-
- This has been forwarded a couple of times, and comes
from Australian Mike Farrell <vidhunter@hotmail.com. It indicates that
we should be very wary of any who claim to have hoaxed this or that anomalous
observation, when in actuality they may be making the claim falsely in
order to debunk some important piece of UFO evidence.
-
- Jim Deardorff
-
- _____
-
-
- By Mike Farrell 11-26-99
-
- Greetings from Australia!
-
- Hello UFO Researchers,
-
- Has anyone else seen the new video by the Enigma Channel
called: "The Crop Circle Update 1999"?
-
- You can find the ad on the back page of Sept-Oct issue
of UFO Magazine from Graham Birdsall (UK) or on their website: http://www.ufomag.co.uk
-
- Anyway, it's a 3 hour tape which interviews circle researchers
like Andy Thomas, Palden Jenkins, Barbara Lamb, Karen Douglas, Janet Ossebaard,
and Steve Alexander. Also included is a brief evolution of the crop circle
phenomenon from the first known formation in Poland in 1592, showing the
progression of patterns from early in this century to the first part of
the 1999 season, and featuring important highlights from all the seasons
of the 1980's and 1990's. Beautiful color photography, nice music, with
detailed text and voice-over, make this documentary an enjoyable and informative
one.
-
- Certainly the surprise of this film is a 40-minute segment
on the enhancement analysis of the "Oliver Castle" video (also
known as the "Snowflake" video).
-
- Below are my first impressions from just watching the
video, having arrived in the mail today. After my comments is a more detailed
report with transcribed text and frame by frame analysis.
-
- It's a pleasure to pass on some exciting new findings
for those of you who still hold out hope that the "Oliver Castle"
video is genuine and accurately shows the balls of light or luminosities
that many observers have reported around the world.
-
- Here are the new findings in a nutshell, if my understanding
is correct.
-
- I assume most of you are familiar with the "Oliver
Castle" video. The new information is to be found at the beginning
of the film, in the first few seconds when the camera pulls back to show
both of the fields and the hedgerows, before you see the two luminosities
or balls of light enter the foreground from the right.
-
- By using computer enhancement (each frame 1/30th of a
second), the analysis shows what appears to be a large luminosity (800
feet from camera) descend from the sky and change to a classic "flying
saucer" shape as it disappears behind the large tree (20 feet across)
at the left end of the far hedgerow at the top of the screen. This UFO
cannot be seen on your TV, but after watching the analysis, I noticed a
flash of light on the left side of the tree when the film is advanced frame
by frame on a standard TV.
-
- At this point the edge of the flat disc-like shape with
a bulge in the middle, is seen poking out of the left side of the tree
on the hedgerow, appearing to be solid and casting a shadow. This is not
a "burmark," as it is below the scan line on the edge of the
tape. Then you see a flash of light and ejection of a gas-like substance,
out of which appears another ball of light or luminosity.
-
- This luminosity then races across the far field in and
out of the crops and reappears as it crosses the first hedgerow to enter
the foreground as the other two luminosities are exiting the screen to
the top right. These two balls of light which have just flown around and
over the "snowflake" design as it formed in the field, appear
to return to the area where the large tree is hiding the UFO.
-
- Then as this ball of light enters the front field to
make it's way around the "snowflake" design, it appears to divide
itself into two balls of light, in much the same way that the UFO captured
on tape by Chris Martin (UK) is seen to split into two pieces and continue
flying, as shown by Russel Callaghan in the film from Graham Birdsall's
UFO Magazine, called "Hard Evidence-Vol.4". These two luminosities
then fly around the "snowflake" design and also appear to return
to the large tree at the far left end of the second hedgerow at the top
of the screen where the UFO is seen hovering.
-
- So what this analysis suggests is that a UFO descended
into the area and hid behind a large tree at the second hedgerow from the
crop field where the "snowflake" formation appeared. Then it
discharged two luminosities which first appeared on the "Oliver Castle"
video, then discharged another ball of light which followed the other two
and split itself into two luminosities on the second flyover around the
"snowflake" design.
-
- So here's the big question! If this "Oliver Castle"
video was hoaxed on a computer, why add in luminosities that could NOT
be seen on a standard TV system? Skeptics would argue that this analysis
presented by the producers is the result of "computer artifacts",
or simply put, just a case of looking too hard. Additional verification
of this computer enhancement by independent labs would strengthen the case
that there's more to this video than meets the unaided and untrained eye!
-
- Another point to consider is the alleged filmed confession
of a person who claims to know how this "Oliver Castle" video
was faked. Colin Andrews, one of the loudest voices in favor of the hoax
theory, claims to have seen this "confession" and further investigations
of the cameraman has raised doubts and certain inconsistencies. Unfortunately
for the rest of us, we are not privileged to this evidence.
-
- First we find out that Colin Andrews, a dedicated and
pioneering circle researcher, has resisted attempts by government agencies
to keep quiet about his discoveries, then we find out that this same Colin
Andrews is unable to violate the copyright or wishes of the film makers
to reveal the testimony of this alleged confession so that we might all
have access to the truth and further avenues of investigation. Sounds a
bit suspicious to me!
-
- How convenient and how sad that once again, we in the
UFO Research Community and all it's related subjects of study are the very
ones who are holding back and covering up the very information that would
help us to sort out the "wheat from the chaff". So it's three
years later, and we still can't verify the background and credentials of
those involved in this mysterious video.
-
- And furthermore, why would the cameraman, John Wabey,
stop by the Barge Inn on the night before he filmed the luminosities, and
invite other researchers to join him in his "UFO hunt"? And what
if others had joined him and also saw what he filmed? Then would we be
calling that group of witnesses a bunch of liars, hoaxers, and collaborators?
-
- With all due respect to Colin Andrews, it's time to "free
the footage!" or remain bound in the chains of ignorance.
-
- I'd be the first to contribute to his "defence fund"
should the film makers prosecute him for sharing important information.
-
- Unless of course, this so-called "confession"
is a hoax to throw us off the track and keep students of science from asking
serious questions about these many "luminosities" that have been
seen and filmed all over the world, both in and out of crop formations.
-
- Just ask the British Ministry of Defense!
-
- Military helicoptors have been filmed chasing these same
luminosities or spheres in fields nearby crop formations, by the very same
Colin Andrews, no less!
-
-
- *****************************************************************
-
- Heres' the transcribed text from the enhancement analysis
as shown on the film by Enigma Channel, "The Crop Circle Update-1999":
-
- "The footage you are about to see was filmed on
the morning of 11th August 1996 at Oliver's Castle, near Devizes, in Wiltshire.
The cameraman's name is John Wabey. John Wabey visited the Barge pub on
the night of the 10th August and invited people to join him 'UFO hunting'
with his video camera. It was raining and no one took up his invitation
of accompanying him to camp at Oliver's Castle for the night.
-
- Early in the morning of the 11th of August in the gloomy
light of dawn, John Wabey was awoken from his tent by an 'electronic trilling
noise', sometimes called the 'crop circle sound' by researchers.
-
- He grabbed his camera and began to film the fields.
-
- Colin Andrews and some other crop circle researchers
have claimed that this footage was created using computer animation.
-
- "However, the 'snowflake' pattern itself displayed
all the 'hallmarks' of a genuine pictogram. It was measured and photographed
on the morning of 11th August. Later, leading crop circle researchers,
Michael Glickman and Patricia Murray realised that it was the first formation
to contain 7-fold geometry.
-
- "We decided to analyse the Oliver Castle film to
see if any evidence of computer animation could be found. Our enhanced
versions of the film showed no signs of being faked using computer graphics
- but we did notice some other interesting facts.
-
- "Our enhanced versions of the Oliver's Castle footage
revealed that there was a great deal of UFO-type activity around the hedgerow
behind the rear field.
-
- "On most televisions, the amorphous object which
appears at the very top of the screen and transforms into a classic 'flying
saucer' shape would not be seen. This activity mostly takes place in an
area of the picture which a domestic television is incapable of showing.
-
- "Therefore, if this footage is indeed hoaxed, as
many crop circle researchers claim, then whoever made it went to a great
deal of trouble creating and animating objects which could not be seen
on a standard television.
-
- Here is a brief summary of our findings:
-
- 1. The enhanced frames are consistent with the picture
quality attained from a domestic camcorder.
-
- 2. No evidence of 3-dimensional computer animation was
detected on the video. The crop formation was considered 'genuine' by several
experienced researchers.
-
- 3. No strings or wires were detected.
-
- 4. The 'flying saucer' object cannot be seen on a standard
TV set.
-
- 5. The luminosities or balls of light are no larger
than a medium-sized beach ball. They travel at around 100 feet per second."
_____
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