[Drumroll intro]
Greetings children, it's me: Captain Disillusion.
I've been slacking off lately, taking on easy challenges like commercial viral videos or
reptilians.
But enough is enough. Tonight, I'm upping my game.
I'm going to deconstruct one of the most requested videos ever. I'm talking about the mystery known as
the pantry ghost.
In this series of videos, a homeowner documents his
encounters with a ghostly apparition of a young girl in his kitchen pantry.
One of the videos even features an alleged skeptic -
[John] Hi, I'm John
- Who is invited to the house to witness the ghost for himself
with disturbing consequences.
[John] Oh my god
The video seemed direct, understated and realistic
That is - until now.
[Glass shatters]
Buckle up and get ready for a debunking of the decade!
First there's the door opening by itself
which, in such a dark shot can be accomplished any number of ways.
Using a string for instance.
Then for the apparition itself, the old compositing tricks come in
Here the camera is locked off. So it's a simple matter of
superimposing a photoshopped image
Whereas here, it's a complicated camera move...
Um...
Granted this may have involved some
3d motion tracking, but if we bump up the levels in the image, we can... easily see...
signs of ..... compositing....
Let's see...
Um...
Okay, I may have to analyze these videos a bit closer, but I mean that doesn't mean that...
It's... look ghosts aren't real this I know.
And the way that these - these fake
hoax videos were done.... is
Uh...
...Is...
*How?*
*A ghost? A real Ghost... You're wrong!*
[Distorted, overlapping voices]
*What if its real?*
*How can you know for sure?*
*There is no ghost...*
[Screams in frustration]
[Gasp]
[Eerie music]
Captain Disillusion, I presume.
Charles Darwin!
Well [laughs] not exactly. I am James Randi
and this is the Isaac Asimov library of the James Randi Educational Foundation
Wow
What am I doing here?
We've had our eye on you for quite some time now, young man.
A self-appointed hero defending cyberspace against video fakery.
You're making quite a stir!
Not anymore.
I've been beaten. I don't know how these pantry ghost videos were done.
I'm out of the game.
Maybe I can help deal you back in.
You figured out the technique!
Ha! Clever boy.
Lights!
Four videos, all showing the same paranormal events
from a variety of angles and even through handheld shots.
I've combed through all of them. There's no sign of trickery.
Oh, there is if you think outside the digital realm.
Your average video hoaxer is not as likely to employ
advanced visual effects technology
as he is to use the simple resources available in his home.
A secret door!
Precisely, it's not unheard of for pantries to be built with hidden compartments for aesthetic reasons.
This Jeremy put a real girl
into the pantry space
She pressed her face
Against the glass and opened and closed the secret door
which caused the real pantry door to open on its own from air pressure!
You've got it!
Thanks to you. I - I could never...
This would have bugged me for ages.
Well, you know Captain you shouldn't feel alone and your efforts to defend reality.
Today there are countless skeptics all over the world
each encouraging education and rational thinking in their own unique way
Isn't that right?
That's right, Mr. Randy Sir!
You can see Mr. Flare too?
Mr. Who? I was talking to my assistant Sean.
I'd like to give you something.
With this device you can communicate with any skeptic in the world.
So if you get in trouble, just activate it.
Thank you Randy, I'll keep that in mind.
What happens now?
Oh, now you go home.
This isn't the worm hole for home!
I had no idea.
Register for The Amazing Meeting.
Some
Celestial event
No... no words
No words... can describe
It's Vegas