ISIS Videos Faked or Not? Unanswered Questions...

originally posted by: Xandyr101
1. Why are the beheading videos in HD but every other ISIS video is not?

Theory crafting wise there could be a number of reasons. Chief amongst them is that this is either a rookie mistake or incredibly bold.
Previous terror groups have known that people will go over their work with a fine tooth comb so they have no interest in having it look clean and in HD. It's not like terrorists previously couldn't afford or acquire a decent DSLR and frame a nice shot in the desert - it just didn't suit their MO or purposes. There is something very Western in this presentation, but could that be because the person doing the execution has been living in the West?

2. How are both victims so calm when they are about to be brutally executed?

Have personally seen a number of deaths and this doesn't surprise me at all. These people have had a long time to think about what is going to happen to them and rationalise it. Sometimes persons stabbed or cut to death make surprisingly little noise or struggling. It's dark, but sometimes its preferable to help your captor as much as possible.

Wouldn't suggest you research it, but this is just my experience. (See Boncho's post also)

3. Why does it seam the two videos were shot at the same time?

It's highly likely they had no intention of releasing these people, so they were probably videoed in close succession?

4. Why would they not show the beheading?

It didn't go well / someone else had to do it?

They want to project confidence and power, so these people likely wouldn't broadcast content which would make them look weak or inefficient.

Psychologically, they may have wanted someone with a more 'Western' accent both for clarity and to attract more Western Muslims to their cause, but their speaker may not have been the most adept executioner. Potentially the speaker may have even decided not to do it for whatever reason.

5. If it's fake who and why would want to fake it?

Valid question. Other query is if you're willing to sacrifice thousands of lives, why not one more?

6. Is there any reason America would want to invade Syria?

Always?

7. Is there any chance Rita Katz could have faked the videos?

Always a chance.

8. Why does it seam like the media is trying to sway popular opinion in support of another war when not a year ago everyone was against the war?

Everyone has agendas and the 'unbiased' still have to sell news and click bait. Capitalistic journalism go!

originally posted by: Vrill
I have some problems with these videos (Ive watched both a few times each) - They look as if they were filmed in front of a green screen and a cheap desert background was added later.

There are issues with this hypothesis.

Visual effects level chroma keying (green screening) is far easier than forensic level chroma keying. Chroma key, by its very nature, removes data from colour channels and alters the natural statistics of the image you're looking at. What this means is you're leaving a huge foot print behind for potential analysis, and also leaving some other telling signs behind such as sabotaged sensor noise. It would be beyond risky to try this, and I'd say that if this is the case then the evidence will come out like it has previously when this has occurred.

Many prosumer digital cameras can produce this 'flat' background look that makes it feel like you're looking at a chroma key job. You can blame Hollywood, they've taught us that 'real' imagery has depth of field. Would be far less risky just to use a background in an empty building.

Furthermore, each of the Americans were clearly reading off of a Teleprompter.

I wouldn't doubt they were reading a prepared statement, they often are in these situations.

That said, ISIS is a bit unique in that they are (allegedly) far more diverse as a group and are being considerably bolder than some of the groups that have come before them. Personally I'm not even sure they are a 'group' in the way its being portrayed in the media currently, but I could easily believe that they are 'newly diverse'.

Could this type of diversity bring rookies into their movement? They have a nice HD source and an area captured from multiple angles to pull GPS data from and work out the time of day and thus a general location. The reason for putting up a background is usually to hide clues, so either this person is very confident or somewhat ignorant of the danger they're adding to their situation.

Disclaimer: I haven't had the time to properly analyse, only watched the clip. Will stand by the chroma key comments though - if that process has been involved it should be detectable. Though I'm sceptical of such a detection pushing our conclusions either way.

I've not watched the videos, and I have absolutely no intention of ever doing so. But the poster above sounds bang on for the reason why they might have been cut.

There was a huge coup for them, getting a westerner to appear to conduct the execution. But I'd bet he probably couldn't go through with it, or messed it up, and somebody else had to come in to finish the deed.

Remember, the kids going out t here from the West, they have no skills, they've probably never even handled raw meat before. They don't know how to fight, or shoot, they're not hardened warriors. So finding oen capable of conducting a stone-cold execution? Seems unlikely to me.

a reply to: boncho

"Well yeah but look at his expression, when people die they..."

Like I said luckily I'm no expert . However, I wasn't talking about his expressions but rather the lack of any reaction or twitch from the body or his hands.

Regardless if you have come to terms with it I think its in our instincts to survive and for our body to react to certain pain.

Well, as I said before. The definition of "Terrorist" is someone who spreads and commits Terror. Why cut out the part of the video that accomplishes that? Otherwise, all these video are, are talk. Its all they are. Talk. Anyone can make a video that spreads Terror propaganda via talking leading up to the Beheading and woops.....edit out the actual part of the video that would shock and "Terrorize" the country that it was aimed at. In the end, these videos are just a bunch of talk without the punchline. We call them "Beheading Videos" yet no beheading takes place in them. Instead, we get the "before and after" effect. Easy to fake.

Another big issue I have.....at the end of the videos, when he puts the knife to the captives throat and starts cutting before its edited....where is the blood at? It shows him cutting into the throat for a good 2-3 seconds before the video is edited out.......blood would be gushing if that knife was sharp....there was zero blood...none.

These videos are fake/staged. Period. There are too many red flags. They feel too manufactured.