9/11 Airplane Video Compositing & Luma Key Theory DEBUNKED!

By Mark Conlon

In this analysis I’m going to explore Ace Baker's theory he proposes in his blogspot article video he published on the 27th May 2008, entitled - "Theory of Live 9/11 Airplanes Composites" and also in a later version which he included in his 2012 film entitled - "9/11 The Great American Psy-Opera". They both explain how he believes video compositing was used on 9/11 to "insert" in real-time, a flying airplane into the Fox News "Chopper 5" video. I will primarily be focusing my analysis on his later film - Chapter 7, called "The Key" from "9/11 The Great American Psy-Oprah".

http://acebaker.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/theory-of-live-911-airplane-composites.html

See below: Ace Baker's Theory of Live 9/11 Airplane Composites video:

In Ace Baker's 2012 film 'The 9/11 The Great American Psy-Opera' - Chapter 7 "The Key", he explains how he believes a "fake" airplane was "inserted" into the Fox News "Chopper 5" footage using live video compositing layering techniques and "Luma Keying".

Ace Baker also explains what went wrong with the infamous "nose-out" anomaly captured in the Fox News "Chopper 5" video footage, as (Flight 175) plane's nose "exits" the South Tower building still "intact", which is physically impossibly. See below: The famous "nose-out" shot.

While I do agree that it is a physical impossibility for the plane's nose to exit the South Tower building with its nose still "intact", I do NOT agree with Ace Baker's explanation of this impossible anomaly captured in the Fox News video footage, because of the "technical issue" which Ace Baker has chosen to "omit" which makes his explanation invalid.  

So we can thoroughly understand why the "technical issue" arises, which makes his theory invalid, I will first briefly explain Ace Baker's "theory". 

Firstly, Ace Baker proposes that there are some "necessary" attributes which would make live video compositing possible and allow the insertion of a "fake", computer animated, airplane into the live video.
 
The attributes are:

• High contrast between tower and sky
• Steady camera with no panning, tilting, or zooming
• Airplane path is across sky only
• Airplane disappears across straight vertical edge
• "Impact" wall is hidden
• No shadows required  

Ace states that, "Absent any one of these attributes, inserting a "fake" airplane becomes "impossible".

See short video excerpt below from Ace Baker's film explaining Compositing, Layering and Luma keying.

Now we are familiar and understand Ace Baker's theory and explanation he proposes in his film of how they "inserted" a fake airplane into the Fox News "Chopper 5" video, we can look at the "technical issue" which makes his theory invalid. 

Technical Issue Explained...

The "technical issue" in Ace Baker's theory is the use of a "Luma Key" for the purpose of adding a "fake" plane into the live video footage, which cannot be reproduced as seen in the live Fox News "Chopper 5" video footage of the 2nd plane impact. The technical issue proves that "Luma Key" was NOT used in the live Fox News "Chopper5" footage as Ace Baker has "alleged". Please refer to the images below as I continue to explain the technical issues. 

If a Luma Key had been used in the live Fox News "Chopper 5" video, the exiting "nose" of the alleged "inserted" fake airplane in the 2nd (middle) composited layer would be "visible" on top of (and in front of) the "explosion" exiting the tower which is the 3rd (bottom) layer, which is the "original" Fox News video.

 
The reason for this is, the "Luma Key" works off of the luminance (brightness) within the video signal. In order to see an airplane animation that has been sandwiched in between two duplicate layers of video from the same camera feed (3 layers altogether), the (top) 1st layer would require portions of the image to be cut out, revealing the added airplane layer underneath in the 2nd (middle) layer. When this is done using a "Luma Key", a predetermined luminance (brightness) threshold (limit) is set which will prevent any portion of the video image from showing that is brighter than that brightness threshold setting, making those brighter portions disappear completely, and in this case, the brightness threshold would have to be set to a point where it would eliminate the entire sky background (of the 1st (top) layer only) while leaving the darker Twin Towers intact to act as the mask for the plane to disappear behind.

The biggest issue here is that the explosion that erupts from the opposite side of the South Tower, is as bright as the sky threshold Luma Key setting, which means that the explosion would "disappear" just as the sky does because of "Luma Key" threshold setting on that 1st (top) layer, which would reveal the 2nd layer behind it which supposedly contains the fake "inserted" plane and its protruding nose. Which should've looked like this image below:

The fact that the explosion does "NOT" disappear, and we observe it covering and obscuring the plane's "nose", is conclusive proof that a "Luma Key" was not used in the Fox News "Chopper 5" video footage

Below: is a video made by someone who goes under the name Saul Train. He explains "excellently" far better than I can why the South Tower explosion should "disappear" in the Fox News "Chopper 5" video footage if a "Luma Key" was used to "insert" a fake plane using compositing and layering. The fact the explosion didn't disappear in the news footage demonstrates thoroughly that Ace Baker's "Luma Key" theory is invalid.

This case is now closed!!!