The case briefing talk took place at night, not 10:33 AM. Scenes from three locations were edited together to make it look like the briefing happened at one location.

The opening sequence starts with a case briefing, where we see the outside of a Penn State, University Park, Pennsylvania campus building. A screen caption shows the time of day to be 10:33 AM.

Then we see Paranormal Research Society (PRS) members sitting around talking about the “Vegas” case. Since the previous screen caption showed the time as being 10:33 AM, you might assume the meeting happened at 10:33 AM. This is a wrong assumption. The following analysis will show: 1) the scenes with the PRS were shot at a different location than the building shown with the “Case Briefing 10:33 AM” caption, 2) the scenes with the PRS talking as a group were shot at night, and 3) the scene with Sergey sitting in a chair was taken from footage shot for the “Mothman” episode.

First published: 11 May 2009
Last update: 15 Dec 2009

Written by: Ernie Marsh

Photo Credit: Jill Shockey / Penn State Public Information.
Note that Sergey is sitting in the tan-colored chair on the right, second chair away from the big screen.

THREE BUILDING LOCATIONS PORTRAYED AS ONE
The following three screenshots are from the “Vegas” episode, and are in order in which they appeared during the “Case Briefing” segment. The scenes are from three different locations, shot at three different times of day.

Screenshot 2
Paranormal State “School House Haunting”

Screenshot 3
Paranormal State “School House Haunting”

Screenshot 1, from Paranormal State “Vegas”
Appears at approximately 1 minutes 29 seconds.

Building location: Old Main,
Building Location: facing Pollock Road

Caption is as it appeared in the episode. I believe this is borrowed footage from the “Freshman Fear” episode.

Screenshot 2
Paranormal State “School House Haunting”

Screenshot 2, from Paranormal State “Vegas”
Appears at approximately 1 minutes 31 seconds.

Building location: HUB,
Building Location:lounge area adjacent Heritage Hall

Shot at night- but portrayed as being during the day.

Screenshot 2
Paranormal State “School House Haunting”

Screenshot 3, from Paranormal State “Vegas”
Appears at approximately 1 minutes 55 seconds.

Building location: Hintz Family Alumni Center,
Building Location:Robb Hall

Footage was shot for the “Mothman” episode. Sergey has different shirt, different chair and surroundings.

© 2009 Gould Center for Geography Education and Outreach
This image was cropped from the source at http://www.campusmaps.psu.edu/print/pdf/extended_color.pdf

Hintz Family Alumni Center

Old Main

HUB

THE THREE LOCATIONS SHOWN ON A MAP
The three thumbnail-sized screenshots below are from the “Vegas” episode, and are aligned above the building locations where they were shot.

EVIDENCE SHOWING THE CASE BRIEFING SCENES WERE SHOT AT NIGHT
There were a total of six shots during the case briefing where it can be seen that it is dark outside the windows behind various PRS members. I went to the same lounge area in the HUB, and took some photographs to understand the different lighting conditions between nighttime and daytime. Here’s what I found.

Photo © Ernie Marsh

WHEN PHOTOGRAPHED AT NIGHT
No highlights on the furniture or surroundings as there would have been if the sun was shining through the windows.

Exterior bricks are darker than the interior bricks.

Interior bricks are brighter than the exterior bricks.

It’s dark outside.

WHEN PHOTOGRAPHED DURING THE DAY
Highlights on the furniture, people and surroundings caused by sunlight shining through the windows.

Exterior bricks are brighter than the interior bricks.

Interior bricks are darker than the exterior bricks.

It’s bright outside.

Photo © Ernie Marsh

Screenshot 2 repeated, from Paranormal State “Vegas”
• No highlights on furniture, PRS members, or ••surroundings that would be present if there was sun.
• It’s dark outside.
• Exterior bricks are darker than interior bricks.
• Interior bricks are brighter than the exterior bricks.
• No shadow on surface of brick protrusion that faces
• away from the window.

Shadow on protrusion

No shadow

SCRUTINIZING THE CASE BRIEFING SCENE
Here is my analysis of the screenshot showing PRS members sitting in the lounge adjacent to Heritage Hall, in the HUB. The bulleted items explain why the lighting is the same as the nighttime conditions in my photograph. The windows have a coating which blocks some of the light which accounts for the differences in illumination and coloration between exterior and interior items.

BORROWED “MOTHMAN” SCENE
In Screenshot 3 near the top of this page, Sergey is shown sitting in a tan-colored chair. This scene was taken from footage shot for, but not appearing in the Paranormal State, “Mothman” episode. Below is a photo showing the recording process for a “Mothman” scene. The location is in the Hintz Family Alumni Center, Robb Hall.

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Photo Credit: Jill Shockey / Penn State Public Information
http://live.psu.edu/image/19353

Hintz Family Alumni Center Virtual Tour
http://www.alumni.psu.edu/centertour/interior/interior.htm

The “Case Briefing 10:33 AM” scenes with the PRS members sitting around talking were recorded at night. Since there was an establishing shot preceding the briefing stating the time was 10:33 AM, I feel it is false, misleading, and inaccurate to portray night scenes as if they occurred during the day. I feel it is also false, misleading, and inaccurate to include scenes shot in the HUB and the Hintz Family Center because it can be wrongly construed that all case briefing scenes took place at one location- the Old Main building, which they were not.

Paranormal State took two scenes, most likely shot for different episodes, and slyly edited them into the “Vegas” episode. The two scenes are: 1) The “Case Briefing 10:33 AM” is Penn State’s, Old Main building, most likely shot for “Freshman Fear” episode, and 2) Sergey sitting in a chair is footage most likely shot for “Mothman.”

Note: This site is not owned by, or affiliated with Penn State, the Paranormal Research Society, A&E Television Networks, Go Go Luckey Productions, or Four Seasons Productions International, nor is it maintained or endorsed by them. Copyright © 2008-2012 Ernie Marsh.