If you think you or someone you know has photographed or videotaped an anomalous aerial object or UFO, please submit your photographs or videotape to MUFON's Staff Photoanalyst, Jeff Sainio, for detailed analysis. Mr. Sainio is employed in research and development by one of this country's most prestigious graphic imaging firms. The following procedures appeared in the November, 1995, issue of the MUFON UFO Journal. If you have a copy of the latest edition of the MUFON Field Investigator's Manual (4th edition), you should copy these instructions and insert them into Section XIV of the manual for future reference.

Thank you for your interest in my services as MUFON Staff Photoanalyst! I provide free analysis of photo/video evidence in the UFO field. This does not include other phenomena such as Bigfoot, ghosts, or other non-UFO material. Also, due to the ease of scarecrow-making, and the high probability of chance arrangements of ordinary objects combining to appear unusual, I do not accept alleged alien-photos, except where the number and quality of witnesses preclude fraud or misrecognition. Like all MUFON members, I am unpaid, so be aware that this service is performed on a time-available basis. Cases are processed based on their potential for furthering the understanding of UFOs, equipment availability, and complexity.

You will receive a report of any anomalous features of the evidence, usually with halftone enhancements illustrating points of interest. In the case of video, digital blowup/slowdowns of key points may be provided, usually appended to the videotape you submitted. Unless you object, a copy of the report will go to MUFON International headquarters. Most work is done on digitized images, available on floppy disk, viewable on IBM/MAC PCs. In exceptionally compelling cases, I will provide slides illustrating points of interest for your use in slide-shows or public lectures. (If allowed, keeping one for my own use!) Although membership in MUFON is encouraged, I have no method of verifying credentials (especially overseas) and therefore perform services for any interested party.

Unless otherwise specified, I will:

• Not release any witness names or identifying information (unless they have voluntarily "gone public" with newspaper/TV coverage) but will release investigators' names as I deem useful.
• Return any original evidence such as negatives or Polaroids, but retain copies such as prints and copies I create.
• Assume videotapes are copies of the originals, and retain them. Mailing costs exceed the tape value.
• Discuss the material with other photoanalysts, meteorologists, aircraft experts, etc., as needed to best understand the material.
• Respect copyright laws, particularly 17 USC 106-109, involving "fair use" of original material. In particular, I will release no material in a manner which allows its copying (in books, newspapers, TV screens, etc.) without permission from the photographer. I may use the material for noncommercial, scientific/educational use, such as educating the public through illustrated lectures.

I will follow any special instructions given which do not compromise scientific integrity or reasonable cost. In particular, you may specify who the material may be shown to: anywhere from "show nobody" to "use any way you please." The more input I get, the more likely an accurate identification will be made. Cases have been identified, years later, this way. The sensitive nature of some cases may prevent this openness. Specify at the end of this form.

My recommended method of shipment is the US Postal Service; prices are very reasonable, and speed is moderate.

Send to:

Jeffrey W. Sainio
7206 W. Wabash Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53223-2609, USA.

Flat rate mail packages are available at the Post Office, and send up to two pounds for $3.85 with good speed. Be especially careful with videotapes; their sharp corners will shred loose paper wrappers. Cardboard videotape mailers or foam 6x9" mailers (3M part#7973 size 0) also work well. If speed is of the essence, the various overnight services may be used. Call me at (414) 246-7829 (w) or (414) 351-0795 (h) for overnight-service instructions to my place of employment, where Saturday delivery is available, probably at extra cost from your shipper.

What to send? The complete photo evidence. My equipment (designed for analysis of printed material) is best suited for prints, so there is rarely an advantage to risking sending original negatives through the mail. A local investigator can verify what negatives precede/follow the UFO shot(s) without risking mailing originals. Slides are also best converted to prints, and the prints mailed. In the few cases where more information may be gleaned from the originals, later arrangements can be made. You may also include enlargements of a feature of interest, but this must be in addition to the complete photo. Often, recognizable terrestrial objects such as tree branches, streetlights, or distant hills, are essential reference objects. Take care in labelling/numbering prints; a ball-point pen may mark-through to damage the image, and slow-drying felt-tips may smear other photos in an envelope.

In the case of video, copy the complete videotape at standard (S)VHS speed; other ordinary clips before the UFO video may be needed to determine camera characteristics. If I receive PAL/SECAM/BETA(SP)/8mm tapes, they will be translated by a local service, adding a few days delay. Do not perform freeze-frame or slow-motion of the parts of interest; this destroys timing information and is poor-quality on most home equipment. I will do this as necessary on my industrial-grade equipment. You may add this to the end of the video to illustrate interesting points, but an unedited copy of the video is essential. Label the tape; remember I may receive several tapes a week and don't want to mix any up. Broadcast custom is that an unlabelled tape is blank!

Any eyewitness testimony, MUFON input forms, or time/day/direction/weather information can be very useful. Often, the photo/video evidence is ambiguous in itself, but corroborates/contradicts witness testimony. It is only a piece of the puzzle, not a key, but the more puzzle-pieces I have, the better I can interpret the data. Before you get excited, some common photo/video traps to recognize:

• If a photographer saw nothing unusual until the print was examined, lens flares or film/developing defects are usually the cause. Shapeless blobs, or translucent spots should not be cause for interest. Only clearly-structured unseen objects will be examined.
• Most video misidentifications are of Venus or airplanes. They probably account for fully half my submissions. A nocturnal fixed point of light, with no anomalous motion, is best called a star. A light, with occasional blinks on either side, is probably an airplane running light with wingtip strobe lights. Aircraft light colors are typically lost (with a white result) on video, so the lack of red-white-green aircraft colors is not surprising. Unless a streetlight, star, or other reference object is seen, UFO "motion" may be merely camcorder motion. Unless two reference points are visible, apparent UFO size changes, or apparent motion toward/away from the reference object, may be merely zoom changes. Also, apparent rotation around a reference point may be merely camera rotation.
• Video shape changes, from a bright point to a large, diffuse blob, are usually from a "hunting" auto-focus mechanism which can't find anything to focus on. The result often looks like the "Batman" searchlight.
• Tiny moving objects seen flitting about, only when a tape is examined, are generally insects or birds ignored during the video. They may be smeared-out from motion, and their small size prevents proper color display. If they happen to fly in front of a background of similar color/brightness, they may appear to fly "behind" branches or "through" clouds. Remember that as any burglar knows, "white on white" or "black on black" objects can't be seen and seem to disappear.

While I have a large amount of UFO evidence, I cannot release copies to others without a release from the photographer, even for purely scientific or educational, non-commercial purposes. By checking the allowable level of disclosure, I can release material as desired. The more widely I can show the material, the more likely it will be properly identified. Responses not requiring a signature may be communicated in other ways (such as phone) than this form.

Be sure to specify one of the following:

• Show the material to nobody, not even other trusted analysts. Signature not required.
• Show/copy the material to other experts as needed only; do not show publicly. A copy of my report will go to MUFON headquarters. Signature not required.
• You may show the material publicly for non-commercial, scientific or educational purposes only. No copies or TV, newspaper, or magazine usage. (If no box is checked, or this form not returned, I will use this level under the "fair use" copyright laws.) A copy of my report will go to MUFON headquarters. Videotape/photos will be prohibited during any lectures involving the material. Signature not required.
• The material may be used any way you see fit. A copy of my report will go to MUFON headquarters. Photographer/representative signature required below. This forfeits exclusive rights to the material! If somebody other than the photographer signs, the signer warrants that s/he has power-of-attorney to grant this right, and agrees to hold harmless Jeffrey Sainio, his heirs and assigns, from actions under copyright law for use of this material.

_______________________ Photographer/agent signature

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