy to do the right thing, and we're certain we'd never get caught? Who are we when doing the right thing will go entirely unnoticed, and it is in fact the more difficult thing to do? Who are we when the "cameras are off"?

I recently received a lesson in this on the set of a TV show that's filmed here in Atlanta. I was an extra.

Now...the life of an extra is not a glamorous one. It may seem amazing (and to me, it is) to be on a TV or movie set, but it's often very difficult and tiresome. I've regularly spent 12-14 (sometimes even 16) hours on set. You're tired, you're bored, and you're getting paid $7.25-$9 an hour. Hardly a career.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE being on set. I truly come alive when the cameras are rolling and the director calls "action". There's nothing quite like it, even if I'm just a blurry figure in the background...but after 14 hours, your energy starts to fade. It's science.

When I first started working as an extra, I made a commitment to myself to do my job to the best of my ability every time, whether the camera is on me or not. When the director calls action, I'm going to ACT. Even if I know the camera is looking elsewhere. That's easy enough to say in hour #2, 5, even 9...but what about 15?

On this particular day, it was very late in the shoot, and I was beginning to become disillusioned. Long hours, Low pay, and little chance I'd actually be seen at all. There were many people there, and I looked to the camera to see where it was facing. No where near me. There was no chance I'd be in this shot.

The director called action, and I began to pantomime, (as they had told us to do) but not with the same gusto as I had in the first 14 hours. I half-assed it. It was hour 15. I was tired, hungry, and "knew" that I wasn't on camera. What's the big deal?

After the shot, the assistant director informed us that there was a second camera. A different angle. Many of us, who didn't think we were in the shot on Camera A, were in fact in the shot on Camera B. Apparently I hadn't been the only one who had been half-assing it.

It was a powerful lesson. I thought I had been out of the public eye. No one could see me, so what difference did it make? I learned that day, that even though I THOUGHT no one was watching, they were. And even if they weren't...you know what? I need to do it well regardless. Because it's the right thing to do. I want to be the guy who does things to 100% of my ability, because it's how it should be done...not because people are watching. I want to be a man of integrity even when it it seems justifiable not to be...even when it hurts.

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

Since that day, I believe I've done things to the best of my ability every time. Whether as an extra, or more recently as the lead in a couple short films. There have literally been times when the director said "you don't have to worry about doing it well this time, because the camera's not on you...it's on the other actor". But, I'm not doing it for me...or for the approval of man. I want to work at it with all my heart, as working for the Lord.

In the future, there will be times that I do things halfheartedly...it's inevitable. We're going to screw up. And at that point, I will ask God for forgiveness, accept the forgiveness that He offers, and move forward once again...thankful for His grace and mercy.