Just wanted to post this, as it's been a bone of contention in another forum, and Mr. Horn I'm sure will refer some to it.
This is from Meier's motion film shots, a few kilometers east of Hinwil, Switzerland, where Meier lived in 1975-76.
Supporters have long said and vehemently defended the notion that a beamship "jumps" from one spot to another in the sky, instantly. Not only that,
but appears to be in the same 2 places at the same point in time.
The following still frames tell a much different story then that of supporters. The frames were captured from DVD, at DV2 quality. No color adjust, no
level adjustments, no enhancements. Simple frame by frame. (Text and markings inserted in photoshop) The time stamp is on the actual film I captured,
and it's useful to this study of the "jump".
It has many times been said that Meier's "jump" beamships are a product of stop motion shooting with a home movie camera. Move the object through
the frame, while shooting, then turn off the camera. Move the object to a different portion of the frame and start the camera again. Boom, your disc
has "jumped" across the frame instantly, in fractions of a second. Stop motion was done by Harryhausen in Hollywood many years before, and it was a
well known trick.
Many of Meier's "jumping" beamships show signs of stop motion. Tree branches will often cease movement at a "jump" point, as well as lighting
fluctuations indicating a slight time passing between the "instant" jump.
The following set of still taken from such footage illustrate double exposure, and stop motion perfectly.
FRAME 1
This is a frame grabbed early in the footage so everyone knows where it is, and what it looks like. It will move up and almost out of frame in our
next shot. Note the tone, and color. Not just the disc color, but the overall shot.
Got it? Ok, next we move to just before the jump. Note the time stamp.
Next, the jump...the instant of inception. Take notice that the disc has appeared to jump to just above the ground below...however, it's only half
exposed, and is dim and nearly see-though. The bottom edge of the disc at top is still seen, as it's already gone it's full exposure previously. In
effect, when the camera was shut off, it shut down on these 2 frames. When started again, a double exposure 1/2 and full occur as in keeping with a
sudden shutdown of a filming camera. You get a slight backpedal of frames for the camera to utilize it's full potential of film.
Next, the full overexposure of the doubled frame, which was exposed twice. The brightness is a result, only on this frame, at precisely this frame.
Even this disc is now doubled from the previous frame and shows itself darker then it should be (because now it's been exposed 2 times in the same
frame, and it's evident once we're out of the doubled frames...
And finally, back to the single frame exposure with the camera again running at full blank film. Note the disc is back into it's normal darkness and
the sky has returned to normal tone and brightness.
This is clear evidence of stop motion, and shutter exposure associated with ceasing the camera, and restarting. It is plain, evident, and very clear
to see. Show this film to anyone who knows super8 and they'll tell you, investigate it for yourself.
I for one can tell you I learned alot about this camera, one being that in the "official report" it's referred to as "Malcolm FTL" There is no
such camera. The correct model is Nalcom FTL, which I found out after calling Eastman House and speaking to their research archivist. I have to admit,
I knew little about how these cameras operate, as I dont deal with them on any consistent basis either in the workplace nor in my UFO activities.
But talk to enough people who are freaks for these types cameras and you learn a hell of alot. Did you know it actually films back and front, then the
film is actually split at development to make up it's full length of reel? Thats just one of many interesting things. I'm really pretty fascinated
by the camera all by itself.
In my opinion, and from what I've learned and seen regarding this particular piece of footage, is that use of stop motion was used to make the ship
"jump". Therefore, one could surmise the ship is a model about 3-6 ft or slightly more from the camera, with a lens that is lended to a wide field
of view, making the ship appear distant...however the overall poor quality lends itself to that as well. I would guess the ship is roughly 4-5 inches
across.
Some would argue the ship goes slightly behind the hill at one point. I stongly disagree: The following is that frame whereby the ship appears to
disappear below view of the hill. Using PhotoShop to adjust input levels from baseline image: 0/1.14/172 and applying emboss at 500% at a level of 1,
you can see the craft is in front of the hill. It was argued that the emboss made it look as such...so I rotated the relief and angle of light in a
180 rotation to show it appears no matter what the source or direction.
So, in fact, it's always in front of the hill. But due to the overall poor quality, it's not evident to most.
This is about as much as anyone can do with this film. The original is "lost", and the best anyone can get these days is a filmed version shot off a
screen by Nippon TV. (And is the one seen on DVD and video) To my knowledge there is no original footage left...this is all we have, and one has to
work with the best this case can offer. And this is it.
I'm sure as I type here that many will disagree with my study on this piece, so do the research for yourself. Take the steps to find out on your own,
you certainly dont have to sit an listen to me or anyone else. Talk to the people who know the camera, it's behaviors, and it's filming properties.
Dont take the stand of one of Meier's supporters on another board I recently spoke with who said "film is film"...implying it all cams and film
behaves the same way. If you do your dilligent homework, I'm confident anyone can see exactly what I have shown here.
This is but one piece of film, and there's many more pictures and film that Meier took that needs to be examined just as critically. Thats right
kids, if youre gonna sit back and yell, do the work...buy the DVD and do it yourself.
Unless information or original film or stills come my way, I'm done with this case. Thats enough.
My thanx to Mike Horn for his assistance and Brit Elders for permission to use the still frames from the film.