Reflection or Tictac? Reddit post

[HandyGringo]

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1arhfsh/i_think_i_accidentally_filmed_a_tic_tac/
(White tictac-shaped object in the top left)

This post has 0 upvotes, which gives me hope, but it also has over 200 comments, some very passionate people claiming there's no way it's a reflection.

I'm personally pretty convinced it's a reflection. Would anyone want to weigh in?

1) The movement of the 'object' aligns with him panning the camera and the water on the window.

2) There's a clicking sound before the 'object' disappears and there's a clicking sound before it reappears.

I think that it's someone behind him turning off and on a light in the ceiling, or perhaps someone walking between the light and the window, blocking it for a few seconds

I attached the video from the thread.

 

[Mendel]

Is it a "I only saw this when I reviewed the footage at home" scenarios? Or did they spot it at the time?

 

[HandyGringo]

Is it a "I only saw this when I reviewed the footage at home" scenarios? Or did they spot it at the time?

Seems like he was going through old footage and noticed it, yes.

 

[Mendel]

Seems like he was going through old footage and noticed it, yes.

That's usually a good indicator that the thing wasn't actually there to see at the time, or that it was so mundane in context (like a reflection) that it escaped attention.

 

[Calter]

This post has 0 upvotes, which gives me hope

I wouldn't look too deep into that, sometimes Reddit does wonky stuff with upvotes and downvotes and it shows numbers that are wrong.

I agree that this is some sort of light reflection, based on how it instantly disappears I'd say it's more likely the light source went off and on rather than it being covered by something.

Is it a "I only saw this when I reviewed the footage at home" scenarios? Or did they spot it at the time?

It's a "I only saw this when I reviewed the footage at home", to quote OP from the Reddit post.

I was deleting old vids from my phone just now and I saw this short clip from a ferry trip I made in sept '22, from Rome to Barcelona. It was kind of stormy weather with a rough sea so I filmed the sea from inside, through the window as can be seen. I was ready to delete it but then I saw the white object hovering in the sky in the distance, it doesn't seem to be a smudge on the window, and also it just disappears near the end and shows up again at a higher position just before I stopped filming. I have never noticed it before, in fact I don't think I ever looked at the video before today.

The object seems pretty static to me, with any movement it shows being explainable by OP moving the camera.
Here's a stabilized version I found on the comment section of the reddit post.
Source: https://imgur.com/a/6siHYkK

 

[FatPhil]

The object seems pretty static to me, with any movement it shows being explainable by OP moving the camera.
Here's a stabilized version I found on the comment section of the reddit post.
Source: https://imgur.com/a/6siHYkK

It moves in the same way the grot on the window moves - I'm wondering if stabilising it on the grot might give more insights? I can't quite picture where over the shoulder the light would have to be such that this is a reflection thereof. It doesn't need to be a ceiling light, it could just be a phone in someone's hands.

 

[JMartJr]

There seems to be some parallax going on between the spray/rain on the window and the UFO. That would be consistent with a reflection or something outside. I wonder if they've captured a distant plane.

 

[HandyGringo]

There seems to be some parallax going on between the spray/rain on the window and the UFO. That would be consistent with a reflection or something outside. I wonder if they've captured a distant plane.

The only thing that makes me doubt that, is that it disappears for a second and then reappears. Seems more in line with someone blocking the light for a second perhaps.

 

[JackTReason]

I side with the reflection side of things.
After watching the video run through a few times, I used the scroll tab to move it back and forth from when it disappeared to reappeared, and it seems like the movement of the camera (as well as ship) caused the light to be blocked my some structural element of the ship, and that the light is inside the cabin of the ship. Perhaps a shelf or the frame of the window blocked the view. If you toggle back and forth and project the path of travel, you can see it seems to move up and out of sight, and then return from above. This is consistent with camera and ship movement with the reflection of a fixed light inside the cabin.

 

[Calter]

I can't quite picture where over the shoulder the light would have to be such that this is a reflection thereof. It doesn't need to be a ceiling light, it could just be a phone in someone's hands.

The video doesn't seem to be shot perpendicular to the window, so the light source doesn't need to come from behind the person.
Something like this quick paint adaptation is how I picture it happening

 

[FatPhil]

The video doesn't seem to be shot perpendicular to the window, so the light source doesn't need to come from behind the person.
Something like this quick paint adaptation is how I picture it happening View attachment 66049

Yup, I agree with the to-the-side bit, it's the height that bothers me. The closer it is, the lower it is, but we have no depth cues. Boat cabins are small, boat public areas can be large, so is it near and low, perhaps hand-held, or far and high, like a ceiling light.

 

[JMartJr]

I did a quick Google search for "Rome to Barcelona Ferry." Ships like this one from Grimaldi Lines appears to be the only ones that come up, certainly Grimaldi is the major ferry line, at least. So provisionally, I'm assuming the video was shot from this ship or a sister ship.

Pictures that I can find of interior public space with adjacent windows shows a LOT of lights, perhaps too many, to the extent that you'd expect to see more reflections:

However, looks like there are cabins as well (it's a BIG ferry!)

That looks pretty promising if one wanted to recreate the UFO by using a window reflection of an interior light, with a single recessed light that would look like a tic tac seen on edge while looking out the window.

 

[ideamug]

Seems like it moves upwards off screen. Is it possible to slow down the frames and see if it disappears instantly or actually moves?

 

[Slow Joe]

If I hear one more Joe Rogan show arguing that the tic tac video was an advanced drone I am gonna lose my mind.
Why is so hard to contemplate the possibility that the pilots make observational mistakes?
It's so obvious to me that it is a balloon flying with the wind in a straight line and that a parallax effect makes it look like is flying fast.

 

[JMartJr]

It's so obvious to me that it is a balloon flying with the wind in a straight line and that a parallax effect makes it look like is flying fast.

Are you talking about the "Go Fast" video from the original leaked Navy videos? If so, I agree, or maybe it was a large bird, but yeah, parallax is pretty provably accounting for the apparent speed -- but it's not the incident being discussed here. There's no illusion of great speed in this one that I can see! ^_^