Ghost Hunters Cameras: Why They Don’t Point at Spirits

Hello friends! Continuing my daily blog in anticipation of the all new episode of Kindred Spirits on Friday night at 9/8c on Travel Channel. This week we head deep into the Sterling Hill Mine in New Jersey, which if you’ve followed me for some time, you know I’m terrified of being underground. We don’t get to delve too deep into my claustrophobia issues on the episode, but it’s quite apparent by my body language and facial expressions that I am VERY uncomfortable, ha! Also, doesn’t help that the place is wicked haunted to boot and there were crazy sounds happening around us constantly. 

Aaaaanyway, moving right along to today’s commonly asked question about the show…

“Why don’t the camera operators point at the ghosts instead of you? Why don’t you wear head/body cams so we can see what you see?”

There are many reasons for this, so let’s dive in. 

First of all, it is the camera operators job to focus on us. They are making a show about us and our investigation process. It is imperative that they capture as much of us and what we’re doing as possible because we never know how the investigation is going to end, so every bit of what we say and do could play in to what needs to be edited to tell the “story” for you as viewers. If they miss a key moment – a facial expression, a bit of dialogue, an action we make – they can’t get that back. So their instruction is to stay on us AT ALL TIMES. Even then, if we see something obvious, they will try to sweep in that direction to see if they can pick anything up, or at the very least, give you an idea of the surroundings we’re in so you know what we’re looking at. 

Secondly, their cameras are just not like ours. Their cameras are much more involved and require a few seconds to set up a shot. They can’t just point it in any direction and pick up everything. Some lenses are designed for close up range, some are more tilt shift, some are designed for wide angle, so when they change the shot, they need a few seconds to adjust their lighting settings and focus. (Sorry my crew friends, I know it’s SO much more involved than that, I’m trying, ha!) Even then, if we are seeing something at the end of a long dark hallway, if there’s no lighting, their cameras will just pick up darkness. Even with IR cameras from Ghost Hunters days, they require IR light, if there isn’t any, you don’t pick up a thing. 

Yes, our DVR cameras are capable of reaching larger spaces, and we blanket every location with as many of them as we can. But the quality is just not there in a camera like that to shoot a show with. Not to mention, even those require large amounts of IR light to capture a space. 

The same goes for body/head cameras. We’ve tried them on many occasions, and the reality is, the footage is unwatchable. Without someone monitoring lighting and positioning, you get a bouncy shot that would make you, as viewers, completely seasick. 

All of this means that we all do our best. We all have our jobs. Adam and I reposition our cameras through out our multi day investigations and put a lot of thought and planning in to where we decide to put them. The crew works their butt off making sure they can keep up with our craziness. Sometimes we get a wild anomaly on camera and sometimes our cameras are pointed right at it and it still doesn’t pick up. 

It’s all the nature of the beast when investigating the paranormal. It’s highly unpredictable, sometimes frustrating, but mostly, utterly fascinating to me. 

Thanks for continuing along as viewers and readers and we’ll see you on Friday night in the mine! *gulp*

~ a  

PS. Shout out to our phenomenal crew at Paper Route Productions who have become like family to us over the years. You all do an amazing job and we love you!