Cameraman at the pit

[Tripod Bait]

I was watching the movie again last night and something occurred me: (...ignoring the fact that the camera was shielded from the effects of the EMP) I'm wondering if the guy with the camcorder who gets cut down in the first moments of the attack wasn't intended to be a parallel, or reference, to the reporters in the radio broadcast and the 1953 version. Each get killed shortly after the martians reveal themselves while attempting to record the events as they unfold. Speilberg dropped in numerous references to both incarnations of the story (some obvious, and some not so much), which is what spurred my thought on this.

[Chris Oakley]

It's a good thought and a possibility. You can almost guarantee in real life that someone would try to film proceedings though.

As you say there are a lot of homages to the '53 film and SS has admitted that. Especially that he got Ann Robinson and Gene Barry to appear at the end as the Gran and Grandad. I liked that touch.

[sunnyrabbiera]

there is however one major issue...
how the hell does a camcorder like that after being hit by an EMP pulse?
what the owner had it in a lead case wrapped in nine miles of tin foil?

[Anthony]

Doesn't EMP only effect live circuits? I had a conversation about the camera some time ago and i think that was the resolve. If the camera was not on at all when the EMP hit then it shouldn't have been affected.

Anthony

[Rob]

I always thought it was a magnetic thing not really an EMP.

[Lensman]

Electronics which are switched on are more suseptible to damage from EMP, but being switched off does not make them immune. Any wire long enuff to act as an antenna, which is inside or connected to an electronic device, picks up some of the damaging EMP energy and conducts it to sensitive electronic parts.

But if I understand correctly what I've read and what's been said on this forum: If the camcorder was inside a metal box at the time the EMP pulse hit, it would be completely unharmed and could be taken out and used immediately. Sure it's unlikely a camcorder would be stored inside an all-metal box, but it's certainly possible. For instance, there are metal briefcases which I think would suit the need admirably. And any army surplus store will sell you an empty machine-gun ammo case, which is all metal; some people use those for storage. Come to think of it, I myself have an all-metal foot locker which I bought at an army surplus store.

Of course this applies only if it actually was an EMP pulse; as was pointed out just above, it may not have been exactly that.

[bradhig]

The newscrew at the plane crash had footage of the aliens riding the lightning yet their equipment still worked. How could they have filmed the lightning without the camera failing?

[Lensman]

You're not the first to ask that question. That is indeed one of the many plot holes in the movie.

[nervouspete]

Which is slightly annoying, as the news crew segment wasn't needed at all, and not only introduced a plot hole but removed a chunk of sinister mystery. I far prefer the unknown, with Ray and the locals fleeing tripods but with absolutely no idea as to how many there are, or how they really got there, or what.

Still, love the apocalyptic imagery, pace and tone - so it still gets 8/10 for being the closest yet in big scale alien invasions.

Though I think the original Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1950's) is still the best invasion for me.

[<[Iron Man]>]

lensman said:

You're not the first to ask that question. That is indeed one of the many plot holes in the movie.

Going back to our discussion about EMP. What if the van, somehow was able to protect the camera? I mean when she played the tape to Ray. The onboard equipment functions so the camera may have been protected. Maybe the equipment happened to be shielded by some aliminium foil. Incase of lightning? I'm not too sure on the foil against lightning, although i'm no expert.

Perhaps they kept it in a case similar to this..



A thick & sturdy case, with no gaps and small metal bits or anything like a 'antennae' sticking out. With a foam padded interior to insulate. Although this is only speculation. The case i mentioned is a copolymerbased structure.

[bobble]

Apart from the camera still working....

...how come the van itself was still running?

[<[Iron Man]>]

anthony said:

Doesn't EMP only effect live circuits? I had a conversation about the camera some time ago and i think that was the resolve. If the camera was not on at all when the EMP hit then it shouldn't have been affected.

Anthony

I missed this one, effectively what EMP does is overloads circuits, like a power surge. So if something's switched on, then it'll require less power to overload. Although no, if something is swtiched off, it's still open to being fried by EMP.

Lensman pointed out that if stored in say a metal box, without anything like a antennae to channel the EMP, then it would be ok. Although it is important to note that anything stored in a metal box, would need to be insulated from the metallic surface inside. Otherwise it'll conduct and you'll have fried components.

As for how the camera kept on functioning, i don't have a clue. Maybe it happened to be better shielded, being of 'industrial' grade instead of the usual cheaper commercial cameras. This is only speculation.