With four "amateur" videos there is a curious pattern. (The fifth zoom-out
found was made by the Naudet brothers.) The camera is
zoomed-in on the WTC. Then the camera zooms out. About a second or two later
UA 175 arrives to strike the South Tower.
Why would four different camera people, with four different perspectives
of a Boeing 767 striking the South tower of the World Trade Center each
zoom-out just before the plane arrives? Making zooms isn't that easy. Even
professional camera operators have lost the subject when trying to zoom-out. Also,
remember that the camera operator was probably under some duress. After all,
the North Tower was burning for the first time ever and this videotape
might make you a millionaire with news agencies.
No one associated with these videos was said to have been a professional. So,
why was a professional technique utilized in four "amateur videos"? An amateur
who is holding on to his or her camera with two hands will be much more likely
to shoot highly unusual action by trying to minimize the risk of losing the
subject. The commercial jet flying low and according to news sources at 500 m.p.h.
is not like shooting the Grandchild walking across a floor on Christmas Day. There
are no second chances here.
Consider how a zoom is accomplished. The operator is normally holding the camera with
two hands, using the stronger hand as the primary one. With the primary
hand occupied an automatic zoom is executed by reaching for a button. A manual
one is done by reaching for the lens. They are harder to execute.
When the zoom begins the amateur will often
zoom the wrong way at the start. Amateurs will also often zoom too far in the
direction it has been going. The subject matter is
also often lost at some point in time during the zoom's action and the
shot often is re-framed on the spot. In short, every one of these zooms
were executed with the operator conscious of the fact that he or she might
lose the subject.
Still, on September 11, four amateurs expertly thought of and implemented
a zoom out just as (or before) UA 175 struck the South tower. These
could-be professional camera operators did so without significant difficulty or correction.
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