In one of those stories that any reader of this blog will know that I can't resist, there have been reports that a 'Woolly Mammoth' has been filmed in Siberia ..... and here's what's causing the stir
Superficially this picture and the accompanying, but strangely short video (... less than 10 seconds long), appear to be proof positive that Mammoths survived in Siberia from the Pleistocene. But there are in fact several issues with this story that show it to be possibly not quite what it seems.
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| Siberian Mammoth 2012 |
Superficially this picture and the accompanying, but strangely short video (... less than 10 seconds long), appear to be proof positive that Mammoths survived in Siberia from the Pleistocene. But there are in fact several issues with this story that show it to be possibly not quite what it seems.
Firstly the subject of the picture .... its obvious to me that its most likely a brown bear with a salmon (or other large fish) in its mouth, filmed with a poor resolution (2 or 3 mega-pixels) phone video cam, and on a very misty day. Or it could be just a computer generated image (cgi) using photo-shop type software. Oddly there is actually nothing 'in focus' in the video, which in itself is cause for suspicion, as most phone video cams are able to take reasonably focused films these days.
Then there is the video, which doesn't show the 'mammoth' entering or leaving the freezing river (a real mammoth wouldn't be hanging about in the water, whereas a fishing bear would). Also, the animal seems to wade strangely, so it could just be a partially or wholly a cgi construct .... its easy enough to do with home software these days.
But finally, there is the man who is associated with the story, one Michael Cohen who is a 'Paranormal writer' ... he has previously reported on or been associated with other such video scoops as UFOs and other phenomena, that are equally 'interesting' (see link).
Now I don't know about you, but UFOs don't appear too often round my way, but they positively swarm in the sky's over Mr Cohen's head, so maybe its not strange that the Mammoths are drawn into his world as well. I am strangely jealous that his world is so full of phenomena that mine lacks ..... so I have created my own mammoth and added it to the picture, mainly just to illustrate how quickly these can be created .... admittedly its not great, but then I only spent 20 minutes and I could do better in an hour or so. Also I didn't have the exact angle head shot to get the same effect, but even so its not much different from the 'real' one.
And as I am not a meanie, I have shown how it was done below .... well a quick version.
You can see the video here on the site link.
by visiting No PC Views (http://no-pc.blogspot.co.uk/)
Then there is the video, which doesn't show the 'mammoth' entering or leaving the freezing river (a real mammoth wouldn't be hanging about in the water, whereas a fishing bear would). Also, the animal seems to wade strangely, so it could just be a partially or wholly a cgi construct .... its easy enough to do with home software these days.
But finally, there is the man who is associated with the story, one Michael Cohen who is a 'Paranormal writer' ... he has previously reported on or been associated with other such video scoops as UFOs and other phenomena, that are equally 'interesting' (see link).
Now I don't know about you, but UFOs don't appear too often round my way, but they positively swarm in the sky's over Mr Cohen's head, so maybe its not strange that the Mammoths are drawn into his world as well. I am strangely jealous that his world is so full of phenomena that mine lacks ..... so I have created my own mammoth and added it to the picture, mainly just to illustrate how quickly these can be created .... admittedly its not great, but then I only spent 20 minutes and I could do better in an hour or so. Also I didn't have the exact angle head shot to get the same effect, but even so its not much different from the 'real' one.
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| Two Mammoths Siberia |
And as I am not a meanie, I have shown how it was done below .... well a quick version.
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| Faking A Photograph |
You can see the video here on the site link.
by visiting No PC Views (http://no-pc.blogspot.co.uk/)
The hoax has been exposed or admitted.
ReplyDeleteMammoth Hoax
Still, interesting post and illustration of faking a picture.
A belated thanks for your comment ..... faked photos are now the bane of publishers lives, as they are so easy to make.
ReplyDelete