Koi UFO Video 108 : Alien on Moon ("Bean", mock advert)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 108 shows astronauts planting the US flag on the moon when an alien monster emerges from a crater and attacks them. One astronaut hides behind a rock but is given away when he breaks wind. In unedited versions of the video, the video finishes by showing a can of "Haynes" Baked Beans (sic) with the caption "Not For Astronauts".
On its face, this appears to an advert for baked beans. (Aliens and space are fairly common themes in adverts, with viral advertising being the source of some of the most popular UFO videos). Most copies of the video online have titles such as "Haynes Baked Beans Astronaut Ad".
However, this particular video is not an advert - or at least not an advert for "Haynes" baked beans. There is no such brand of baked beans (although it obviously sounds like, and is presumably intended to sound like, the well-known brand "Heinz"). In fact, this video was uploaded to Youtube by a visual effects and animation company ("Cinesite") in December 2013 to demonstrate their (obviously considerable) creature animation skills. The original copy of the video has received over 13.4 million views as at November 2015. Multiple other copies on Youtube also have numerous views. The video is regularly posted on Facebook in UFO discussion groups and elsewhere.
I found it amusing that we have now reached the stage that instead of merely having adverts which include fake images of aliens, we now have fake adverts with fake images of aliens. Welcome to the world of post-modern viral advertising. :)
Sections below:
2. Stories and claims relating to this video
3. The real background to this video
4. Relevant online discussions
1. The relevant video
This video shows astronauts planting the US flag on the moon when an alien monster emerges from a crater and attacks them. One astronaut hides behind a rock but is given away when he breaks wind.
Screen-shots from the relevant video are included below for ease of identification.
2. Stories and claims relating to this video
In unedited versions of the video, the video then shows a can of "Haynes" Baked Beans (sic) with the caption "Not For Astronauts".
Most copies of the video online have titles such as "Haynes Baked Beans Astronaut Ad".
The original copy of the video has received over 13.4 million views as at November 2015. Multiple other copies on Youtube also have numerous views.
3. The real background to this video
On its face, this appears to an advert for baked beans. (Aliens and space are fairly common themes in adverts, with viral advertising being the source of some of the most popular UFO videos).
However, this particular video is not an advert - or at least not an advert for "Haynes" baked beans. There is no such brand of baked beans (although it obviously sounds like, and is presumably intended to sound like, the well-known brand "Heinz").
In fact, this video was uploaded to Youtube by a visual effects and animation company ("Cinesite") in December 2013 to demonstrate their (obviously considerable) creature animation skills.
Cinesite website indicates that it has worked on "visual effects for a wide range of films", including the Harry Potter series, World War Z, Iron Man 3 and Skyfall.
That website also includes several pages devoted to their video "Beans", including an introductory page which includes the following:
"Cinesite’s first animated short, BEANS, is a cheeky film with an unexpected ending.
The film was written and directed by animator Alvise Avati and produced by CInesite’s director of animation, Eamonn Butler. The short received millions of views on YouTube as well as the gold award for Best Web Viral at the AEAF awards.
Alvise approached Cinesite with an idea for the film.
Alvise: “Working in visual effects, it’s usually other people’s visions and creatures that you’re creating. This was an opportunity to take some creative control and make our own.”
Eamonn: “Our team of animators, texturers, modellers, TDs and VFX artists are some of the best in the world and BEANS was a fantastic opportunity for us to show off the quality of their work.”"
Another page on the Cinesite website contains more details of the effects used to create the "Beans" video which includes the following:
"When Cinesite wanted to promote their animation capabilities and add to the studio’s already impressive showreel, they decided to push forward on a short film. That project became Beans, a faux commercial directed by animator Alvise Avati and produced by animation director Eamonn Butler. We talk to both artists about the evolution of this moon-monster caper with a musical end.
“When I came to Cinesite,” says Butler, “I wanted to update the animation reel for the company. Normally we have to wait to bid work, win work, for the film to come out, and then show it on the showreel. But to make it happen quickly I brought in Alvise Avati to write and direct the film.”
Avati, who had previously made another fake commercial about Coca-Cola versus Pepsi, wanted to make something much more simple. “I was doing that other short at home in spare time with a few friends and working remotely,” he says. “It took me almost a year. So for Beans I just wanted to move to almost one shot and making people laugh – that’s the most important thing to me.”
Cinesite also posted a video on their Youtube channel showing how the "Beans" videos was made. As at November 2015, this has received 82,011 views versus over 13.1 million views of the original video. (These statistics are roughly in line with my experience of the relatively low number of views obtained by hoaxers when they are kind enough to post a video revealing the techniques they used to fool lots of people...).
Some screen-shots from "The Making of Beans" video are included below for ease of reference.
I found it amusing that we have now reached that stage than instead of merely having adverts which include fake images of aliens, we now have fake adverts with fake images of aliens.
Welcome to the world of post-modern viral advertising. :)
4. Relevant online discussions
The video is regularly posted on Facebook in UFO discussion groups and elsewhere.
