Segment from Dr Mantik's Presentation on Z Film Alteration: WILKINSON STUDY w/ Alteration Excerpts

Cut and timestamped by Keven Hofeling:
"Here's a timestamped summary of the transcript:

[00:00-00:37] High-Resolution Acquisition: In November 2008, Sydney Wilkinson acquired a third-generation "Forensic Version" of the Zapruder film from the National Archives, creating high-resolution 6K digital files with nearly 12 times more information than HD TV scans.

[03:20-04:03] Expert Collaboration: Wilkinson and her team worked with film restoration experts Paul Rutan and Garrett Smith to analyze the Zapruder film, focusing on anomalies in the frames depicting what should be JFK's head wound.

[07:34-09:29] Black Patch Anomaly: The experts identified a suspicious black patch on the back of JFK's head in frames 317, 321, and 323, which they believe is an optical overlay added to the film to obscure details of the wound.

[08:12-09:29] Technical Analysis: Using advanced imaging software and line profile analysis, they discovered that the black patch appears unnaturally dense and moves differently from JFK's head in the film.

[06:05-06:54] Expert Credentials: Both Rutan and Smith, with decades of film restoration experience, believe the film was deliberately altered, likely using an aerial optical printer to create the patch.

[17:41-19:47] Head Explosion Discrepancy: The experts noted that frame 313, showing the head explosion, contains only a small red mist, which differs from witnesses' memories of a more extensive blood spray.

[15:17-16:04] Technological Perspective: They argue that with modern technology and increased visual literacy, the film's alterations are now more apparent and less believable than they might have been in 1963.

[05:03-06:05] Professional Hesitation: Only two out of 72 Hollywood experts who reviewed the film were willing to go on record about the potential alterations, citing fears of professional repercussions or government backlash.
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1. Acquisition and Digitization of the Film: Sydney Wilkinson obtained a third-generation copy of the forensic version of the Zapruder film (referred to as "generation zero" being the original). This copy was a 35mm duplicate negative containing all original defects, unlike typical film versions. She then created high-resolution digital files of each frame in 6K format (14.7 MB per frame), significantly exceeding the detail of a standard 2K HD scan (approximately 12 times more information). The scan was done in logarithmic color space, preserving all available data even if it appeared less visually appealing than a linearly adjusted image optimized for human viewing.

2. Analysis of the "Black Patch": A comparison is made between a 2K and 6K scan of frame 317, highlighting a dark patch at the back of JFK's head. This patch is analyzed by comparing a scan across this area with a similar scan of John Connelly's head on the same frame (same lighting). The analysis reveals the remarkably high density of black on JFK's head compared to the more natural shading on Connelly's. The black patch is further magnified in frames 317, 321, and 323. This anomaly is a key focus of the discussion and is also referenced by Paul Rutan, a film restoration expert interviewed for the video.

3. Expert Opinions and Credentials: The video features interviews with Paul Rutan, a film restoration expert with extensive experience (since the 1950s-60s), and Garrett Smith, whose credentials are also listed. Only these two out of 72 Hollywood experts who noticed the black patch would publicly comment on it. Paul Rutan recounts hisr own reaction to seeing the anomaly, comparing it to a poorly made fake. The skepticism of other professionals is noted, attributing their reluctance to participate to fears of being associated with conspiracy theories or government repercussions.

4. Analysis of the Black Patch's Characteristics and Potential Creation: Thom, Whitehead discusses the "black patch" in detail. He shows a line profile analysis that demonstrates the unusually high density of black in this area compared to Connelly's head in the same frame. Rutan opines that it looks like a photographic patch added in post-production. He suggests this would have been done using an aerial optical printer, a technique that would have been available at the time. He estimates such a process could have been completed overnight.

5. Further Frame Analysis and Color Separation: The analysis extends beyond frame 317. Using the same software, the back of JFK's head is analyzed in frames before and after the impact, specifically focusing on color separation. In frames before the impact, the software shows distinct red, green, and blue components within what appears as a black area, indicating the natural color separation of film grain and hair.
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Excerpt from "A Closer Look at the Zapruder Film: The Case for Alteration" by Dr. David Mantik | The Future of Freedom Foundation | Dec 6, 2024 | • A Closer Look at the Zapruder Film:
https://www.fff.org/freedom-in-motion/video/a-closer-look-at-the-zapruder-film-the-case-for-alteration/ "
Transcript:
High-Resolution Acquisition: In November 2008, Sydney Wilkinson acquired a third-generation "Forensic Version" of the Zapruder film from the National Archives, creating high-resolution 6K digital files with nearly 12 times more information than HD TV scans.
0:00
in November 2008 Sydney Wilkinson
0:03
purchased a third generation copy of the
0:06
forensic version of the film from the
0:08
archives the original is called
0:10
generation
0:12
zero this was a 35mm film duplicate
0:15
negative with no defects removed so when
0:18
you see this in a few seconds you'll
0:20
know that it's not what you usually see
0:24
no defects have been removed she created
0:27
digital files of each frame in 6K format
0:31
each frame
0:32
contained 14.7 megabytes compare this to
0:37
a home HD TV with 1920 by 1080
0:43
pixels that's called a 2K scan so Sydney
0:49
had nearly 12 times as much information
0:52
in each frame as an HD
0:56
TV so the home HD TVs computers and
0:59
movies use linear color space all have
1:03
had contrast and color balance adjusted
1:05
to be pleasing to your eye but Sydney
1:08
scanned the logarithmic space which
1:11
means that all available information was
1:13
retained to a human eye logarithmic
1:15
color looks like looks a bit muddy but
1:18
all the data is there and that's what's
1:20
important for
1:21
analysis and here visually you can see
1:24
the difference between the 2K and 6K
1:26
scans
1:30
here is uh
1:32
317 and you can see the black patch at
1:36
the back of JFK's head you'll see it
1:39
again at Nasa one of the government
1:42
scientists did a scan across J's black
1:46
patch and did a similar scan across John
1:49
Connelly's head and that's an
1:51
interesting comparison of course because
1:53
it's on the same frame of the Pruder
1:55
film with the same lighting and you can
1:58
see in the scans how densely black JFK's
2:01
head is on the upper one and how
2:04
different how natural John Connelly's
2:08
looks and here you see the black patch
2:15
magnified
2:19
321
2:23
323 and then
2:25
313 in the video that you will see in an
2:28
instant here
2:30
this image is the one discussed by Paul
2:34
Rutan uh as he's
2:37
interviewed by
2:38
Sydney uh and
2:40
Tom Wilkinson her husband Paul Routan
2:44
has been in the business since the 1950s
2:46
and 60s and these are some of his
2:52
credentials the second person in the
2:54
video interview is Garrett Smith and
2:57
these are some of his credentials
3:04
yes can't hear you what was Paul's
3:10
function restoration film restoration
3:14
expert film restoration
3:16
expert he grew up with o on all kinds of
3:19
optical printers and all kinds of film
Expert Collaboration: Wilkinson and her team worked with film restoration experts Paul Rutan and Garrett Smith to analyze the Zapruder film, focusing on anomalies in the frames depicting what should be JFK's head wound.
3:22
duties but yeah it'll it'll be in the
3:24
video in the
3:25
second yeah can since we don't have a
3:28
mic in the audience if you could repeat
3:30
any question just so online know ask
3:33
Paul Ran's um career was in color or
3:37
well I would say basically film
3:39
restoration I suppose it was mostly
3:40
color but that was his
3:42
expertise of the 72 Hollywood experts
3:45
who saw the black patch as a fake these
3:48
are the only two who would go on the
3:52
record they had not even met each other
3:55
before
4:00
Doug horn was in the room watching these
4:03
uh digital frames with Ned
4:06
price who was head of Warner Brothers
4:09
Restoration in
4:11
2009 when he saw the black patch he said
4:14
oh my God I can't believe they made such
4:17
a bad
4:19
fake that was precisely my own reaction
4:23
when I saw the MPI
4:26
image first
4:28
generation at the the sixth floor museum
4:31
with Sydney Wilkinson I nearly I nearly
4:34
laughed out
4:35
loud my gifted daughter at age seven
4:39
would surely have done better than
4:42
that now Meredith is of all things a
4:47
film editor in Hollywood she is right
4:51
here making a JFK documentary
5:01
here's the
5:03
video with Paul Rutan and Garrett
5:27
Smith we've asked a lot of people who
5:29
will be involved in these studies with
5:31
us and we've asked them to go on camera
5:33
and the majority have
5:35
refused um there are professionals they
5:38
they they sort of fear are possibly
5:42
being lumped in as part of a whack job
5:44
conspiracy thing and they're afraid of
5:47
what it might do to their uh their
5:49
credentials other uh reasons for
5:51
withdrawal have been fear of the
5:54
government coming back on
5:56
them why are you guys here
6:01
because I believe in the
6:03
truth I believe in the truth and I think
6:05
the truth should be known you know but
6:08
with all the stuff that's going on now
6:11
with the 50th anniversary is anybody
6:13
going to listen you know so I think I
6:17
did it because it felt um like as an
6:19
American citizen I can make a decision
6:23
to make a truthful observation now as to
6:27
my credibility 37 years in the movie
6:30
business I'm not sure how much lower
6:33
than you can go than that and um then
6:36
just got done with nearly 25 years at
6:40
Paramount um where
6:43
I um
6:46
basically ran their
6:48
mastering um for most of those years and
6:52
spent the last few years investigating
6:54
new digital production
6:56
technology been doing this since uh I
6:59
don't know 19 1968 I was delivering film
7:01
in New York City and then uh full-time
7:04
from 74 I got hired to work for my dad
7:07
and I worked for him for 12 years
7:10
started out as janitor and then shipping
7:12
then film cleaning and then film repair
7:14
and then Optical lineup and then Optical
7:17
printing so ever since then you know
7:21
I've worked for a couple companies set
7:22
up a department at compact video and I
7:25
had my own company for 14 years uh doing
7:28
Restorations
7:31
do you see any signs of alteration yes
Black Patch Anomaly: The experts identified a suspicious black patch on the back of JFK's head in frames 317, 321, and 323, which they believe is an optical overlay added to the film to obscure details of the wound.
7:34
where do you see them well in the this
7:36
explosion right here doesn't look it see
7:39
it's got defects on it but it it just
7:42
doesn't look real it doesn't look like
7:44
blood it doesn't just doesn't look real
7:48
this is frame 317 this is what initially
7:50
caught my eye as being out of character
7:53
with the other Shadows on the film right
7:55
we took that film and had it analyzed
7:57
with imaging software
8:00
and I want to show you the results of
8:01
that on frame 317 here if you look to
8:06
the upper leftand corner you see a green
8:09
line across the back of the president's
8:11
head on frame
8:12
317 right the software is called line
8:15
profile and what it does is it shows the
8:18
amount of
8:19
black in the frame as a value going from
8:23
left to right on the graph just to the
8:25
right of that so as you can see it's
8:28
nearly complet completely black right
8:30
where here or is this an earlier frame
8:33
that image was from the back of of uh
8:35
Governor Connelly's head on the same
8:37
frame so we have exactly the same
8:40
lighting setup the lighting situation is
8:42
identical and you can see with the
8:44
profile it has a more natural falloff as
8:47
to what we would have if if an object
8:50
were lit by a single Source like the sun
8:53
correct I think you're looking at a
8:55
patch and a a photographic patch that
8:58
they put on the back of his head um it's
9:02
crude um but if you run the film you'll
9:06
see that it
9:07
moves differently than his head does as
9:10
well so it's an optical some sort of an
9:14
optical that they put on there to not
9:18
show um the back of his head in your
9:23
opinion what do you think would have
9:24
been the most likely way this would have
9:26
been accomplished um with an optical
9:28
printer
[08:12.Technical Analysis: Using advanced imaging software and line profile analysis, they discovered that the black patch appears unnaturally dense and moves differently from JFK's head in the film.
9:30
with an aerial Optical
9:32
printer what they call an aerial Imaging
9:34
machine
9:35
yes yes aerial Optical
9:40
printer where they could uh create that
9:44
patch as an
9:45
overlay and lay it on there just just
9:48
it's just like
9:50
oldtime uh
9:51
Optical
9:53
uh uh special effect
9:56
stuff and how long do you think that a
9:59
process that like this might have taken
10:01
overnight well they did have Optical
10:04
printers for 8 mm because they would
10:06
take 8 mm and blow it up to 16 mm um so
10:09
they did have that capability at that
10:11
time I have 8 mm Gates
10:14
myself I want to show you one other bit
10:17
of research that we've done that's come
10:18
up and this is new this is the first
10:20
time anybody's seen this and we wanted
10:23
to share it with you what I've done is
10:26
using the same software I I was able to
10:30
evaluate the back of the president's
10:32
head in a number of frames here we have
10:34
a couple of frames
10:36
before uh he is hit by the bullet in the
10:39
head and a couple of frames after now in
10:42
this in this instance the white line you
10:45
see over the president's head is on the
10:48
graph on the left represented by the
10:50
color
10:51
component of uh the three colors the red
10:55
green and
10:56
blue in that area where the line is
10:59
there MH so as you can see there they're
11:01
pretty much distinct red green and blue
11:04
mhm I believe this is because we're
11:07
looking at the grains of Krome as we go
11:09
across and they're and they're they're
11:11
they're Loosely separated here that's
11:14
frame
11:15
308 here's frame
11:18
310 again we have this same area of
11:21
separation of the colors where there is
11:23
a fair amount of color within that black
11:26
what appears to be black area mhm when
11:28
we grow to FR
11:30
317 oh yeah and
11:37
321 and
11:39
323 even without looking at the graph
11:41
you can tell by the picture that it's
11:43
dramatically different you know my
11:46
opinion is that that it's an an overlay
11:49
that they
11:50
did that's black so it doesn't have the
11:54
the effect of the sun on his hair which
11:56
is where you're getting your color
11:58
separation
12:00
okay Paul we're looking here now at
12:02
frame
12:02
317 this is the one that first caught my
12:05
interest as having something wrong well
12:08
the only thing I can see really is how
12:11
predominant that black patch is in this
12:13
particular frame I mean it's clear to me
12:17
that that that is not the back of his
12:19
head that that is some kind of a optical
12:22
effect um that has been laid on the back
12:25
of his head by an optical house and this
12:30
this is uh also an optical effect but
12:34
the the back of his head is what always
12:37
I'm always drawn to because you it's
12:40
almost like he's wearing a tu because
12:43
there's the top of his head and that's
12:45
that's basically the color that it
12:47
should be and then it's black it's just
12:50
solid
12:52
black you know the density doesn't
12:57
match um
13:01
the the shoulders don't match that and
13:03
doesn't match the top of the head so it
13:06
looks to me like somewhere in
13:09
here somebody did a hold back and let
13:12
through mat or or essentially blocked in
13:16
a part of the area in an in between
13:18
thing in between generation and then
13:20
made a film copy so you've got some
13:22
grain structure over the superimposed
13:27
element um
13:29
that is consistent with the rest of the
13:32
frame but you've got an irregular
13:35
shaped um I don't know if you'd call
13:38
that a trapezoid but you've got an
13:39
irregular shape superimposed over the
13:42
head where the density values that uh
13:45
from the hair that we saw in that
13:48
previous frame are completely different
13:50
very
13:51
noticeable
13:53
but what you're telling me is this a
13:55
real scientist a real image scientist
13:59
has evaluated it and these are sections
14:01
of the same frame taken on the same
14:04
moment in time in the same
14:06
planet
14:08
and similar enough hair color if you
14:11
look at the top of Connelly's head and
14:13
the top of Kennedy's
14:14
head
14:16
um but that clearly shows it to me that
14:19
something has been added to that frame
14:22
that's what it looks like to
14:26
me it just seems really aw
14:30
obvious that the frames where they'
14:33
matted out the back of the head and and
14:36
added in the pink splash the pink water
14:39
balloon whatever it is it's supposed to
14:41
be the blood it's just not even
14:43
believable as possible I mean maybe
14:46
nearly 50 years
14:48
ago uh that might have passed muster but
14:51
for
14:52
anybody um I mean my impression is if I
14:57
showed it to it um 12-year-old kid they
15:00
would say it was a
15:02
cartoon if they CU they wouldn't know
15:04
who Kennedy was they wouldn't know
15:06
anything about it and I said well what
15:08
do you think of that guy getting shot
15:10
and they would go that's not real so I
15:13
think you know I think 50 years ago it
15:16
was perfectly believable as today you
15:20
know with this major blowup that we've
15:22
made and the 6K scan um the the faults
15:27
are very apparent you know they be
15:29
apparent his wires and stuff in in um
15:33
Star Wars that that uh they redid you
15:37
know but you know from every time I look
15:39
at it it's it's hard for me to look at
15:41
because it's not
15:43
real we've got 50 years of
15:46
Technology absorption I mean we now
15:49
carry phones that are more evolved than
15:53
Dick Tracy's wrist TV and the comic
15:55
books that were around this time that I
15:58
was reading when this happened and um so
16:03
I think Paul made the point is that this
16:07
was good enough for broadcast
16:09
TV um in you know 50 years ago I do have
16:15
a a a feeling very strong feeling
16:19
that at the time this was part of the of
16:22
the
16:23
theater of government theater somebody
16:27
had an agenda
16:29
to uh whatever that agenda was they
16:34
obviously doctored this
16:36
film and how many movies documentaries
16:39
have been made about it yet nothing ever
16:41
gets
16:42
done the other hand with the along with
16:46
those Dick Tracy type devices that we
16:49
have we also have the internet and we
16:50
have the ability to reach uh more
16:54
people across the globe
16:57
instantaneous so maybe
17:00
some I don't know what facts I can draw
17:02
other than that film looks like it was
17:04
doctored I don't know why I don't know
17:08
who um but it seems really
17:13
obvious so you know it depends on on
17:16
basically the perception of of the
17:18
people today if you can get off of uh
17:21
YouTube and get off of um uh Facebook
17:26
and actually pay attention to something
17:28
like this
17:29
you
17:31
know of the head explosion that's in the
17:33
existing film there's only one frame in
17:36
the film this is that shows any graphic
17:39
violence the head explosion where
17:40
there's any
Head Explosion Discrepancy: The experts noted that frame 313, showing the head explosion, contains only a small red mist, which differs from witnesses' memories of a more extensive blood spray.
17:44
red shocked all of us when we saw
17:48
it I thought it
17:50
was this is frame 313 of the exent
17:54
film I thought I remembered a a uh
17:58
a chunk
18:01
of of head here and and this was Misty
18:07
bigger how far uh would you say the the
18:11
mist or the explosion was above his head
18:13
in in in real
18:15
terms how many inches or how many feet
18:17
above his head I'd say
18:21
about about a foot and a half it was
18:24
high it was above it
18:26
was this way it was high
18:29
yeah would you call this high or low
18:31
what would you call this I can I can uh
18:34
enlarge this let me do that the way I
18:37
saw it it was the section
18:42
was like
18:50
that now I can enlarge this even more
18:53
yeah I saw I saw much more than
18:56
that much more than that
19:00
mhm be better like up here did it hang
19:03
in the air for a moment or well you
19:06
should be at you say there's not another
19:07
frame there no I I I'll show you now the
19:10
the adjacent frames on either side uh
19:13
this is the only frame that shows any
19:14
red color or blood or anything that's
19:17
apparently you know what I remember was
19:19
was
19:20
something it was
19:22
white and then there was a white Mist
19:25
around mhm
19:44
I think it
19:47
froze is there a it man
19:53
here I should back it
19:56
up we can try that
20:00
I thought I'd skipped a couple of slides
20:04
to we're going to explain who he was
20:06
before we showed those I think it
20:09
skipped yeah it's totally
20:13
de know the head explosion that's in the
20:15
existing film there's only one frame in
20:18
the film that shows with any graphic
20:21
violence the head explosion where
20:22
there's any Red Mist or blood well I
20:25
remember it that that shocked all of us
20:27
when we saw it
20:31
I thought it
20:32
was this is frame 313 of the Exton
20:36
film I thought I remembered a a
20:40
uh a chunk
20:43
of of head here and and this was Misty
20:49
bigger how far U would you say the the
20:53
mist or the explosion was above his head
20:55
in in in real
20:57
terms how many inches or how many feet
20:59
above his head I'd say
21:03
about about a foot and a half it was
21:06
high it was above it
21:08
was this way it was high yeah would you
21:12
call this high or low what would you
21:14
call this I can I can uh enlarge this
21:17
let me do that the way I saw it it was a
21:20
section
21:24
was like that
21:33
now I can enlarge this even more yeah I
21:36
saw I saw much more in
21:38
that much more than that
21:43
mhm be better like up here did it hang
21:45
in the air for a moment or well you
21:48
should be you say there's not another
21:49
frame there should no I I I'll show you
21:52
now the the adjacent frames on either
21:54
side uh this is the only frame that
21:56
shows any red color or blood or anything
21:59
that's apparently know what I remember
22:00
was was
22:02
something it was
22:04
white and then there was a white Mist
22:08
[Music]
22:16
around Advance it to the next we'll see
22:19
if we
22:26
can that doesn't look right
22:30
have we seen this I don't think it does
22:32
either but but I'm not a photo analyst
22:35
and you were for decades so your opinion
22:38
is a great interest to
22:47
us have you ever seen a shadow on
22:49
somebody's head that that had straight
22:52
edges like
22:53
that no not not with hair see here
22:57
here's an example right there you know
23:02
you that's an anomaly I don't know what
23:06
I would agree that it's an anomaly and
23:08
one that's
23:10
unexplained do you remember seeing
23:12
anything like this in the film you
23:16
examined no I just remember the white
23:19
the white ball I thought it like a white
23:21
ball in in the air right over his head
23:24
would you hold the pointer about how how
23:28
high it went
23:29
about where my pointer is
23:35
MHM there are two other frames
23:40
uh with uh very very black patches or
23:44
anomalies on the back of the head and
23:46
I'd like to show them to you this is
23:48
frame 321 it's just four frames
23:50
later
23:53
uh and a lot of people think that's
23:55
rather peculiar looking
24:02
now what I would do I would super impos
24:05
superimpose
24:07
uh and POS his head over this see what
24:10
see what comes out
24:12
M you does this trouble you the way it
24:14
troubles me this this troubles me right
24:16
here yeah this should be his jaw and his
24:18
neck I don't understand why it's uh
24:20
black like this uh two frames later
24:23
frame 323 is a similar appearance
24:29
and once again the area that's unusually
24:32
dark uh is uh the area where the people
24:35
at Parkland Hospital said the wound in
24:38
the president's head was in the back of
24:39
his
24:44
head yeah you don't see any indication
24:47
of a different
24:49
uh now if you had a densometer that's
24:51
what You' do you you you see the density
24:54
see if you can get some density out of
24:55
that and you'd want to use that on the
24:57
actual film is that right
24:59
no you could use it on the photo oh okay
25:01
on this yeah