A Call for Higher Quality UFO Documentation

(Please note that Tin Foil Hat Research Team was an older pen name. Now known simply as Matrix Patriot. You might still see this article on older blogs, but the writing was done by the same author. )

"DO YOU NEED ANY MORE PROOF?"

Yes, we do.

The current year is 2005 and photographic and recording technology is amazing. Amazing, small and cheap.

The Tin Foil Hat Research Team is of the opinion that many of the current photographs and video that has been passed on as "proof" of UFO’s since the mid-90’s is shoddy, unbelievable and inexcusable. We, as students of the UFO phenomenon can no longer accept and will no longer stand for the same quality "proof" that may have stood as valid in the 1940’s - 1980’s.

For example, if you are attempting to document valid proof in a pre-designated UFO hot spot where phenomenon has been seen before and do not have the presence of mind to create a credible experimental environment, do not expect us to believe your "proof" without question.

When someone sits on lawn chairs or a hillside, on a clear night, with coolers and cameras in tow and does not bother to invest in something as simple as a tripod or take the time to learn how to adjust the camera to focus, how can anyone take their work seriously?

Used tripods are fairly easy to get at a garage sale, charity sale, or in the used classified. Steadiness of camera makes all the difference in the world. If one considers themselves a serious UFO chronicler, it is wise to take at least a half hour and learn how to control your camera by reading the manual before going out to shoot phenomena.

We have seen far too much footage shot in total blackness, with not a moon, star, plane, mountain, tree, building or other structure in sight to give the viewer some sense of perspective.

If there is a lack of perspective, there should be a very good reason presented.

What was unusually good about more recent footage out of Mexico and South America was the amount of documentation filmed in broad daylight, by many different cameras. In this footage, it was clear that ordinary people had their regular routine interrupted by an unusual and inexplicable occurrence.

Average citizens were stopping their cars and pulling over to view the spectacle. Buildings, cars, planes were visible and perspective and rate of motion was easy to discern. These people seemed to have very little trouble keeping their hand-held cameras still and though nervous, were able to include regular structures in their footage.

That is the type of minimum and basic quality that we should be demanding from those contesting to have proof.

The burden of proof is on the presenter, not the viewer.

Some present a better case than others and there can never be such a thing as too much documentation.

The fact of the matter is we, The Tin Foil Hat Research Team, believe in the probability of UFOs and alternative life existing on other planets and within other dimensions. But we are of the opinion that shoddy evidence merely clouds the issue and crowds out the attention that higher quality evidence should deserve.

posted by Tin Foil Hat Research Team February 24, 2005 11:41 am