Description

After writing this comic (https://comics.phillyharper.com/) about the Palomar Lights (Beatrize Villaroel and the transient sattelites), I decided to experiment with video reconstructions. The famous British case of Jessie Rosenberg from 1954 came to mind because I've always been fascinated by her descriptions. So I got started.

I spent most of the time trying to get the craft looking how she described, and then focusing on trying to recreate the weirdness of the moment. Honestly, I'm not super happy with it, but then again I rarely am happy with anything I make. I think it has shown that putting together reconstructions is a very involved task - trying to place people in the right place, at the right time, looking in the right direction, is quite a bit of work.

I spent enough time on it that I think it's worth sharing, but the truth is, by the time I'd got up and running with the project I questioned the whole approach. I'd like to try a 'photoreal' style in a kind of 90s "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" style. In the UK that was called "Strange but True" and it was truly a great show! I think that could work very well here, and clearly AI would be of great use in bringing these cases to life.

For now, I'll consider this *exact* project parked, but I may return to other cases if the appetite is there. If you like this, give me a follow on substack (thedigger.co) and follow me on twitter (@phillyharper (https://x.com/phillyharper))