Hypothetical: What Doco Would You Film?

[Riksta]

This one's come about due to my addiction to engineering-type documentaries lately.

The Situation:
You are armed with a camera crew to film a documentary of any important historical event or disaster. You have a helicopter which can travel through time, to go back to any time and film something from times gone by.

Now, the helicopter is cloaked in some sort of mystical cloaking device - nobody in history will see it, will not be able to interact with it, and you are basically invisible and "not there" to anyone should you get out to do any filming. You are NOT able to change history at all, you are a "historical journalist" basically there to film the events for a documentary. No matter what you do, history will not be changed, we will now just have footage of the event. You are an observer - and there to find out exactly how things were done or what happened.

You CAN go back to events which have been captured on film, to get better footage, or a vantage point which was never able to be captured at the time.

Personally, off the top of my head, I would go back and film:
- The building of the pyramids
- The sinking of the Titanic
- The Wright Brothers' first flight

So what would you choose to go and film?

[Geez Louise]

That's a good question Riksta. So many historical events that have left so many questions.

Mine would probably be, the shooting of JFK...and be at a spot where you could see who actually fired the shot!

But if history couldn't be changed...well there isn't much point...or are you saying, you can not alter at the time, an event in history??

Cheers
Col

[Geez Louise]

Thinking more about your hypothetical, if you could film anyone...I would film Jesus.

Think of how many questions that would answer.

[Riksta]

That's correct Col, you can't change history at the time. So in filming JFK, you wouldn't be able to stop him being shot, he would still die that day, and everything that happened after that day would advance as normal.

However, if you were to film it and clearly be able to see who did it, when footage is bought back to current time and aired, the answer to the question would then of course become public knowledge. So the police at the time would not then be able to go and arrest the "real" killer instead of Lee Harvey Oswald. The footage would be bought back to the current time, while you are gone time would advance real time here and if you were gone for 24 hours, you would return 24 hours after you left.

The time of Jesus would definitely be interesting.

Another one I came up with a moment ago is the extinction of the dinosaurs. And Hindenberg.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

Thinking more about your hypothetical, if you could film anyone...I would film Jesus.

Think of how many questions that would answer.

It may just cause the greatest conflict since........well ever......

My theory on why time travel will never be available.

Every time it is invented an agent from "insert religion here" will come back and stop it because some truths are just too inconvenient.

But mine would be a time lapse for the next 1000 years to show the truth of "climate change".

[Riksta]

Due to forum T's & C's I think we should end the topic of the religion on that point before we get locked ;)

Interesting an idea of the climate change time lapse.

I would just like to insert an adendum to my first post as well:
You cannot die while filming this historical event. The split second before you die, both yourself and your equipment (including the footage you shot) are instantly transported forward to the relevant time for you to arrive back (ie if you'd been gone 2.5 hours, you'd land 2.5 hours after you left).

Imagine 9/11 footage filmed from inside WTC with the plane coming right for you. Or footage filmed from the stern of the Titanic just before it disappears under the ocean surface.

[FreddyDUZ747]

Great thread Rick.

Harrold Holts dissaperence.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Find out what really crashed in Roswell.

See how the pyramids were built.

Any of the many miracles that appear in the Bible.

The Tunguska event.

[Resurrection]

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

[Psi-Pop]

-Battle of Britain, Just to be able to see Spitfires flown in anger, I know we have footage and know what happened but it would be nice to have some footage shot in HD.

-Chernobyl, I just find it fascinating and I think it would be interesting to find out more than what was told at the time.

[SM1DY]

I'd go and film the actually events of Frodo's quest to Mordor. I think Peter Jackson glorified inter-species relations far to much and that took away from the heroic human sacrifice.

[Geez Louise]

Here is something a little bit morbid, but Princess Dianna's death. What really happened?

Love to see some footage of Genghis Khan too and who really made the Terracotta warriors and why.

And I agree, no more religious comments as it is against the sites T&C's and this is turning out to be a great thread

[flappist]

Well as religion is no longer allowed......

How about jump back in 1000 year intervals and see who and what actually lived in Australia, or for that matter everywhere else.

It would be far too dangerous to learn the truths of almost every historical event anywhere in the world as our society is based on it and I suspect the majority are nothing like what we have been told.

[buggo]

I'd see how the universe/ world was formed, and evolution of, or creation of, man.
Other things like Stonehenge and other mysterious structures. See wether we are dumber, or something came and lent a hand.
And I'd go foward a little bit to see when the last Falcon will role off the line ;P

[Maggot]

Swimsuit / Miss universe all the way.

[351@GT]

the creation of the 'horn' VN........ *cough*

[fat4D]

i would love to capture better images of the world wars, why? not so there was better details in photos and such more so it was documented in a more graphic and more complete way. with the way the youth is going in 20yrs time they will have no interest in opening a book to learn about it and with out this quality footage they will become bored and the reason many of us live the lives we want today will be forgotten. not to mention drop a nice big stack of very graphic photos on the desk of various world leaders and ask the question ' you sure you want this to happen again?'

[burnz]

apparently the moon had crashed into the earth, and earth had a belt much like Jupiter until it reformed..
low orbit moon or the rings of earth, would be worth filming.

[Jim Goose]

Osama's raid....

Great wall of China...

Your own family's history?

[MAGPIE]

Moon landings

Bin Laden death

9/11

Gallipoli

First people to settle in NZ

[gtxb67]

1954 vfl grand final and then 77 bathurst - i don't care about documenting them, i will just watch

[Riksta]

Some great ideas happening in here

The thing with most things filmed these days is you have to be in the right place at the right time to get the footage. The beauty of this little experiment is you know the right time & place and can go straight there, and get the best possible vantage point.

How about things like the first Aussie made Holden/Ford rolling off the production line?

Or slightly different, Pink Floyd in the studio recording Dark Side of The Moon? Or The Beatles first ever performance?

[Geez Louise]

What about the Nazca lines, the demise of the Mayan's and Inca's?

Who made the heads on Easter Island?

You could actually go back and find out who Jack the Ripper was!

[SteveJH]

Waterloo would be interesting.

The Duke of Wellington and his army versus a resurgent Napoleon and his.

[SEZ213]

The fall of Rome

The ice age

Would be interesting to find out who Jack the ripper really was Col! Nice idea

The Titanic tragedy would be interesting also (as would the building - just watched a doco on rebuilding the titanic - interesting stuff).

The colonisation of Australia

Sicily in the mob days

First ever book publication

I could really get caught up in this! Great topic Rick!

[Paxton]

Chernobyl - same response as above. I'm still fascinated by it.

The landing of Captain Cook, in 1770. I live not very far from where he first set foot on Australia.

The landing of the First Fleet, and the first five years in Australia.

[PimpMyHubcap]

"In early 1606, Willem Janszoon encountered and then charted the shores of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. The ship made landfall at the Pennefather River in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This was the first authenticated landing on Australian soil and Janszoon is thus credited with the first authenticated European discovery of Australia"......sourced from wikipedia

After living and travelling up there a fair bit, it would have fascinating to do it 400 years ago from a europeans point of view.

[The Monty]

Ill go for the Pyramids, and as controversial as it may seem, the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, media has taken most of what may have happened and turned it into irrelevant propaganda against him. It would be good to see unbiased opinion on the matter. And Im not defending what he done, and dont appreciate what happened, I would just like the whole, proper story.
Id like to do a documentary on the Rise and fall of the Roman Empire as well.
And the Dinosaurs.

[StealthAu]

The origin of all religions.

[FGII-XR6]

December 7 1941 and film the attack on pearl harbour