Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of UFO footage.
Enough to warrant the design of a simple, hierarchical classification system?
Err … sure, why not?
You may have noticed the absence of a category for crystal clear, non-hoaxed footage of extra-terrestrial spacecraft. I’m afraid that’s because I’ve never seen any footage that would warrant the inclusion of such a category. Find me some and I’ll update the system, otherwise I’m sure whatever you’ve seen could easily find its way into one of the pre-existing categories.
Here are some examples:
I’ll keep adding links until there are at least ten for each category. If you want to nominate any, just let me know and I’ll do an update.
Now, I’m not saying spacecraft flown by extra-terrestrials have never been filmed by humans; only that I’ve never seen any conclusive footage. All the high-quality UFOs videos I’ve seen have been hoaxes or artwork.
Why are there no high-quality videos of the real thing? I know what Occam’s Razor would have us conclude … but that’s no fun. I’d rather believe the government has seized all the best footage and kept secret our regular contact with extra-terrestrial civilisations. Bastards!
I’m probably coming across as skeptical to the point of being close-minded but I’m not. Honestly. I would love nothing more than to be provided with unassailable proof of the existence of advanced extra-terrestrial civilisations; it’s because I’m so taken with the idea that I can’t settle for lousy footage of some tiny, blurry shape in a distant cloud. Nor can I settle for eyewitness accounts because I have no way of knowing whether or not people are reliable / honest / capable of distinguishing between oil refineries and flying saucers. There’s a huge difference between seeing something incredible with my own eyes and merely wanting to believe the testimony of an eyewitness.
The reason I brought this up is that I’ve decided to create CG footage of a UFO (or two) at the You Yangs. I’m going to make the entire video CG and strive for photorealism but I’m not going to try and pass it off as real. Mine will be Type 1-B footage; a project undertaken so that I can learn more about visual effects.
I’ll post blog entries as I complete each stage of the project. Partly to keep you, my loyal reader, in the loop but mainly because I’d like to receive feedback and ideas throughout the video’s development.
Sound good?
Johnny's Workshop 
It’s not a matter of a hoax or not. CGI puts new conjecture in all UFOs be it real or not and causes a lot of work for those who study ufos and ufologists. If you want to go the way of saladfingers so be it. Just keep them out of YouTube. We’ve all had about enough.
HOW THE INGENUITY OF CGI ARTISTS ARE GOING TO KILL AUTHENTIC UFO SIGHTINGS
Comment by Atrueoriginall — August 23, 2008 @ 5:23 am |
I appreciate the comment, Atrueoriginall, and I respect your opinion but I don’t think CG artists should be forbidden from creating UFO footage if they’re upfront about it being computer-generated. I’ve always enjoyed seeing UFO clips created by CG artists; it tends to be the only good footage available.
My favourite thing about CG art is having the opportunity to create something that captures the imagination of the intended audience, which is why I like the idea of creating something other-worldly. If I’m not trying to con people, then I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong. I’ll concede someone may take my footage and try to pass it off as real but I’ll certainly work hard to extinguish any of those fires.
In the meantime, I think it’s important for people to recognise that there’s a big difference between CG artists who are creating their works to con people and those who clarify that what they’ve created isn’t real.
Saladfingers123456, to my understanding, never attempted to pass off his videos as anything other than CG. If I’m wrong on that point, feel free to correct me …
Comment by april15th — August 23, 2008 @ 5:49 am |
Re: Saladfingers123456, no he didn’t but and that’s a big butt, when someone would view them outside of YouTube they didn’t know better. That is the problem. And, originally saladfingers did not state hoax.
Comment by Atrueoriginall — August 23, 2008 @ 8:45 am |
Twice! You bastard!
Comment by strange loop — August 23, 2008 @ 9:19 pm |
Ha ha! Owned. The sad thing is, I was exacting revenge on someone else. I hate to see innocents get caught in the crossfire but these things happen …
Comment by april15th — August 23, 2008 @ 11:37 pm |
I think it’s a LOVELY idea, John-Paul. All those flying space ships. Also because it’ll really put Australia on the map. Maybe the sequel could be about the aliens terrorising a Tim-Tam factory? You could call it “Extra-Terrorestrials Terrorise The Tim-Tam Factory” or, I don’t know, something GOOD like that.
Comment by Suzy J. — August 24, 2008 @ 10:52 am |
I love Rick. Keep them mutants comin’ Japers.
Comment by Blobs — August 24, 2008 @ 3:45 pm |
I’ll mutant you.
Comment by april15th — August 24, 2008 @ 8:47 pm |
I have a business proposition for you. I think you should do a 3D video of the Virgin Mary, appearing in the clouds above the You Yangs, like the kind those Roman Catholics claim to see in trees and misty shapes, etc. Then advertise the sh*t out of it on YouTube so those crazy RCs will start flocking to Geelong on their holy treks. Halfway to the top of the mountain, you and I will set up a makeshift booth and sell rosary beads and water for $10/bottle. We’ll be rich I tells ya, RICH!!
Comment by Sheri — August 26, 2008 @ 5:42 pm |
Oh, MAN! Can I get in on that??
Comment by Suzy J. — August 26, 2008 @ 7:29 pm |
Joooohhhnnnn.
Am I the only person who keeps blogging? (Even if I only do it a leisurely pace)
What’s with us? Our little blogging club. We’ve died away.
Comment by crommo — September 29, 2008 @ 10:04 am |
I must admit, I’ve barely even bothered to check blogs for the past few weeks. Usually, I’ll check to see if anyone’s done a new post but I haven’t even been doing the checks lately.
I’ll get back into it soon enough. Now that I’ve rebuilt my computer, installed and configured everything, bought a digital SLR, and organised the hell out of all my main documents, I’ve got no excuse.
Comment by april15th — October 6, 2008 @ 8:09 pm |
I heard from Matt that you’ve got a new camera. It’s sad that I have to hear of you through our friends because we never see each other. But, you’re pretty lame and I’m the opposite, so I guess it makes sense.
Comment by crommo — October 15, 2008 @ 7:02 pm |
Hi sicky! How are you feeling these days? When you’re not fighting seasonal allergies or blind drunk and vomiting in the sink, you should update your blog! We miss hearing from you out here in blogland!
Comment by Sheri — November 10, 2008 @ 11:39 pm |
How come http://machinima-tutorials.com/ doesn’t work for me, and how’s the You-Yang video going?
Comment by Blobs — November 13, 2008 @ 3:09 pm |
What are you talking about, Crommulus? I mentioned in my October 6th reply that I had “bought a digital SLR.” See it there, right above your comment? I can’t believe how often people neglect to read my hastily-written, excuse-laden, week- / month-late replies; it’s the height of rudeness.
For Sheri and anyone else interested to know, I will be blogging again soon. Seriously! I’ve got at least a dozen posts I’ve been meaning to write and I’m annoyed with myself for having thoroughly neglected our blogging community for the past few months. Expect plenty of posts and comments in the near-future.
Blobs, the “machinima-tutorials.com” domain name was registered until November 7th and because I hadn’t done any work on the site since February, I decided it’d be best to do a comprehensive back up, let the registration expire, and relocate the tutorials to this blog. If I ever recreate the site, it’ll be when I can afford to devote all the time, money and energy needed to make it successful.
Oh, and I put the You Yangs project on hold so that I could a) learn more about Vue and b) take a few dozen reference photographs of the area I’m seeking to recreate. I’ve already addressed (a) but haven’t scheduled a time for (b), hence the absence of any updates.
Strange. Immediately after posting something about UFOs, I seem to neglect my blog for months …
Comment by april15th — November 13, 2008 @ 5:29 pm |
I’m SICK of your stupid UFO at the You Yangs blog! Fucking update, stupidface!!!!!
Comment by canadiansheri — January 17, 2009 @ 6:30 pm |
You know Japers, rereading that first comment on this blog by Atrueoriginal reminded me of an argument I once had in year 7 with a girl who demanded I not imagine a piano made entirely out of white keys. Not only were the keys white, but they were all in the same row, not like how our common piano’s have black keys that are inbetween the white keys and in a higher position and are narrower … this is harder to describe than I once thought. The point is, she kept saying “It doesn’t exist, so STOP imagining it!” and getting more and more irrate about it. I still to this day have no idea why she was so against me imagining. What’s with that?
Comment by Suzy J. — January 21, 2009 @ 12:09 pm |
A piano made ENTIRELY OUT OF WHITE KEYS?????? HERESY!!!! You’re going to burn in hell for that one, Suz!
Comment by Sheri — January 21, 2009 @ 10:39 pm |