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Reporting Video Evidence/An Odd Request to Inquisitive Video Editing Experts/A Brief Introduction

JMcCrazy

Paranormal Novice
Hey Everybody,

I love the Paracast and have been a long time listener. I think Gene, Chris, and the members of the forum all deserve "mad props" for how great they make the show-- it's incomparable to any other in the genre. This is my first post so, please, go easy on me. I am a seeker of information and enlightenment, am open-minded, and have a great deal of ideas and knowledge to contribute, especially, I believe, to subjects related to the paranormal. Furthermore, I do my best to treat everyone with respect and positivity. I can generally handle myself in conflicts, but I truly do my best to be peaceful and to see the good in every person so that there are rarely any conflicts to handle in the first place. I strive to build bridges as opposed to burning them, and I hope to get to know all of you and look forward to your thoughts and to debating with y'all (I'm a Southerner....who isn't a conservative believe it or not). In short, I come in peace. I am in my late 20's, tutor in over 50 subjects, and am also a grad student. I am fascinated by any type of "fringe" science and by history, which is why I love listening to the topics discussed on the Paracast so very much. Okay, I'm sure we've all had enough hearing about me for the duration of my time here on the forums.

Why I'm posting
I am hoping for the voluntary assistance of a skilled video editor to help me enhance the quality of a short clip that was filmed by me in a very dark setting and appears to depict something out of the ordinary. I hope that having an editor more skilled than me will result in my getting some idea of what is in this video as my work thus far has confirmed that there is, indeed, something of note present in the video.


Also, for preservation purposes, I would like to get outside help with the video so it will be "spread," if you will, so that copies will still exist away from me in case my copy, which is the original, somehow disappears as "evidence" of anything "non-traditional" so often seems to inexplicably do. I would like to note that this video is my property and thus I own it and all subsequent copies. I filmed it and am the lone witness to the events and circumstances that occurred surrounding the video. I claim any and all legal rights of ownership to said video and ask that no one sell, advertise, profit from in any way, or grant use of the video (or any portion of it) to any other party without my expressed permission. If you are kind enough to help me edit it, I ask that you please do not distribute, post, or screen the clip or any material taken from the video to others without checking with me first. All of the legal/ownership/property rights stuff is very important to me as the video is quite bewildering and has become somewhat of a prized possession to me. It's taken me a long time to decide to go public with this, so please bear with me as I get acclimated to actually acknowledging the video, its contents, and the fact that I have publicly admitted to having/filming it. I am handling it fine, but, honestly, the video, if perceived a certain way, can be quite jarring. The long-and-short of the story behind the video is explained in the rest of the post as briefly as my wordy self is capable of.

The Chain of Events and Hypothetical Conclusions Reached
Even while living in different homes (3 exactly) for the last 3 years or so (although, now, the phenomena has since ceased, which I will discuss later), I have noticed lights in the sky that seem to pose as stars or, occasionally, planes, if they are low enough (they even imitate the beacon lights). The most curious aspect of these lights is that, if one stares at them with great focus, the lights will begin to react with movement of some type. After approximately a year of seeing them move, the lights began to intensify in terms of their behavior towards me. They started to descend towards me, come in groups, follow my car at night, and perform more impressive aerobatic acts than in the first year I saw them; although, I believe I accidentally witnessed frequent military testing of drones during that first year I began watching the sky. Importantly, none of the lights I discuss were omnipresent, nor were their amazing feats common (bear in mind I intensely watched them for 3 years), but they were and, I assume, are still out there and appear to be capable of very impressive things. That said, they aren't showing-off by any means unless, it seems, they are in the mood.

I refuse to remark on what I think they are, but I lean towards cryptozoolology. There's creatures who live solely on land and in the water, maybe there's one that thrives in the sky unbeknownst to us because, like an advanced species from space, another dimension, the ocean, or from inside the earth might feel, humans, as a species, are too bellicose to deal with any more than the infrequent, trickster-like appearance (that one's for you, Chris). One night last winter, while watching a group of lights take turns descending, one landed on my roof. Perhaps descended onto my roof is a more appropriate way to phrase it, because these lights landed so suddenly, easily, and gently, it is hard to imagine they had any formal mechanism of landing-- they more so floated to a landing stop than formally land. I did not get film of the landing. But I did get film, it seems, of what accompanies the lights in question.

As I mentioned, I have done quite a bit of editing on the video myself, but cannot seem to isolate or brighten the part of the video I need to in order to see what accompanied the light clearly. The film was taken in near pitch-black conditions with the camera on my laptop after one of the strange lights of the type I had been noticing in the sky intermittently for 2 some-odd years landed on the copper roof of my house. The camera on my cell phone died immediately before the landing, which prompted me to run inside and grab my laptop. I could not see anything but the light with my eyes, which was across the roof, and I simply activated the video recorder on my laptop and held the screen up to the roof, striving to get an angle one would have if they were on the roof, themselves. I had no idea what I was filming, but I wanted to see if I could get a better look at the light while it was sitting there, so I did my best to get a good shot of the roof and simply stood still, hoping to get as many seconds of film showing one of these lights on my roof as I could, primarily out of sheer curiosity (which, should the situation ever occur again, I will never repeat doing). I did this until I felt something very close to me and ran inside extremely shaken. In the background of the video, as I run inside, there appears to be a quickly moving object or light ascending behind me. I have not spent much time analyzing that section of the video, however, as what I filmed on the roof, for reasons that are obvious once one sees the film I captured, was and is much, much more compelling and scores more disquieting. The act of sticking my laptop up to the roof seemed to interest something present on the roof at the same time as the ball of light; this accompanying presence appears to glance into the lens for about 20 seconds with a light pulsating steadily behind it as it stares, moving slowly. The long version of the video, which I choose to keep to myself, shows the sequence of my holding the laptop up, adjusting, holding the shot, and hauling ass back inside with a terrified look on my face that, I must admit, has a hint of excitement to it.

That night, I had been watching this light (one of about 10 or so responding to me that evening) for hours-- individually, each light would descend when I focused on them hard enough with my eyes. After they would get close enough, I could sometimes film the lights or get pictures of them before they reascended. The second I would take my eyes off of these lights, they usually went back into the sky instantaneously. There were sporadic exceptions to this such as when they would make maneuvers, blink-out, change colors, change shape, or follow me while I drove. I tried many times to film them following me driving, and succeeded, but the videos are inconsequential simply because they could arguably be anything and are often difficult to see because these lights do not tend to show well when filmed on a cell phone, particularly through a car window or while being held out of a moving car's window by a driver trying to stay on the road at 80mph. These lights could certainly move 80mph with ease. They would maneuver as if they had almost no rules or restrictions limiting their movement.

A week or so before the light landed on my roof (and I'd never seen them actually do this before) a group of 3 landed on the top of a streetlight I was parked under and on top of a store I was walking into and remained there until I left, at which point they followed me as they typically would on nights when I would see them. Even up close and on roofs, they appeared minute in size. But, and I would see this as they went into the sky sometimes, they can either get much, much brighter, or change size to become much, much bigger. Occasionally, especially on the highway at night, they would get in very large groups and cruise in front of my car and beside it. Even then, they still looked like lightening bugs, just extremely fast and maneuverable ones that traveled in groups and seemed to be conscious of being looked at. They would usually be a classic, pure white, but could be practically any color across the spectrum, it seemed. The light that landed on my house left no discernible impression on my roof which, I note again purely for possible scientific reasons, is made entirely of copper. The light itself, once up close, was, again, as small as a lightening bug. As a matter of fact, these lights could easily be mistaken for lightening bugs due to their size, once they are close to you; the primary difference is that these lights are much brighter, go extremely high into the sky, change size, and are capable of interaction of some type. These lights have many odd features, one of which is that, despite their brilliant luminescence and their visibility high in the sky, they are very small and silent when seen up-close. Once the lights are "noticed," they appear to respond to fixated attention by moving around and, as I found out after a year or so of watching, by descending closer to you. Over the years, I have seen them pose as stars and then begin moving (Almost anytime they are seen), blink-out (common), travel very quickly (common), manifest other lights (extremely rare), change color (extremely rare), hover over unaware groups of people (uncomfortably common), utilize cloud cover to hide their close proximity to unwitting groups of people (uncomfortably common), utilize cloud cover to move quickly during rain storms (I actually got a lucky snapshot of this, and am not sure how common it is because I usually cannot see lights in the sky during storms at night), disappear when planes are nearing them (50/50 chance, sometimes they just sit like stars), dodge planes passing them (common), imitate the colors and lighting patterns of planes (fairly common), shoot into the ocean (only saw once, was amazing, but very uncommon), show-up and do odd things on infrared (I have not been watching with infrared long enough to comment with assurance), and follow me (about 50 times total, but only 10 or so of those 50 were more up-close and personal) in my car. I came to realize that, early in my sky watching days, I was witnessing military experiments but, after a while, it began to seem like something more. It definitely was not US military drones, now.

I have reason to believe the first lights that made me begin watching the sky were military drones being tested due to a daytime sighting I had of what looked like a white, remote-control model plane that was a little bigger than usual. It should be noted this was seen by me before I had ever seen a picture of a drone. However, the things I saw started to change the more devoted I became to sky watching, which I naturally take to as I am usually awake at night and greatly enjoy the stars. I'd be a liar if I said what I saw in the video in question hasn't made me lose any sleep. That said, I am used to the idea of whatever it was now and feel fine. After asking "them" to stop, almost like a prayer, and actually praying to be left alone, I have been. I occasionally see one or two but, when I do, they tend not to follow me and I choose to no longer look. All of this considered, as long as I have this remarkable piece of evidence to contribute, I should and will. I just need a bit of help and some remastering of the tape. I apologize for the scattered detail and stories, but I've been sitting on this a while and am simply trying to provide what I know is a pragmatic, intelligent, curious audience with as much information as they would generally be interested in. I've seen some interesting documentaries on "orbs" and, I guess, you could loosely call what I was seeing "orbs." They certainly are common, as in, once you notice, almost always detectable on starry nights. However, what I caught on film has never been associated with "orbs," and resembles nothing.

So, given all of this information, if anyone with the skills and programs who will respect my wishes for privacy will have a look at the video and try, somehow, to brighten it and enhance the quality of the object/entity shown in the bottom-right corner of the video, I would greatly appreciate it. I will gladly provide screenshots to the forum if and when I am able to obtain a clearer version of the video or, at the very least, some clearer screenshots. For now, however, I feel like I should simply let the community give their input and see where it goes from there. Thank y'all, I appreciate all of your time and thoughts on this phenomenon. It certainly is odd and I hope to be relieved by receiving both comments and support from a community that, of all people, I know I am safe discussing this sequence of events openly with. I have had some people very close to me respond with condemnation, or accuse me of obsession, all of which is hurtful because neither is true. On a side note, I did try to email Chris once to show him the first close encounter with a light (which, once directly over me, turned into a craft that could skip sideways like a rock over water so quickly your eyes couldn't really process the entire stream of movement). I would had loved to get his thoughts but, and I totally understand, I never received a reply. This video is my second close encounter that I know of and it, to say the least, is much closer than the first one, which was pretty damn close. Short of abduction, this is as close as one could get, I imagine. Then again, I do not know AT ALL if these are the types of lights that are vehicles, that abduct, or that contain creatures, much less creatures that abduct. I am hoping we can get some shots out on the board soon so that, collectively, maybe we can narrow what happened down.

While I am the first to admit that, as a witness, I am not "credible" for several reasons, I have been having interesting experiences over the last 3 years that have culminated, it seems, into my having a close encounter with...something that, unlike most, I have a bona fide film of. I realize this sounds hackneyed, but, if you can suspend your skepticism a moment, I might have a story members of the forum will be interested in and a video that, if properly edited, will reveal, to some extent, the face of a species or entity or phenomenon that is not common to our existence.

My Paranormal Background (for anyone who cares):
My first experiences with the paranormal came at a young age during which I had two incidents of sleep paralysis during which my "soul," if you will, disconnected from my body and I was conscious of it. The second time I was in my young teens and, remembering the first, made the conscious decision to "let go" of my body and instantly felt myself moving quickly, yet very peacefully, through what seemed like space. Eventually, I remember feeling as if I was so far away from my body that I had to get back and, before I could finish the thought, I returned to my body like the snap of a finger. I also had a small incident with what seems like may have been a poltergeist when I was very young who would slam cabinet doors in my kitchen late at night and leave all of them open. No one in my family ever noticed the noise or saw the cabinets all opened, but I did on more than one occasion and, at the time, was known to be the earliest riser in the family by a long shot. Hallucinogenic experiences as an adult and accidents that have lead to near-death experiences have also given more insight into realms that are beyond our everyday, commonplace reality, granting me with a sense of assurance when I consider the existence of other "realms" or whatever term one chooses. Quantum physics is also a large contributor to my understanding that there is more to the world around us and ourselves than meets the eye. In my heart of hearts, I know these "strange" aspects of reality are important, even if my experiences have been flukes or misunderstandings. Undoubtedly, some paranormal stories are authentic and true by sheer mathematical basis (they can't ALL be lies). I personally look at the paranormal as a glimpse into the complexity and function of the universe, the soul, and "God's" work-- a true blessing once one is able to get past the horror of having an intense paranormal experience ;). I do not have visions, hear voices, see crafts, experience abduction, see ghosts, experience poltergeist activity, or have psychic visions, nor do I wish to. Actually, this experience has satiated my hunger for a glimpse into the unknown, although, clearly, it's still an interest and something I think about. Lastly, on the paranormal stuff as it relates to me, I did very well on an online measure of one's ability to remote view, for what that's worth; I guessed 8/10 random pictures quite accurately, according to MY own scoring, which practically negates the whole test for scientists who think some people would take the time to type this much crap and still be lying, knowing I have nothing to gain, here. Oh, also, every now and then, I try extremely hard to move things with my mind and, after decades, remain unsuccessful lol. Still, it's worth a shot, right....some of you still try that from time to time too, don't lie!

I look forward to hearing back from my fellow forum members. Anyone is welcome to talk to me publicly or privately about any of this. Thanks for y'all's time and support. It is very much appreciated and it is relieving for me simply to type all of this out and submit my experience and hopefully my video to the criticism of others who, like me, have a great love of existential and worldly paranormal phenomena, and who seek knowledge out of a love of learning and a deep sense of concern for the human race, who, sometimes, I fantasize may end some of our evil ways via new discoveries and understandings of what we now view as supernatural or esoteric. Thanks again, everyone. Have a great day/night/whatever.

Sincerely,
J
 
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Welcome. If you are serious I suggest you post a clip or some stills - despite your lengthy and detailed first post, there are plenty of hoaxers and timewasters out there so you can make it easier on yourself and tantalise those you are seeking help from. Videos are ten-a-penny so you need to show anything that marks your video out as legit and interesting.

Other than your video, get stuck in to the forum - post thoughts, links, vids, get involved in running threads etc. The forum is what its' posters bring....:)

goggs
 
I am extremely hesitant to post this. These are the best screenshots I could manage. The site wouldn't let me upload the video, which is more realistic because one can see it move. Its very dark, but the face is there. I am hoping I do not regret sharing this. Once again, I consider this my property and ask that people allow me to do with it as I will and do not copy and re-post it or steal and try to sell it. Also, if you don't see it, I apologize for wasting your time. If you think I hoaxed it, by all means, enjoy developing a conspiracy theory, but don't bother me about it. I hope my seeking help for this problem does not backfire in the wake of demand for proof before receiving suggestions on how to deal with this phenomenon which, oddly enough, had discontinued until I posted on the boards here. N0 clue why, but they have kept their distance, as I audibly requested one night, and they complied. So, it's not scary to see them, at the present time, if they keep their distance. Anyway, that's enough until someone else confirms they see it. Half of who I've shown have seen it, half haven't. I'm not sure if this has to do with open-mindedness of the viewer, paranormal sensitivity of the viewer, eyesight of the viewer, the monitor and lighting conditions the video is played with, etc. I came here for insights from experts on this issue and help with a problem, which, unfortunately (and I understand) seems to require some evidence of the existence of the paranormal, which, beg my pardon, is a bit of a tall order for a kid asking for help. I did not get into this to be criticized about my evidence, which is inevitable and was a debate I am probably foolish for not expecting to have to participate in. But I want and need the help and input of the forum. If this is what's required, have at it. Enjoy.
 
Well, may I ask what changed your mind ? I was late 'to the party' and haven't seen anything yet. You will not be ridiculed here if you bring something to the table even one person finds interesting. Well played, in piquing my interest. ;)
 
Yeah. Why go to the length of writing all that down and then withhold the evidence? Something doesn't add up here.

The most curious aspect of these lights is that, if one stares at them with great focus, the lights will begin to react with movement of some type.

Which could be just tiny movements of the eyeball while the eye tries to focus. Also, tear liquid gathers so that the image might seem to swim. I once had to write an article in favour of an "entertainer" who made his audience do just that and said he was causing the stars to move. I had seen his show and it was pure charlatanery. But the guy was a special friend of my then employer, so I wasn't allowed to be critical. I quit the job soon afterwards and that was one of the reasons.

The stars coming down and manoeuvering, well that's obviously not eye movements or tear liquid. It either happened as you said or you are trying to sell us something. If you have footage of that, I'd really like to see it.
 
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I am a video editor.

When you say you have done some editing to the files, what did that entail? What program(s) were you using to make the edits? Do the raw files still exist?

If you have a Dropbox account, I'd be willing to take a look at your files. I'm not accepting raw video files via e-mail or any other method that would be complicated or cumbersome. I'll only accept files transferred via Dropbox.

Further, should I do edits to your footage, you can pretty much rest assured that I will show the footage to family and friends who would be interested to see it, though would not make the video available for public consumption in a more general sense. Believe me when I say that nobody cares that much, there is no money in footage of alleged paranormal activity and, when colour correction and enhancement work has been done, I believe we'll probably see that whatever was in the video is either still indecipherable, a goofy sculpture, or nothing.

All the same, I'd do the work for free, because I think it's funny. Ordinarilly, this would run you, depending on the length of the footage, a few hundred dollars (I think you suggested it was several minutes of footage).

Let me know.
 
My video exerience has taught me that whatever is the quality of your original video, based on both lens quality and resolution of original recording, is going to be the best you are ever going to get. Unless you have close up footage, lights in the sky occupying a small collection of pixels relative to the frame size, regardless of filters and scaling, will just stay as moving bright pixels. What's the camera you are shooting with and what's the size of the image relative to frame?
 
????
This is by far the most interesting video I have never seen.

I have a suspicion it is going to stay that way.

I am confused as to why you would write such a lengthy and considered post, only to change your mind?

If I was being brutally honest I would say that I do not believe that your video is a hoax, because of the fact you used your laptop camera!

I would like you to know that I wish to give people the benefit of the doubt, but by voluntarily promising much and delivering 0 zero nil none nothing naught you have raised doubt on yourself. (in my opinion)

What is unfortunate is you chose the right place, if you wanted some informed opinion, on what your alleged video shows. With this in mind I would like to request that you reconsider and upload your video along with the relevant information (camera used etc) here or on another video sharing website(anonymously if you wish), so everybody @Christopher O'Brien included can see it and form their own opinion as to what it shows.

Sorry to start on a negative and welcome to the forums.
Kind regards.


P.S I know from personal experience that even if your video does not show anything unusual nobody (on this forum) will ridicule or think any less of you.
 
Burnt State,

Depending on what the situation is, it is possible to colour correct a video in such a way that "hidden" pixels are revealed. A lot of the time, dark pixels in an area of a video will all appear to be the same shade of black, when in reality they are just near-black shades of a variety of colours, none of which are true blacks. I've had to do similar things for wedding videos in dark reception halls, etc. There is also the definite possibility that, if the was actually zero light in the setting, that all the blacks are true and that nothing can be salvaged of any value.
 
I'd point out that this isn't something that can be done by simply lightening the raw image, but can only be done through spectral shifts and colour enhancement. Most casual software doesn't have the power to legitimately colour enhance video.
 
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