Debunked: Chemtrails "Inserted" into Films [Footage reused in modern advertisement]

[Hama Neggs]

There is a claim circulating that chemtrails are being inserted into visual media in order to make the public become accustomed to seeing them. Here are a couple of versions of a vid being cited as proof of this, looking at a 2005 ad for Virgin Trains that uses from footage from the 1970 film The Railway Children



Firstly the cover frame used in the video above IS actually a fake, but one done by the video maker, and it's not in the original Virgin ad:

The actual shot with the contrail just has a single trail in the upper left.

Note in the above that modern building have also been added to the background. This is not simply the addition of a contrail. Slide the center divider below to compare the version from the ad with the original shot in the 1970 film:

[compare]

[/compare]

The full commercial can be see here:


Why is there a contrail? The ad company says it was intended to juxtapose old and modern themes. In particular the contrails were intended to prompt the comparison of rail travel with air travel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4640947.stm

THE PRODUCT: Virgin Trains

THE BRIEF: Make people forget how grim train travel has often been in recent years. Instead, inspire them with a bit of good old-fashioned romance.

WHAT'S GOING ON: As one of Virgin's new Pendolino trains powers through the English countryside, the Railway Children race down to the fence to see the "big dragon tearing by".

On board, modern day "customers" mingle with living, breathing icons of the golden age of the train.

Margaret Lockwood and May Witty order a pot of tea, asking the waiter to make sure the water's boiling. Cary Grant tries to chat up Eva Marie Saint. And (rather strangely, since the train has already been racing through the fields) Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon hobble down a Euston platform in high heels and make it on to the train just in time.

The advert - a full minute long - reaches its climax (to the kind of orchestral soundtrack one might expect from a Hollywood epic) with Cary Grant declaring: "Beats flying, doesn't it."

A strange message, perhaps, to come from the House of Branson. But the atmosphere created by this advert is so seductive that the experience of post-Hatfield speed restrictions, delays and overcrowding, seems a world away. By linking the train experience with flying, it's almost as if the most realistic alternative to rail (driving) is not even considered.

"The whole brief was to reinvent the romance and passion of train travel," says Helen Kimber of ad agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, which created the advert.

The use of the contrail was noted back in 2006:
http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/virgin-trains-return-of-the-train/

Virgin promotes Return of the Train
DUNCAN MACLEOD SEPTEMBER 23, 2006

Virgin Trains, one of Britain's leading train companies, made a drive in 2005 to win new passengers to travel by train, with a campaign featuring film stars from six movies. The campaign, launched in June 2005, shows present-day passengers the latest mod cons while mingling with the fictional characters from the past, in both colour and black and white.

The 60 second television commercial opens with the Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter Waterbury, characters in the 1970 film, The Railway Children, running through fields to watch the Pendolino tilt train race past. To reinforce the 21st century feel a jet stream is placed in the sky behind them as they sit on the fence.

http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=296&Itemid=50

Update! 19 July 2010
Phil Morris tried to contact the people who made the commercial and he received this response from someone associated with the makers of the Commercial::

From: xxx
Sent: 19 July 2010 09:53
To: PHIL Morris;yyy; ad.johnson@ntlworld.com
Subject: RE: The Railway Children, Virgin Trains and Chemtrails

Hi Phil

The chemtrails were indeed 'on-purpose' in our Virgin Trains 'Return of the Train' ad.

If you look closely in the background you can also see a block of modern flats on the horizon. This juxtaposition of old and new aims to highlight the new beginnings of the modern Virgin Train.

In 2004, Virgin Trains began to roll out their new fleet of new trains, the Pendolino, to the West Coast line. It was deemed to be time to address their ultimate ambition – to become the nation's transport provider of choice. We wanted to encourage consumers to make an active, positive choice to take the train rather than driving or opting to fly – and to keep doing so over time.

So, as you can see, the chemtrails were used as a tool, although subtle, to address the above.

Many thanks

Unfortunately he repeats the use of the word "chemtrails" to describe contrails, as he's not at all familiar with the topic.

The commercial uses a variety of old film footage combined with a modern setting. Here's the children looking at a modern electric train:

And here's Cary Grant inside the modern train:

Later we see composite with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon from the 1959 film "Some like it Hot"

And several other old film.

It's very clear this is not intended to be taken as being real. It's old film footage very obvious contrasted with modern footage.

If you are going to use this as evidence for "chemtrails" then you might as well also use it as evidence for ghosts.

But what gets missed here is that there actually is a contrail in the original scene. Just as the children are running up to the fence, there is this shot:

With a quite distinct contrail in the upper left.

And again, 25 min in.

Although this is possibly the edge of a bank of cloud.

Quite possibly also here:

[Additional material added to this post by @Mick West]

 

[Hama Neggs]

There is also a claim circulating that the trails seen in "SPARTACUS" were inserted- their reasoning being that the film company couldn't have been stupid enough to let them show in a period film. Not sure what year they claim the insertion was done,, but they cite a movie poster showing the trails as some sort of weak proof they were inserted into the film.

 

[Pete Tar]

Did he mean to say chemtrail or contrail? He seems to be making a point about pollution or plane versus train. Maybe he fell for the hoax?

 

[Hama Neggs]

Did he mean to say chemtrail or contrail? He seems to be making a point about pollution or plane versus train. Maybe he fell for the hoax?

Good question. I wondered about that too. He may not know the proper terminology. He may have just been replying in the language of the questioner. We don't get to see a copy of the email with the question(s).

 

[Mick West]

Good question. I wondered about that too. He may not know the proper terminology. He may have just been replying in the language of the questioner. We don't get to see a copy of the email with the question(s).

I think almost certainly he simply used the term "chemtrail" because he thought that was the word for contrails, because that's what the questioner used.

 

[JRBids]

There is also a claim circulating that the trails seen in "SPARTACUS" were inserted- their reasoning being that the film company couldn't have been stupid enough to let them show in a period film. Not sure what year they claim the insertion was done,, but they cite a movie poster showing the trails as some sort of lame proof they were inserted into the film.

Isn't there a famous blooper that one of the extras in Spartacus was wearing a watch? I guess they could have been that stupid.

 

[FreiZeitGeist]

There is also a claim circulating that the trails seen in "SPARTACUS" were inserted- their reasoning being that the film company couldn't have been stupid enough to let them show in a period film. Not sure what year they claim the insertion was done,, but they cite a movie poster showing the trails as some sort of lame proof they were inserted into the film.

In old days it wasn´t uncommon to use normal photographed pictures for advertising, because they had a better quality than a screenshot from the movie.

And the battle-scene (filmed in Spain) was cutted massive after the first preview-screening to a test-audience.

The intimate scenes were filmed in Hollywood, but Kubrick insisted that all battle scenes be filmed on a vast plain outside Madrid. Eight thousand trained soldiers from the Spanish infantry were used to double as the Roman army. Kubrick directed the armies from the top of specially constructed towers. However, he eventually had to cut all but one of the gory battle scenes, due to negative audience reactions at preview screenings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_(film)

Here is an detailed article about what was filmed and what was cut:
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0103.html

 

[Mick West]

Dupe from the archive:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/pre-1995-persistent-contrail-archive.487/page-2#post-12090

Some more Spartacus production photos from 1959. The large battle scenes were filmed near Madrid in Spain, but some outdoor scenes were filmed in Thousand Oaks, near Los Angeles, California.

http://life.time.com/culture/rare-never-seen-spartacus-at-50/?iid=lb-gal-viewagn#1

The following is sometimes presented as a scene from Spartacus (above), however I think it's also a production photo, as this shot does not seem to appear in the film (the scene and setting does - it's just before the famous "I'm Spartacus" bit, but there's no shot like this). It also seems to have been contrast enhanced.

Looking at a poor copy of the film, I was unable to see any contrails in it at all. Perhaps they were removed in later versions.

The actual scene appears to have been shot in-studio, with a stormy painted sky.

Aha, found a contrail in the actual film. During "I'm Spartacus" scene

 

[Cairenn]

I believe that there were power lines that showed up in the 'Alamo' movie.

 

[Hama Neggs]

Isn't there a famous blooper that one of the extras in Spartacus was wearing a watch? I guess they could have been that stupid.

The guy is now claiming that the original SPARTACUS didn't have trails, but admits he has never seen a version without them. He is just believing somebody else who told him that. What a surprise!

 

[JRBids]

The guy is now claiming that the original SPARTACUS didn't have trails, but admits he has never seen a version without them. He is just believing somebody else who told him that. What a surprise!

They're apparently sneaked into every place that had a copy of the movie and replaced it with their own version.

 

[cloudspotter]

Isn't there a famous blooper that one of the extras in Spartacus was wearing a watch? I guess they could have been that stupid.

There's a scene in Labyrinth where you can see a boom mic coming in from the top of the screen

 

[Jay Reynolds]

Amazing. When confronted with evidence that contradicts their claims about persistent contrails being documented in print, photos and film, they move the goalposts.


I just heard Dane Wigington state that persistent contrails were deliberately inserted into films in the 1960's so that people would be conditioned to them. I kid you not, he said that and no one questioned it.
Here at 45 minutes in:
http://www.ucy.tv/streams/64k/20131026-15-64k.mp3

 

[JRBids]

Amazing. When confronted with evidence that contradicts their claims about persistent contrails being documented in print, photos and film, they move the goalposts.


I just heard Dane Wigington state that persistent contrails were deliberately inserted into films in the 1960's so that people would be conditioned to them. I kid you not, he said that and no one questioned it.
Here at 45 minutes in:
http://www.ucy.tv/streams/64k/20131026-15-64k.mp3

So IOW before there was this fictional spraying program, "they" inserted them into films so people wouldn't be suprised when they started to see them? LOL!.

 

[Pete Tar]

aarrgh!

 

[Ross Marsden]

Amazing. When confronted with evidence that contradicts their claims about persistent contrails being documented in print, photos and film, they move the goalposts.

I just heard Dane Wigington state that persistent contrails were deliberately inserted into films in the 1960's so that people would be conditioned to them. I kid you not, he said that and no one questioned it.
Here at 45 minutes in:
http://www.ucy.tv/streams/64k/20131026-15-64k.mp3

Dane says (paraphrased):

There were big box-office films of the 60s that did have spraying in the background.
They knew they would want to condition people so they could continue with these programs.
There was a spraying program on quite a large scale in the sixties - we know that from the document we found on the NASA archives.
They made it a point to be in the skies over big box-office movies.
These people planned for decades and decades for whatever they were doing.

This is prompted by Russ Tanner mentioning that a scene from a children's movie ("The Railway Children" although he does not identify it) was used in a commercial. The background was altered to include a contrail. See the first post in this thread.

 

[Leifer]

Occasional contrails in 1960's era films, seems to be about the same amount found in private family photo albums.
Trails are likely seen less in films, as the film/camera crew was likely "on watch" for continuity reasons.
When a large and expensive scene is about to be filmed, often continuity is set aside, in favor of completing the shot -- expeditiously. ......as each minute of "let's wait until the sky trail passes"......is painfully expensive.
.....so it is filmed with the problematic elements included in the shot.

 

[WeedWhacker]

Occasional contrails in 1960's era films, is the about the same amount found in private family photo albums.
....maybe seen less in films, as the film/camera crew was likely "on watch" for continuity reasons.
When a large and expensive scene is about to be filmed, often continuity is set aside, in favor of completing the shot -- expeditiously. ......as each minute of "let's wait until the sky trail passes"......is painfully expensive.
.....so it is filmed with the problematic elements included in the shot.

I "almost" edited down that post above, then as I re-read I realized that it was entirely true.

The economics of (especially "Low Budget") film productions means that shots with anachronistic items, such as contrails (in a period film set in the 19th century, for example) are not "worried" about....the general sense ON SET is that the footage can be cut ("Edited" is the term most people know) in such a way....using the MANY shots for every scene...."One-Shots", "Two-Shots", "Establishing Shots" (etc) that the final result to be screened will result in only a FEW frames of the offending contrails. MOST people wouldn't even notice such anachronisms, in a final film cut and theatrical release.

Wish to add something about how a movie production company can "work around" problems. Certainly CONTRAILS in the sky can may make a director or producer want to pull her his/her hair out, in a period piece....but, so can the mechanical "SFX" when they go wrong.

Surely, by now, EVERYONE knows the story of "Bruce"? The mechanical 'shark' from Speilberg's movie "JAWS"???

"Bruce" rarely worked properly. It was by clever editing, and LOTS of wasted film shot on-set (cut down to the final version) that the film was a success.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/3110...functioning-sharks-transformed-movie-business

 

[Leifer]

Take for example that Spartacus scene.....if nearly 100 "extra" type actors are laying down, waiting to be filmed......
Certainly......no Director or Producer is willing to wait for those contrails to clear the scene.......it's too expensive to wait.
In present-day films.....the trails would likely be edited out.......not so easy in the '60s.

 

[WeedWhacker]

Take for example that Spartacus scene.....nearly 100 "extra" type actors are laying down, waiting to be filmed.
Certainly......no Director or Producer is willing to wait for those contrails to clear the scene.......too expensive to wait.

Yes....that still photo made me laugh, but for VERY different reasons. Related to the nonsense about the "C" rock on the Moon.

I won't even link the nonsense, here.....not worth it. BUT!! Maybe that movie, and the set-up with the extras, is where the ridiculous Moon "Landing Hoax" idea was first concocted(??). Hmmm....nice to know.

However, that is another topic. Contrails captured IN the still photo (likely used for continuity purposes, because EVERY major shoot set has a "Continuity Person") is the point. Of course, "continuity photos" aren't part of the actual film....

SPEAKING of "continuity" in films......oh, I could rant....but sadly, would be too OT.....(one small rant? "coffee" in paper cups....like "StarBucks" cups....that are OBVIOUSLY empty??"....an actor hands a "Brand New" cup to another actor, and the second actor takes a DEEP, long drink??? Have you EVER had hot coffee from a coffee barista?!?) "Nuff said!!!!

OH....and.....(sorry)....Two-shots when the wine glasses keep changing quantity, from edit-to-edit....OK....done.....(sorry).