All in the Film: Realistic UFO Footage?

For years, pictures of UFO's, or Unidentified Flying Objects, have been appearing everywhere, from magazines to tabloids, on the evening news and on the street, in books and in newspapers. UFO's apparently come in all shapes and sizes, in the same manner that the people who take such pictures come in all forms of truths, real or stretched to it's sane limits.

Indeed, there are as many genuine UFO footages and pictures as there are hoaxes, and determining which one is which can be confusing and complicated. This is because figuring out the veracity of a UFO claim involves not only the footage or picture, but eyewitness accounts, and radar and spectrometer data as well.

How do you know that the UFO footage you are looking at is real – or, at best, realistic? Here are the signs that the UFO footage you are looking at is really a UFO in action, and not a child playing with a toy spaceship:

• UFO's fly fast – Not only do UFO's travel at lightning (or faster) speed, they do so without breaking the sound barrier. UFO sounds are often high pitched, or soft; their flight does not result in the deep bass of the sonic boom characteristic of human-made missiles or aircraft.

• UFO's change direction quickly – UFO flight is often erratic and fast, so that the UFO appears weightless. This can also be achieved, however, by swinging a plastic spaceship in a thousand directions at once.

• UFO's appear at any time – If UFO's appear during the day, they still emit their own light, and have a distinct sheen. This, again, can be duplicated by special equipment – but if the appearance of the UFO is joined by eyewitness accounts, and is picked up by radar, then the footage will most likely be real.

• UFO's break down electronic equipment – Did other eyewitnesses report seeing what was on the footage? Did they report cars breaking down, power fluctuating or completely blacking out, radios and TV's crackling, and magnetic compasses deflected? If all these happened, then the UFO may be more than just a swinging play toy.

• UFO's leave damage trails – UFO visits often leave cattle mutilated, or humans suffering from apparent radioactive poisoning.

Although it is difficult for an amateur to judge the veracity of UFO footage, the fascination of human beings for purported extraterrestrial visits remains the same. The lesson, simply, is to look at all the evidence before getting too excited. After all, the footage may simply be an elaborate hoax designed to get people interested in a backwater town hoping to make a few more friends.