On March 30th, The Rundown author Rowan Cheung stabilized famed bigfoot footage using AI and posted it to Twitter. The Patterson-Gimlin video, the result of Cheung’s artificial intelligence, has since gone viral.
Cheung says:
“Experts used AI and computer vision to stabilize viral footage of the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Film from 1967,”
On October 20th, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin captured footage of something unusual near Bluff Creek in Northern California’s Six Rivers National Forest. This event has since become known as the iconic and infamous Bigfoot sighting.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) marks the first time of its kind in an attempt to take software like Adobe After Effects, which video experts have used for over a decade to stabilize footage, and apply it.
The Patterson-Gimlin footage has once again been revamped, causing people to express their views on its legitimacy and take up either the role of a believer or a debunker.
While some believe the creature in the footage to be a genuine bigfoot, others insist it is simply someone wearing a suit. Regardless, both sides view the same clip and come to separate conclusions.
In the decades since its release, the debate concerning the film has remained virtually unchanged. Little has altered in terms of discourse on this particular subject.
For over half a century, the film depicting the ‘bigfoot’ creature has been controversial in cryptozoological discussions. Famous cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans doubts it was more than a person wearing a suit.
Heuvelmans was unconvinced of the creature’s primate character due to inconsistencies in its hair-flow pattern, breast hair, and buttocks structure. He also felt that its reaction towards Patterson and Gimlin’s presence seemed too tranquil.
Esteban Sarmiento, a specialist in physical anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, had a positive view on the matter, as contrasted with other experts. He thinks favorably of the situation.
Esteban Sarmiento says:
“I did find some inconsistencies in appearance and behavior that might suggest a fake … but nothing that conclusively shows that this is the case,”
Patterson and Gimlin screened the film for Dale Sheets, head of the Documentary Film Department at Universal Studios, showing it to several technicians as well. After careful consideration by the studio personnel, they concluded that creating a suit replicating the creature in the film would be costly and difficult to produce.
Ken Peterson, an executive from Disney, expressed a comparable thought after viewing the film and mentioned that creating something even close to the movie would be beyond the production capabilities of Disney.
The film remains unexplained, prompting intrigue among several experts who have examined the evidence. The claims that it was a person in a suit have since been disproved, meaning there is approximately the same number of detractors as those who find the footage captivating.
Both Patterson (now deceased) and Gimlin have always stood by the authenticity of their film. If one has had some inexplicable experience, one can contact the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.
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The AI-powered stabilization of patterns in Patterson’s technique is a promising development in artificial intelligence. With continued research and development, this technology could revolutionize numerous industries, improving our understanding of the world and advancing human progress.
Source: The Singular Fortean Society
