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Info & Help Wanted: for a 9/11 News Footage Preservation Project...

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 (Edited)

Many of you may not be aware that uncut newcasts from the day of 9/11 have never been made publicly available. However, some time ago on the internet, I found about 5 hours of ABC news footage from 9/11, starting right before the first attack (some of you may have copies of these files). The video was originally encoded in Realmedia (blech), and later re-encoded to divx. Interestingly, it’s not an amateur recording of the news, but rather, from an original archival copy from a tv station in the midwest (can’t recall exactly where off the top of my head). Anyways, I reencoded the video the DVD-compliant MPEG, while making some color corrections to the video, as it was rather washed out. This I transferred to DVD, and made menus and whatnot for it.

However, there were still a couple issues with the video that I didn’t like, so I’m going to go back and rework the video a bit, and do a new DVD transfer. What I’m wondering is, would anyone be interested in a public release of this (via Demonoid or something like that)?

The other question is, does anybody out there have copies of newcasts from other national networks, from local stations based in NYC, or amateur footage of any of the attacks? If anybody couple provide me with copies of any of the above, I would like to transfer them to DVD and release them in subsequent editions.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I have no interest in venting my opinions on the matter, or using footage of the attacks to create any sort of documentary, opinionated or otherwise. I simply think that any recorded evidence of an event of this magnitude should be made available to the public, so that they can make a more informed opinion. If you’d like to contact me privately, send me a PM, or email me at tweaker (at) gmail.com

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I'd be interested in this. Considering this is one of the largest frauds ever perpetuated against the citizens of this country, I feel it needs to be preserved, so hopefully the truth behind this massive deception can be eventually uncovered.
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I am interested in this also, I have some files I am willing to conbtribute if you need them.
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Do we have any quality files for this? 5 hours on one DVD is crazy.

I'd love the Letterman show from when he got back.

I was stuck in the city most of the day that day and didn't see anything until late in the afternoon when I finally got home. I never experienced any of that "live" on tv. It was real life for me.
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DFNYC--

I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Had to have been a stressful experience, to say the least.

The source video is, unfortunately, 320x240, which I'm converting to DVD-compliant low-res MPEG (352x240). It is, however, fairly clean, and the low resolution has the benefit of being able to fit in all onto one dvd without affecting the quality of the video.

As far as Letterman goes, the only source I've found of that is on Youtube, and the quality is pretty crappy. If anybody has a good recording of it, please let me know.

And DFNYC, do you know anybody that recorded the local newscasts that day, or that filmed any of it with their video camera? If so, please let me know.

suntech--What files do you have?

And to reiterate what I said before, I am not making any sort of political or opinionated documentary out of this stuff. I'm simply presenting it to the viewer, so that they can form their own opinions. That is my sole interest--to make the uninformed, informed.
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Everyone I knew was:

a) out and trying to get home
b) glued to their tv without even thinking to record
c) watching the actual thing from their rooftops

Sorry.
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I have some VHS footage from CNN from about 3:30PM-6:30PM of that day. I came home from school, saw it on the news...and strangely was compelled to record it as it was happening. I have no idea why, i know it sounds kind of weird, i guess i just felt that i should make some kind of record of it.
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BBC news have just reported that actual footage of the plane hitting the pentagon will be released.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4987716.stm

Join the dark side… and get a free cookie!

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Originally posted by: bigrob
BBC news have just reported that actual footage of the plane hitting the pentagon will be released.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4987716.stm



It was already released. it's been available unofficially this whole time.
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Originally posted by: digitalfreaknyc

b) glued to their tv without even thinking to record


The reason I didn't tape it that day. Kinda hard to think when something like that is going on.

zombie84--

Why would that be considered weird? Look at what I'm doing...and you say you have a tape that covers 3:30-6:30...what timezone are you going by? The recording I have covers from about 8:45 to almost 2 o'clock EST (5:45 - 11AM PST). If you're talking EST, that would be cool, as that extend the coverage of that day, without leaving too much of a hole between the two broadcasts (about 1 1/2 hours, 2-3:30 PM). And if you mean PST or one of the timezones in between, that's still cool, as there was still a lot of info coming out that evening.

Any way you could transfer that to some sort of digital video, or if not, copy it and send it to me? I could pay for shipping. Let me know.
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Originally posted by: tweaker
Originally posted by: digitalfreaknyc

b) glued to their tv without even thinking to record


The reason I didn't tape it that day. Kinda hard to think when something like that is going on.

zombie84--

Why would that be considered weird? Look at what I'm doing...and you say you have a tape that covers 3:30-6:30...what timezone are you going by? The recording I have covers from about 8:45 to almost 2 o'clock EST (5:45 - 11AM PST). If you're talking EST, that would be cool, as that extend the coverage of that day, without leaving too much of a hole between the two broadcasts (about 1 1/2 hours, 2-3:30 PM). And if you mean PST or one of the timezones in between, that's still cool, as there was still a lot of info coming out that evening.

Any way you could transfer that to some sort of digital video, or if not, copy it and send it to me? I could pay for shipping. Let me know.


Its EST, luckily for you. Only thing is it jumps channels a few times--so theres some ABC and NBC in there i think, but IIRC its mostly CNN. Its also not continuous--the time period covers roughly 3:30-6:30 i believe but its only about 60-90 minutes of footage.

I was thinking about digitizing it myself so I'll probably do this in a few weeks. I'll send you a copy of it then. Unless you would prefer a VHS copy for you to do it yourself, but i would advise against this (the original copy is EP mode anyway).

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Don't know if I could handle watching most of it, was there myself. But I think this kind of restoration project should be done, and it's great you're doing it. The letterrman show was good, seeing Dan Rather cry was hard to watch.

Blade Runner: The Complete Collection

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Originally posted by: focuspuller
Don't know if I could handle watching most of it, was there myself. But I think this kind of restoration project should be done, and it's great you're doing it.


I've been lucky enough to receive support from several people who were in NYC when it occured. It's something I've worried about, because it seems that many people who were there consider this to be sort of a private matter for them, and anything that violates that privacy is seen as a personal violation. I saw interviews with a couple people that videotaped the attacks from just below the trade towers, and they said that they would never release the video, as it was a traumatic experience, etc etc.

I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been there, but my retort to that sort of thinking is, when its something of this large a scale, it can never be a private experience. The nation as a whole experienced it. To deny that experience to future generations is a huge mistake. Should we have burned the pictures of the internment camps in Germany, because of how horrible they were? Should Abraham Zapruder have let his film rot in a can, because of how traumatic it was for him to see his president die?

Like it or not, it's national and international history, and to hide that away is a mistake. So I really, really appreciate the interest and support. If anyone knows anybody with personal photographs or video of that day, please encourage them to release that stuff. It was a horrible day, but it happened, and that can't be changed. To hide it away in the dark would be a mistake.

Zombie84--It would be great if you could digitize that and send it my way. I've been offering to do transfers myself, but I would much rather have people do it for me. And again, if anybody has better footage in better quality than is available at Youtube, please send it my way. I am fortunate enough to have the first post-9/11 broadcast of the Daily Show, and Jon Stewart gave a hell of a speech at the beginning of that show. I'll definitely be including that in a future DVD.
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I use to have hrs on tape, but my ex-wife, a history teacher took them in the divorce along with 99% of everything We owned.
Don't Make Me Destroy You!
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Originally posted by: zombie84
I have some VHS footage from CNN from about 3:30PM-6:30PM of that day. I came home from school, saw it on the news...and strangely was compelled to record it as it was happening. I have no idea why, i know it sounds kind of weird, i guess i just felt that i should make some kind of record of it.


Weird- that's exactly what I did (with audio cassettes). I got home, heard about the news, turned on the radio, and for some reason felt compelled to fill up several audio cassettes with the NPR broadcasts. I still have them.
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Davis--

If you ever transfer those over to mp3 or something like that, please make those available to others. That sounds really interesting.
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Originally posted by: digitalfreaknyc

I was stuck in the city most of the day that day and didn't see anything until late in the afternoon when I finally got home. I never experienced any of that "live" on tv. It was real life for me.


You and me both, dig. I worked for the Army a few I-395 exits away in Alexandria, Virginia at the time (the Pentagon is in Arlington) and it seemed every federal building in the Washington D.C. area (which is a lot) was evacuated within a half hour after the Pentagon crash. It took hours to get home.

I appreciate you doing this, tweaker. I'd rather see people watching actual footage than a dramatization like United 93. Any effort in that direction deserves support.

De
http://www.retcon.net
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You should check on this board

http://www.aimoo.com/forum/login/login.cfm?id=380603

it is a Sports Tape Trading site but I remember a while back that someone was doing the same thing. There is a member on this board who has archive news footage from almost all the major newsworthy events in TV history. Post on the non-sports trading section, or do a search on 911.
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Originally posted by: tweaker
Originally posted by: focuspuller
Don't know if I could handle watching most of it, was there myself. But I think this kind of restoration project should be done, and it's great you're doing it.



I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been there, but my retort to that sort of thinking is, when its something of this large a scale, it can never be a private experience. The nation as a whole experienced it. To deny that experience to future generations is a huge mistake. Should we have burned the pictures of the internment camps in Germany, because of how horrible they were? Should Abraham Zapruder have let his film rot in a can, because of how traumatic it was for him to see his president die?

Like it or not, it's national and international history, and to hide that away is a mistake. So I really, really appreciate the interest and support. If anyone knows anybody with personal photographs or video of that day, please encourage them to release that stuff. It was a horrible day, but it happened, and that can't be changed. To hide it away in the dark would be a mistake.

Zombie84--It would be great if you could digitize that and send it my way. I've been offering to do transfers myself, but I would much rather have people do it for me. And again, if anybody has better footage in better quality than is available at Youtube, please send it my way. I am fortunate enough to have the first post-9/11 broadcast of the Daily Show, and Jon Stewart gave a hell of a speech at the beginning of that show. I'll definitely be including that in a future DVD.


I see what you're saying but I agree a bit and also strongly disagree. As someone that was there, it's not the same as news footage with a news logo slapped on. And even if something is shared, like the invasion of normandy for example, for those that were there, it IS a private and traumatic experience. So I think that with this kind of thing there is a grey area of understanding. Yes people should learn what they can about a moment of history, history is and always will be important. But talk to wives, husbands, sons and daughters who have lost, talk to them about sharing, tell them not to "hide away", it's not so simple and one should tred carefully. With respect I think to assign the term "hide away" is short sighted IF referring to people that don't want to deal with what happened.

Blade Runner: The Complete Collection

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You're right about it being an immensely traumatic experience--again, I can't imagine what it was like, but I've seen many people who lived through 9/11 (and also the invasion of Normandy, in the case of Saving Private Ryan) say that they couldn't handle watching footage of it, simply because it was an experience that was incredibly traumatic and horrifying. To be there when something like that happens...that would definitely change you. Those sorts of emotions are incredibly delicate, and that's why I mentioned above that I was so gratified that several people that had gone through it were actually interested in seeing this little project--it actually caught me by surprise.

As far as the use of the phrase "hide away," I was specifically referring to hiding away the evidence of what happened (i.e. video, etc). I have a feeling that many people have tapes of national or local newcasts of what happened, but don't want to make themselves known because they feel odd about it (see Zombie84's post for an example of this), maybe ghoulish in some way, or they think that that footage should just be allowed to fade away. I just don't think that should be the case, but I'm trying very hard to be respectful to people that lived through 9/11. In fact, if you look at the thread I have about this in the Myspleen forums, somebody (apparently joking) said that their mother died in 9/11, how dare I do this, etc, and I pretty much went into full retreat, until they admitted the joke.

So please be aware that I have nothing but sympathy for the people who were in NYC on that day, or who lost family/friends in the attacks.
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Originally posted by: tweaker
You're right about it being an immensely traumatic experience--again, I can't imagine what it was like, but I've seen many people who lived through 9/11 (and also the invasion of Normandy, in the case of Saving Private Ryan) say that they couldn't handle watching footage of it, simply because it was an experience that was incredibly traumatic and horrifying. To be there when something like that happens...that would definitely change you. Those sorts of emotions are incredibly delicate, and that's why I mentioned above that I was so gratified that several people that had gone through it were actually interested in seeing this little project--it actually caught me by surprise.

As far as the use of the phrase "hide away," I was specifically referring to hiding away the evidence of what happened (i.e. video, etc). I have a feeling that many people have tapes of national or local newcasts of what happened, but don't want to make themselves known because they feel odd about it (see Zombie84's post for an example of this), maybe ghoulish in some way, or they think that that footage should just be allowed to fade away. I just don't think that should be the case, but I'm trying very hard to be respectful to people that lived through 9/11. In fact, if you look at the thread I have about this in the Myspleen forums, somebody (apparently joking) said that their mother died in 9/11, how dare I do this, etc, and I pretty much went into full retreat, until they admitted the joke.

So please be aware that I have nothing but sympathy for the people who were in NYC on that day, or who lost family/friends in the attacks.


I beg your pardon if I sounded harsh.

On the point of hiding away evidence and such I could not agree with you more. And again I think it's important that you and hopefully others put together a project such as this.

Blade Runner: The Complete Collection

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No harm done. I like to always have reminders that there are a lot of folks walking around that were directly affected by that day. If I forget that, I become detached from what I'm doing, and that can lead to a lot of hurt feelings or angry folks. Thanks for making me take a moment and think about things a bit.
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well its really about closeness. We can talk about the Inquisitions and such, which were more horrifying than anything committed that day in september, because we are not very emotionally connected to it. We dont know wifes who lost their husbands to the inquisitions and such. This is why the Holocaust used to be extremely sensitive, almost taboo, but has becoming increasingly comfortable discussing in society. September 11, being relatively fresh, it is no surprise that there are some who are still too emotionally scarred to confront such things so directly. For those who can however, this is a great project.
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Originally posted by: zombie84
well its really about closeness. We can talk about the Inquisitions and such, which were more horrifying than anything committed that day in september, because we are not very emotionally connected to it. We dont know wifes who lost their husbands to the inquisitions and such. This is why the Holocaust used to be extremely sensitive, almost taboo, but has becoming increasingly comfortable discussing in society. September 11, being relatively fresh, it is no surprise that there are some who are still too emotionally scarred to confront such things so directly. For those who can however, this is a great project.


Well said.

I try not to be one of those people that says "it's too soon". Yet it's how recent it was that most effects us all.

Blade Runner: The Complete Collection