How do YOU evaluate UFO videos?

I'm curious how you folks review and categorize the plethora of UFO videos that inhabit YouTube and other video services including ATS. Do you follow a pattern/method or simply a gut-feeling. I'm sure others may simply wait for fellow members' responses before forming an opinion and chiming in.

My method:
1 - Ignore the title and any responses before viewing the video
2 - turn off sound and disable pop-up comments (on YouTube)
3 - watch the video in it's entirety but skipping over walls of text/intro comments
4 - make mental note of initial reaction/supposition
5 - with mental note (#4) in mind, tell yourself the title of the video is "your mental note" and watch again.
6 - which seems more plausible? Gut reaction (#5) or what the title of the video is

For example: A video appears that's showing fiery bits raining down along a set trajectory. The title of the video is "UFO dropping orbs across countryside!!!1". Upon watching it you might think that it's simply a satellite reentering the atmosphere and breaking apart. Now, if you say to yourself "this video is of a satellite breaking up" and watch it again, which appears more plausible

reply to post by TXRabbit



1. Watch video. (unless it's a known hoaxer like thirdphaseofmoon, or xxxdonutzxxx)
2. Watch video again and compare to known phenomenon.
to clench it ...
3. Check to see if video uploader has 1000 fake UFO videos.

reply to post by TXRabbit


Having a background in video work, I used to be able to pick out the hoaxes pretty quickly.....Sometimes I still can of course, if the hoaxer is not very skilled.....
Unfortunately anymore, I have to be extremely suspect of any video made in the last 10 years or so (approx). CGI has simply got too good. One can do things now on a home PC that rival the special effects in major motion pictures.

For example



So to truly test a piece of footage's authenticity, one has to check for things outside the normal range of just judging the images themselves......Are there any other witnesses that saw the event, or perhaps even multiple videos of the same object? Are the sources trustworthy? Etc.

1) Watch video
2) Make sign "Welcome Alien Overlords, Spare me!"
3) wave sign around in frantic motions skyward
4) get disappointed that the alien invasion was stalled yet again by blasted "enlightened" folks warding off the ebil aliens.




Basically, I go in with the idea that someone filmed something that they misunderstood..with that, I look at all possibilities, from satellites, actual weather balloons, birds, etc...more often than not I see fairly normal stuff..sometimes I can't determine what I am looking at, and so just toss that in the "hmm" pile and revisit it down the line with a fresh mindset.
I rarely read youtube comments..no need to read a bunch of 13 year olds saying everything is gay or whatever.

reply to post by TXRabbit


my method - sigh , pour myself a stiff drink and prepare for the worst

i can only speak for myself, but i find video to be more of a.... i don't know, supportive evidence type thing
more than something to take in and evaluate in it's own right..
i guess what i am saying is i don't kick around on youtube watching different videos and trying to explain them.. so i don't really have an evaluation process in the way others seem to.
i'd rather have the details of a case, any eyewitness reports or testimonies or what have you... the more in depth the better... and then i'll take a look at film to corroborate or contrast what i've read.
photography and film, to me, come a quite distant second.
don't get me wrong, it's great to have some film, it does a lot to make a case feel complete
but as i'm sure we've all noticed here on ats, having video is by no means conclusive...
context is far more important.

Almost always watch with the obvious thought in my head that whatever the person saw / recorded is not really what they think it is.

Then I watch the video and compare it with the things I know it can be, then do a little quick research to find out if anyone or anything else knows what is already. If it isn't anything I know of or can find, then it is a UFO until deemed otherwise.

After this I read the comments to have a quick laugh at what people think of it, and watch the "professional doctorate ivy level skeptics" take on the "tin foil hat wearing ufo religulous". It's pretty funny to see the stuff they come up with just to defend their beliefs.

Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen
Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

Star-like light with an orange-red tint moving across the sky?

Check Spaceweather for your location and the time you saw it.

I'm betting SATELLITE.
Satellites are commonly mistaken for UFOs.
They're silent. They move across the sky.
They disappear before your eyes (as they fall into Earth's shadow)
Sometimes they're glaringly bright.
Often they'll flash brilliantly, called a "flare", when the sun's reflection off of solar panels hit at a certain angle.

There are outfits all over that will charge you decent money to go out into the middle of nowhere to signal UFOs, when in fact, all the UFOs you see are just satellites, and these outfits will hype the idea that these "UFOs" are signalling back when they flash, when in fact, they know that's what satellites do.

Video wasn't long enough to really establish movement., so, it could also have been a number of other things.

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen
Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

From the video and the description you gave I conclude you saw one of these ...


Here's another ......


@ OP
Evidence , testimony and location of sighting give clues to evaluating UFO sightings , this sighting ticks all the boxes for lanterns

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen
Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

Deep orange/reddish is almost certainly a Chinese lantern

reply to post by TXRabbit


I don't really have a set method as such, yet if the video interests me enough, there are some things I'll do to get a better understanding of what may be occuring....

- Read the thread title, OP and linked text if any - this provides clues and context.

- Headphones on, full screen and maximum allowable resolution.

- Disregard youtube comments and clear ads.

- Push back, then watch it for what it's worth....at this stage it's just a video of "whatever".

- Consider mental notes of any anomalies noticed during the initial view that's contrary to the claims being made.

- rw, fwd, pause, fwd, pause, rw, fwd, rw, pause until I get a headache.

- Evaluate it's likeness to any known identifiable aerial objects or explainable meteorological, astronomical phenomenon.


Then kick-back and read the reply posts for my entertainment

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen
Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

Well what I suggest learn to use your camera better auto focus doesn't work well at night with little dots of light as you can see on your video.

Originally posted by wmd_2008

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen
Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

Well what I suggest learn to use your camera better auto focus doesn't work well at night with little dots of light as you can see on your video.

Learn how to use my camera better? Hard for the camera not to shake when I'm recording a MOVING object at 18x on a non professional camera, it's still a good camera but really now? You got a better video sir?

Originally posted by gortex

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen
Any explanation for my sighting, it's legit, recorded at 1080p.

My sighting

From the video and the description you gave I conclude you saw one of these ...

Here's another ......

@ OP
Evidence , testimony and location of sighting give clues to evaluating UFO sightings , this sighting ticks all the boxes for lanterns

You must have not read the description cause you would realize there is no way it was a damn lantern -__- thats obsurd. It was outside of our atmosphere, moving in a straight line to the left, after a while it began to slow down and then STOPPED IN MIDSPACE. It was moving pretty fast considering the distance so it stopped pretty fast in my opinion, what natural thing just stops in the middle of space. Then it changed somehow, can't explain but it did something before vanishing where it stopped. After disappearing same exact thing happened 10 mins later, it stopped in the SAME EXACT SPOT, also did some type of change before vanishing in the same exact spot. How in the world is that a Chinese lantern? Didn't know they could move to the left of the sky, stop, and disappear. The second one appeared out of the sky, I witnessed it with my own eyes cause I was so stuck after the first sighting.
The video isnt long because I felt I recorded enough, I stopped a min too short unfortunantly cause I woulda caught it disappearing. In the second video you can hear my reaction to it stopping mid space again. People upset me when they think they know what someone else saw.

reply to post by iKnowWhatISeen


How do you know the object's altitude and speed? Seems like you're making an assumption here.

Originally posted by Orkojoker
reply to post by iKnowWhatISeen

 

How do you know the object's altitude and speed? Seems like you're making an assumption here.

edit on 4-9-2012 by Orkojoker because: (no reason given)

I seen it with my own eyes, so you when you look at a jet you can't assume how fast it's going and how far it is? You don't say nothing about the assumption it was a Chinese lantern? People on this site disappoint me sometimes, some of you are ass backwards.

reply to post by TXRabbit


I watch for:
its movement
colors of lights, looking for colors that would not normally be related to air/space craft of EA*RTH
its location some zones seem to have more activity
reports on them
and NOISE fro the noise will kind of tell engine type ect deep low strong humm w/ vibrations or nothing but cool lights ect.

like below

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen


You must have not read the description cause you would realize there is no way it was a damn lantern -__- thats obsurd. It was outside of our atmosphere, moving in a straight line to the left, after a while it began to slow down and then STOPPED IN MIDSPACE. It was moving pretty fast considering the distance so it stopped pretty fast in my opinion, what natural thing just stops in the middle of space. Then it changed somehow, can't explain but it did something before vanishing where it stopped. After disappearing same exact thing happened 10 mins later, it stopped in the SAME EXACT SPOT, also did some type of change before vanishing in the same exact spot. How in the world is that a Chinese lantern? Didn't know they could move to the left of the sky, stop, and disappear. The second one appeared out of the sky, I witnessed it with my own eyes cause I was so stuck after the first sighting.
The video isnt long because I felt I recorded enough, I stopped a min too short unfortunantly cause I woulda caught it disappearing. In the second video you can hear my reaction to it stopping mid space again. People upset me when they think they know what someone else saw.

Underlined above TOTAL AND UTTER BS you have NO idea of object size you have no idea of distance because you have NO frame of reference typical cliche ufo believer bs quote sir!

Originally posted by iKnowWhatISeen

Originally posted by Orkojoker
reply to post by iKnowWhatISeen

 

How do you know the object's altitude and speed? Seems like you're making an assumption here.

edit on 4-9-2012 by Orkojoker because: (no reason given)

I seen it with my own eyes, so you when you look at a jet you can't assume how fast it's going and how far it is? You don't say nothing about the assumption it was a Chinese lantern? People on this site disappoint me sometimes, some of you are ass backwards.

If you don't know what the object is or how large it is, I'm not sure how you can make an accurate estimate of its distance from you, despite the fact that you "seen it" with your own eyes. What makes you think it wasn't small and close rather than large and far away?